In Search of Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob: On the History, Philosophy, and Authorship of the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob and the Ḥatäta Wäldä Ḥəywät

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In Search of Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob

On the History, Philosophy, and Authorship of the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob and the Ḥatäta Wäldä Ḥəywät

Edited by: Lea Cantor , Jonathan Egid and Fasil Merawi
Funded by: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2024

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The Ḥatäta Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob and the Ḥatäta Wäldä Ḥəywät are enigmatic and controversial works. Respectively an autobiography and a companion treatise by a disciple, they are composed in the Gǝʿǝz language and set in the highlands of Ethiopia during the seventeenth century. Expressed in prose of great power and beauty, they bear witness to pivotal events in Ethiopian history and develop a philosophical system of considerable depth. However, they have also been condemned by some as a forgery, an elaborate mystification successful in deceiving generations of European and Ethiopian scholars.

This volume breaks new ground for the study of these texts, presenting a clear account of the most up-to-date scholarship the ways they works are being investigated by contemporary philosophers, philologists, and historians.

While the authorship question is addressed in the volume, it is not the sole locus of discussion. The near-exclusive focus on this question over the last century has obscured scholarly interest in the texts’ philosophical and literary qualities in their own right. Accordingly, this volume begins to fill this gap, exploring the texts' implications for the global history of philosophy and transnational intellectual history of the 17th century.

Author / Editor information

Lea Cantor, Univ. of Cambridge, UK; Jonathan Egid, King’s College London, UK; Fasil Merawi, Addis Ababa Univ., Ethiopia.

Topics

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	V
Table of Contents Open Access Download PDF	VII
In Search of Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob: Introduction Jonathan Egid Open Access Download PDF	1
Section 1 History
Chapter 1 The Discourse of Wärqe Commonly Known as Ḥatäta zä-Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob Getatchew Haile Open Access Download PDF	51
Chapter 2 Questioning Standards in Ethiopic Classical Writings through Two Distinctive Features of the Ḥatätas: Autarchic Logic and First-Person Writing Anaïs Wion Open Access Download PDF	67
Chapter 3 Reflections on Translating the Ḥatätas and Their Use of Scripture Ralph Lee Open Access Download PDF	91
Chapter 4 Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob, Mediaeval Philosophy, Forgery, and Authenticity John Marenbon Open Access Download PDF	105
Chapter 5 Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob and Wäldä Ḥǝywät: Exceptionality and Situatedness of the Ḥatätas in the Ethiopian Intellectual Tradition Eyasu Berento Assefa Open Access Download PDF	121
Chapter 6 Debating the Ḥatäta: Carlo Conti Rossini and Italian Racial Theories Neelam Srivastava Open Access Download PDF	139
Section 2 Philosophy
Chapter 7 The Place of Ethiopian Philosophy in the History of Philosophy Peter Adamson Open Access Download PDF	159
Chapter 8 The Dialogue between Zärʾa Yaʿqob and the Nine Saints Brooh Asmare Open Access Download PDF	175
Chapter 9 Critique and Emancipation in the Religious Sphere? Revisiting Ethiopia’s Modernity through the Däqiqä Ǝsṭifanos Open Access Download PDF	187
Chapter 10 Authorship and Authenticity as Challenges for the Historiography of Philosophy in a Global Perspective Anke Graness Open Access Download PDF	199
Chapter 11 Examining the Ḥatätas as a Foundation of Ethiopian Philosophy Fasil Merawi Open Access Download PDF	217
Chapter 12 Revelation and Reason in the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob Henry Straughan and Michael O’Connor Open Access Download PDF	227
Appendix I Comparative Timeline by Lea Cantor and Jonathan Egid Open Access Download PDF	247
Appendix II Gǝʿǝz Philosophical Wordlist by Jonathan Egid Open Access Download PDF	253
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	261
Index Open Access Download PDF	285

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

September 23, 2024

eBook ISBN:

9783110725810

Hardcover published on:

September 23, 2024

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110725742

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

8

Main content:

300

Tables:

3

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110725810

eBook ISBN: 9783110725810

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110725742

Keywords for this book

Comparative philosophy; African philosophy; rationalism; connected history of philosophy

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars of comparative philosophy and African philosophy, institutes, libraries

Creative Commons

BY 4.0

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In Search of Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob

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About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

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