Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Sources

History of the Jews in Ethiopia (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia, accessed 2026

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

A reference encyclopedia history of Ethiopia's Jewish communities, recording that Emperor Yeshaq (reigned 1414 to 1429) put down a Beta Israel revolt and then divided their territories among imperial commissioners, lowered their legal and social standing, and issued a land decree reading "He who is baptized in the Christian religion may inherit the land of his father, otherwise let him be a Falasi", the decree from which the exonym Falasha, meaning wanderer or landless person, is generally traced. It records that Emperor Zara Yaqob (1434 to 1468) fought further campaigns against Beta Israel in the Semien region, earning the title "Exterminator of the Jews" from the court chronicler, and that Emperor Sarsa Dengel (1563 to 1597) campaigned against them again with the aid of Ottoman cannon, capturing and executing the Jewish leader Goshen. It records that Beta Israel in Semien revolted against Emperor Susenyos beginning in 1614, that imperial forces suppressed the revolt by 1624 and inflicted a final, permanent defeat in 1625, ending Beta Israel political autonomy, after which Susenyos confiscated their lands, forced mass baptism, and banned Jewish religious practice.

Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier
1
Reference-encyclopedia tier 3, used here alongside Steven Kaplan's standard scholarly history of Beta Israel, already live on this atlas, for the specific campaign dates and the Falasha decree text that other source's own general description does not itself quote.
Citation
Publisher
Wikipedia 1
URL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Ethiopia 1
Source Type
reference 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

This source names Beta Israel directly: "(reigned 1414 to 1429) put down a Beta Israel revolt and then divided their territories among imperial commissioners, lowered their legal and social standing, and issued a land decree reading "He..."

Sources
Claims Backed By This Source (21 claims)

This source backs 21 claims across the atlas. As facts: 16 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds, 1 connected. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

  • Religious Events, 13 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 connected, 1 general references.
  • Open Questions, 7 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 general references.
  • Denominations, 1 claims: 1 holds.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.