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The Christian kingdom of northern Ethiopia lost almost half of her territory to the Oromo during the second half of the sixteenth century. The Zenahu la-Galla (History of the Galla) written by Bahrey in 1593 is the most important work on this “Oromo Migration.” In the same period as the Zenahu la-Galla, the chronicle of Emperor Sarsa Dengel (r. 1563-97) was also written. This chronicle is one of the “Royal Chronicles” which constitute the nucleus of the historiography in this region. In the present paper, the author considers a characteristic of the historiography of northern Ethiopia during the second half of the Solomonic Period (1540-1769), by examining why Bahrey had to defend his writing of the Zenahu la-Galla and why the authors of the “Royal Chronicles” spent so many pages on the emperors' victories.The conclusions are as follows.1. Bahrey wrote the Zenahu la-Galla to assert that the Oromo often defeated Christian armies because Oromo social institutions and customs were suited for warfare. On the other hand, the intellectuals thought that historical accounts should be composed in order to praise the deeds of “Good Christians.” There-fore Bahrey justified his writing about the history of the Oromo, who were non-christians, by citing the history of the famous Coptic historian al-Makin, which spent many pages on Muslims' history.2. The author of the chronicle of Sarsa Dengel criticized al-Makin's work and did not describe in detail the damage caused by the Oromo, because his purpose was to reveal the miracles of God which he found in Emperor's deeds, especially his military successes. The authors of the “Royal Chronicles” during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries inherited this policy.The impact of the “Oromo Migration” produced the Zenahu la-Galla. However, its impact was transient. Defending Christianity continued to be a characteristic of the historiography of northern Ethiopia throughout the second half of the Solomonic Period.

A Characteristic of the Historiography of Northern Ethiopia during the Second Half of the Solomonic Period