2024/04/02 by Tesfaye Tolessa Bessa, Dereje Hinew Dehu
#Appointee #Arjo #Demisew #Gondore #Superintendent
paper · doi:10.20372/star.v13i1.19
This article aims to investigate the roles of the appointees of Arjo in the implantation and consolidation of feudal-based Naftegna systems in regions located south of Abay, west of Gibe, north of Gaba Rivers, and East Sudan, and in the stabilization of power, succession intrigues at the national level during the years 1884 to 1935. Despite the limited scholarly attention given to the roles of these appointees, the paper argues that their contributions to establishing and shaping ‘Modern’ Ethiopia were significant. The study employed a qualitative research design and historical research approach, drawing evidence from travellers’ accounts, primary and secondary sources, as well as oral data. Through analysis and interpretation of these data, the study demonstrates that Arjo, as a garrison town, served as a stronghold for imperial court appointees. It was instrumental in the appropriation of land through the belting of the Makegna and for the surveillance of the neighbouring autonomous states and checking peripheral boundaries counter to Anglo-Egyptian-occupied Sudan. Additionally, the study reveals that Arjo emerged as a major centre, from which these appointees mobilized both human and material powers to defend the country from external aggressions, and exerted significant influence in stabilizing political turmoil during the struggles for power succession at the imperial court.