Menz
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Menz or Manz (Leslau transliteration: Mänz) is a former province of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region.
Donald Levine explains that Menz was divided into three parts: Mama Meder in the north; Lalo Meder in the center; and Gera meder in the south.[1] Further, he defines its boundaries as "the Mofar River in the south, the Adabay and Wanchet rivers in the west, the Qechene River in the north, and in the east a long chain of mountains which pour forth the waters that drain across Manz and which divide it from the lowlands of Efrata, Gedem, and Qawat."[2]
Manz formed the core of the autonomous Ethiopian state of Shewa. Negasi Krestos, a leading warlord of Menz, extended his power to the south by conquest, proclaimed himself ruler of Shewa, and defeated all of his rivals.[3] Menz afterwards retained its identity as a subregion of Shewa. During the reign of Haile Selassie, Menz was incorporated into the province of Shewa.
[edit] References
- ^ Donald N. Levine, Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopia Culture (Chicago: University Press, 1972), p. 28
- ^ Levine, Wax and Gold, n.13 on p. 289
- ^ Levine, Wax and Gold, pp. 31f
[edit] Further reading
- Donald Levine, "On the history and Culture of Manz", Journal of Semitic Studies, 9 (Spring, 1964), 204-211.
