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

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. Acknowledgements Table of Contents In Search of Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob: Introduction Section 1 History Chapter 1 The Discourse of Wärqe Commonly Known as Ḥatäta zä-Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob Chapter 2 Questioning Standards in Ethiopic Classical Writings through Two Distinctive Features of the Ḥatätas: Autarchic Logic and First-Person Writing Chapter 3 Reflections on Translating the Ḥatätas and Their Use of Scripture Chapter 4 Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob, Mediaeval Philosophy, Forgery, and Authenticity Chapter 5 Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob and Wäldä Ḥǝywät: Exceptionality and Situatedness of the Ḥatätas in the Ethiopian Intellectual Tradition Chapter 6 Debating the Ḥatäta: Carlo Conti Rossini and Italian Racial Theories Section 2 Philosophy Chapter 7 The Place of Ethiopian Philosophy in the History of Philosophy Chapter 8 The Dialogue between Zärʾa Yaʿqob and the Nine Saints Chapter 9 Critique and Emancipation in the Religious Sphere? Revisiting Ethiopia’s Modernity through the Däqiqä Ǝsṭifanos Chapter 10 Authorship and Authenticity as Challenges for the Historiography of Philosophy in a Global Perspective Chapter 11 Examining the Ḥatätas as a Foundation of Ethiopian Philosophy Chapter 12 Revelation and Reason in the Ḥatäta Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob Appendix I Comparative Timeline by Lea Cantor and Jonathan Egid Appendix II Gǝʿǝz Philosophical Wordlist by Jonathan Egid Bibliography Index