Chercher province

Chercher was a province in Hararghe (eastern Ethiopia) now part of Oromia Region, Ethiopia.[1][2] Also known as Ittuu and West Hararghe, Chercher is the name given mainly to the eastern escarpment highland areas of Oromia state's West Hararaghe Zone, where the chains of Checher or higher mountains rise and extend inland from the Great Rift Valley in its northwest[citation needed]. The capital of the former Chercher province was Chiro.[2]

Etymology

Chercher may originate from cer, the Harari word meaning “a cliff that creates a deep gorge.”[3]

History

Chercher is home to ruins linked to the Harla people dating back to the eighth century in the district of Doba located in modern east Oromia. It was home to the people of Doba region prior to the Oromo invasions.[4][5][6] According to tradition the ruins of Sharif Ahmed mosque, who was a chief of Harla is found in the Doba district of Chercher.[7]

During the Oromo invasions of the sixteenth century the Ittu Oromo had occupied the Chercher region from the Harari people and likely also Harla.[8] British deputy W.C Barker in 1842 states Chercher was a full day expedition from Harar city and was inhabited by the Oromo people.[9] From 1883 to 1885 the Shewan forces under Menelik attempted to invade the Chercher but were defeated by the Ittu Oromo.[10] In 1886 the Abyssinians of Shewa also suffered a defeat at the Battle of Hirna against the forces of Harar Emirate in the Chercher region.[11]

In the early 1900s, the former Ifat rebel leader Talha Jafar passed his later years in Chercher as the appointed governor of Wadessa during the reign of Lij Iyasu.[12] In the year 1923 regent Ras Tafari appointed Fit′awrari Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam as governor of Chercher, a year later governor Tekle Hawariat founded the town of Chiro (known then under its old name Asebe Tafari.) and the new capital of the province.[2]

References

  1. ^ Clapham, Christopher (25 October 1990). Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge University Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780521396509.
  2. ^ a b c Zewde, Bahru (2002). Pioneers of change in Ethiopia : the reformist intellectuals of the early twentieth century. Oxford, Athens, finfinee: Oxford University Press, Ohio University Press, Addis Ababa University Press. pp. 57–64. ISBN 9780821414460. OCLC 46992008.
  3. ^ Cherchar. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  4. ^ Joussaume, Roger. MEGALITHISM IN CHER IN ETHIOPIA. French Center for Ethiopian Studies.
  5. ^ History of Harar and Hararis (PDF). Harar tourism bureau. p. 27.
  6. ^ Perspectives Des Études Africaines Contemporaines Rapport Final D'un Symposium International. Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission. 1974. p. 274. ISBN 9783794052257.
  7. ^ Braukamper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. Lit. p. 120. ISBN 9783825856717.
  8. ^ Ittuu. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  9. ^ Barker, W.C. Extract Report on the Probable Geographical Position of Harrar; With Some Information Relative to the Various Tribes in the Vicinity (PDF). : Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). p. 243.
  10. ^ Slikkerveer, Leendert (28 October 2013). Plural Medical Systems In The Horn Of Africa: The Legacy Of Sheikh Hippocrates. Taylor & Francis. p. 123. ISBN 9781136143304.
  11. ^ Caulk, Richard (1971). "The Occupation of Harar: January 1887". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 9 (2): 10–11. JSTOR 41967469.
  12. ^ Ahmed, Hussein (1989). "THE LIFE AND CAREER OF SHAYKH TALHA B. JA'FAR (c. 1853-1936)". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 22. Institute of Ethiopian Studies: 23. JSTOR 41965976.