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37-451: The British explorer Henry Salt , who notes that the Tigrinya name of the lake is Tsada Bahri ("White Sea") from the number of birds which cover its surface, records a local tradition that a large city once stood on the site of Hashenge, but "it was destroyed, in his displeasure, by the immediate hand of God." The legend is vivid up to today. On August 29, 1542, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ,

74-561: A "secretary-draftsman": he was not only a companion, but also sketched the sites and scenes they encountered on their voyage. In 1805, Valentia sent Salt on a journey into Ethiopia (then often referred to by Europeans by the exonym Abyssinia) to meet with Wolde Selassie , Ras of Tigray to open up trade relations on behalf of the English. While visiting there, Salt gained the respect of Wolde Selassie. He returned to England on 26 October 1806. His journey home took him through Egypt where he met

111-572: A description of this powerful warlord, as "small in stature, and delicately formed, quick in his manner, with a shrewd expression, and considerable dignity in his deportment." Nathaniel Pearce also notes that Ras Wolde was an avid chess player, and "would play at from morning till night". Wolde Selassie, who descended from the nobility of Antalo in Enderta, emerged as the ruler of Tigray, Hamasien and Mareb Melash (Eritrea) after years of fighting; Nathaniel Pearce describes an encounter where he made

148-831: A friendship with the Ethiopian warlord Sabagadis . Through his book and details of exploration, Salt had earned himself a name in the British government and when an opening for the Consul General of Egypt opened up in 1815, Salt was recommended to the position by Lord Valentia and appointed to be the Consul General in Egypt. In 1816, he arrived in Alexandria and traveled to Cairo where he would be stationed as consul. Once set up in Cairo, he began to work on his mission of securing antiquities and artifacts for

185-613: A good residence in the city and a place in his court in return for his help in negotiations. Salt also sponsored the excavations of Thebes and Abu Simbel , personally carrying out significant archaeological research at the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx which earned him praise from Jean-François Champollion for his ability to decipher hieroglyphs . In 1825, Mr. Salt published, at his own expense, Essay on Dr. Young's and M. Champollion's System of Hieroglyphics; with some additional discoveries, by which it may be applied to decipher

222-521: A location in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Henry Salt (Egyptologist) Henry Salt (14 June 1780 – 30 October 1827) was an English artist, traveller, collector of antiquities, diplomat, and Egyptologist . Salt, the son of Thomas Salt who was a physician and Alice née Butt, was born in Lichfield on 14 June 1780. He

259-615: A major obstacle that the Ethiopians had faced, the Egyptians had control over the port of Massawa which they acquired from the Ottoman Empire and reminded King George that with their "naval superiority in the red sea" Abyssinia might find it difficult to gain access to the port. Wolde-Sillasie's effort however, did bear fruit in the long term when his successors Dejazmatch Wube of Semien and Tigray and Emperor Yohannes of Ethiopia followed up on

296-556: A name for himself by single-handedly slaying the brothers Abel and Cail, "two of Ras Michael's choice men" who were sent by Michael to kill Wolde Selasse. Despite the fact Ras Mikael Sehul was so impressed at this act of bravery that he tried to make peace with him, but Wolde Selassie remembered how the older man had killed his father, and until the old Ras died he spent his years in exile in Wollo and Gojjam . Wolde Gabriel , grandson of Ras Mikael, attempted to crush Wolde Selassie when

333-704: A reputation. Salt found a position with the English nobleman George Annesley , Viscount Valentia , travelling as his secretary and draughtsman, recommended by Thomas Simon Butt. They started on an eastern tour in June 1802, sailing on the British East India Company 's chartered ship Minerva to India via the Cape Colony . Salt explored the Cape of Good Hope, India, and the Red Sea area. Valentia came to describe Salt as

370-520: The British Museum . In order to successfully do this, he believed that he must first be on good terms with the ruler of Egypt, the Pasha Mohamed Ali (aka Mehemet Ali). Salt was able to foster beneficial relations between the British government and Ali acting as a middle man, negotiating deals concerning trade and territorial rights, earning him the affection of Ali. Ali was able to provide Salt with

407-652: The Ethiopian Emperor Egwale Seyon . Upon arrival, he was unable to meet with the king due to unrest in the country, so instead he went to stay with his friend the Ras Wolde Selassie. During this venture, Salt took on the side mission of verifying and correcting the information about the region reported by the Scottish traveler, James Bruce many years earlier. Salt came back to England in 1811 with numerous specimens of both plants and animals. Most notable

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444-640: The Ethiopian Empire were killed with poison gas all around Lake Ashenge. The soldiers were withdrawing from the Battle of Maychew during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War . As they withdrew, the Italians sprayed and bombed the area around the lake with mustard gas to deadly effect. On 4 April, Emperor Haile Selassie I looked with despair upon the horrific sight of the dead bodies of his army ringing

481-567: The Pasha Mehmet Ali . Salt's paintings from the trip were used in Valentia's Voyages and Travels to India , published in 1809. The originals of all the drawings were kept by Valentia, as also the copper plates after Salt's death. The format and style of the plates is similar to Thomas and William Daniell 's work, "Oriental Scenery" (1795-1808). Salt returned to Ethiopia in 1809 on a government mission to develop trade and diplomatic links with

518-521: The Pasha , Muhammad Ali of Egypt . But Salt was not easily discouraged and resorting to the same methods as his rival, he surrounded himself with agents who would not stop for anything. The year he arrived in Cairo he had the good fortune to meet both Giovanni Battista Belzoni , an extraordinary individual who immediately became his main agent, and Giovanni D’Athanasi , a Greek known as Yanni , who worked for him in

555-495: The Emperor "according to his usual bad faith" made another warlord, Ras Gebre Masqal , governor of Enderta instead. Wolde Selassie then quickly marched forth with a smaller army against the Ras , which he defeated, then entered Gebre Masqal's camp and took the Ras prisoner. Shortly afterwards he marched on Gondar . The two Emperors, Tekle Haymanot and Tekle Giyorgis bestowed Wolde-Sillasie

592-551: The Thebes area from 1817 to 1827. Thanks to his assistants, Salt was able to begin selling his artifacts in just two years. Henry Salt died at the age of 47 on 30 October 1827 in Desouk in Egypt. He was buried in Alexandria where he was stationed as Consul General. His paintings, papers, and artifacts he collected remain in the possession of the British Museum. Later, in 1849 Saltia

629-546: The character of a good and wise prince”. Ras Wolde Selassie was the son of Dejazmach Kefla Iyasus, governor of Enderta province , and his wives included Mentewab (died 1812 from smallpox ), the sister of Emperor Egwale Seyon ; and Sahin, the daughter of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I . His brothers included Dejazmach Bilaten-Geta Mennase, Sebhato (Sevatu), Dejazmach Debbab, the great-grandfather of Emperor Yohannes IV , and Ato Gabre Massea (youngest brother of Wolde Selassie, and son of Kefla Iyasus, by another wife). had

666-504: The coast, slowly but surely imposing his suzerainty over the Muslim authorities there until he finally could control and tax their trade inland; he used the revenues, to train, reform and re-equip his army and when the 19th century opened, Wolde Selassie was by far Abyssinia's leading figure and certainly the main champion of the Solomonic tradition. Ras Wolde Selassie was known to have had wielded

703-493: The collection ended up being sold in February 1823. The sarcophagus of Seti I , a major piece of the collection was bought by the British architect Sir John Soane for £ 2000 and the rest was bought by the British Museum for the same price. Following the assembly of his first collection, Salt began acquiring what would be known as his second collection, containing items he collected from 1819 to 1824. While Salt's primary intention

740-475: The fear that his country might not be able to supply any quantity of valuable commodities sufficient to recompense our merchants for engaging in so precarious a trade; more especially as the Abyssinians were not much acquainted with commercial transactions...Could any plan, however, be arranged for obviating these difficulties...he would most readily concur in carrying it into effect. Wolde Selassie also touched on

777-601: The figurehead Emperor Egwale Seyon . Wolde Selassie was eventually the victor, and practically ruled the whole country as Enderase till his death in 1816. Wolde Selassie, a conservative Christian who greatly valued Ethiopia's monarchical traditions, hated the Yeju parvenus. He hit out at them by effectively conquering the Azebo and Raya and by taking control over all the important passes in Lasta leading to Tigray. He then turned his attention to

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814-470: The later was in Wogera , but according to Pearce after besieging Wolde Selassie for 20 days Wolde Gabriel came off the worse, and made peace by proclaiming him Balgadda , or governor of the salt-making districts. After Wolde Gabriel's death in battle against Ras Aligaz of Yejju the then Emperial regent of Abyssinia, Wolde Selassie petitioned Emperor Tekle Giyorgis for the governorship of his kingdom, Enderta, but

851-595: The leader of the Adal Sultanate , advanced upon the Portuguese stockade near Ofla on the southern side of Ashenge, where he fought the Battle of Ofla and prevailed, afterwards capturing and killing the leader Cristóvão da Gama . Another notable battle that took place on the shores of this lake was the Battle of Lake Ashenge on 9 October 1909, when Dejazmach Abate Bwalu defeated the rebel forces of Dejazmach Abraha Araya . On 3 April 1936, thousands of soldiers of

888-764: The most power during his reign, exceeding formidable rases such as Ras Aligaz of Yejju, Ras Gugsa of Gojam and the Yejju chieftain Gojje; and throughout his vast provinces and districts, all kinds of crimes, grievances, rebellions, disputes and inheritances were directly referred to him and most wars were carried by himself in person. According to Paul Henze , Ras Wolde Selassie was the first ruler of this period to have close contact with Europeans, hosting three British diplomats, George Annesley , Viscount Valentia , his secretary Henry Salt , and Pearce. Salt's arrival in Abyssinia culminated in

925-591: The names of the ancient kings of Egypt and Ethiopia. Furthermore, in his tenure as Consul General, Mr. Salt devoted himself to the task of assembling a collection of antiquities, although he was hindered in every possible way by Bernardino Drovetti , who, having been dismissed from his official post, now had the time personally to supervise the search of antiquities around the country. Drovetti had great advantages over his British rival because of his thorough knowledge of Egypt , where he had been living for many years by this time, and also thanks to his close friendship with

962-615: The poisoned lake. Lake Ashenge, a closed-basin lake near the northernmost penetration of summer monsoon rains, is well placed to provide a continental record of past changes in the strength of the African monsoon system. Diatom and oxygen isotope analyses of the lake sediments confirm that the overall trend of climate change during the past 17,000 years was driven by precessional forcing, punctuated by abrupt shifts that may be linked to changes in Atlantic surface temperatures. This article about

999-405: The policy with which he has uniformly ruled the country under his command; having been successfully engaged in upwards of forty battles, and having evinced on these occasions even too great a disregard of his own personal safety in action." Another British traveller, Mansfield Parkyns adds, “Wolde Selasie reigned for twenty-five years, and during this long period obtained and maintained for himself

1036-442: The signing of a treaty of friendship with Wolde Selassie representing Abyssinia and the former representing Great Britain in 1805. Henry Salt also proposed inaugurating trade with Britain; Wolde Selassie was quick to see possible advantages in relations with Britain and promised to encourage such commerce with every means in his power. Revealing himself a realist, and speaking, Salt says, with "great sincerity", he nevertheless expressed

1073-630: The titles of both Ras and Bitwoded of the Abyssinian empire in 1790. Wolde Selassie made his seat of government in Chalacot , but maintained his capital at Antalo in Enderta Province . He built four palaces, at Chelekot, Antalo, Felegdaro and Mekelle, all in Enderta. He played a role in the politics of the Imperial Throne, in part by providing shelter to Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I in 1799 and 1800, and

1110-560: The treaty that was struck between him and the kingdom of Britain. Nathaniel Pearce lived with Ras Wolde from about 1808 and the warlord's death. Pearce's diary of his stay is not only valuable for the history of this period, but also provides enormous detail about daily life in Ethiopia. After a period of internal wars in Tigray province , a non-Tigrayan the Saho speaking Irob warlord Sabagadis Woldu

1147-579: Was a species of dik-dik that was previously unknown to the people of England. He would go on to publish in 1814, A voyage to Abyssinia, and travels into the interior of that country, executed under the orders of the British government in the years 1809 & 1810 , whose contents were on the culture, geography, customs, and topography of Ethiopia. He also published a collection of drawings entitled Twenty-four Views Taken in St Helena, The Cape, India, Ceylon, Abyssinia and Egypt . He later returned and continued

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1184-493: Was published, it is a genus of flowering plants from Yemen and Saudi Arabia, belonging to the family Amaranthaceae . It was named in Henry Salt's honour. His first collection contained artifacts and pieces that Salt acquired from 1816 to 1818. When shipped to England and evaluated by specialists, the total value of the collection was estimated to be approximately £ 8000, although it would be sold for much less. Records show that

1221-461: Was sold years after his death when an agent of his sold it to the British Museum for over £ 7000. Salt was portrayed by Robert Portal in the 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt . Wolde Selassie Wolde Selassie ( Tigrinya : ወልደስላሴ ; c.1736 – 28 May 1816) was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788 and 1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797 and 1800. John J. Halls, in his Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt , preserves

1258-565: Was the youngest of eight children and went to school in Lichfield, Market Bosworth , and then in Birmingham under where his brother John Butt Salt taught. He took an early interest in portrait painting. While in Lichfield, he studied under a watercolour artist, John Glover, and in 1789, he went to London where he first studied under Joseph Farington and later under John Hoppner . After a time, he gave up portrait painting, having failed to build up

1295-642: Was to sell to the British Museum again, this time for a yearly pension of £ 600 for his service as the Consul, it would ultimately be rejected due to the price. Despite the British concerns over price, the French royalty wanted to buy the collection and display it at the Louvre, which they did in 1826 for a total of £ 10,000. Salt would spend the rest of his life putting together a third collection which featured his antiquities acquired from 1825 to his death in 1827. This collection

1332-460: Was victorious and became the new lord of the province in 1822. At the effort of Ras Wolde Selassie, Ethiopia received its first Abuna , or titular religious leader, from Egypt since the death of Yosab in 1804: Qerellos III (1816–1828), who made his residence in Antalo. The British diplomat Henry Salt described Wolde-Sillasie as "distinguished still more for his intrepidity and firmness than by

1369-472: Was visited by the former Emperor Baeda Maryam in 1813. Although at first he cooperated with Ras Aligaz , the Imperial Regent, after his power grew, Wolde Selassie came to challenge Aligaz for that office prior to Aligaz's death in 1803. The first years of the 19th century were disturbed by fierce campaigns between Ras Gugsa of Begemder, and Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray, who fought over control of

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