Debre Berhan
Debre Berhan (also spelled
Debre Birhan) is a city and
woreda in central
Ethiopia. Located in the
Semien Shewa Zone of the
Amhara Region, about 120 kilometers north east of
Addis Ababa on the paved highway to
Dessie, the town has a latitude and longitude of . It was an early capital of Ethiopia and afterwards, with
Ankober and
Angolalla, was one of the capitals of the kingdom of
Shewa.
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Debre Berhan has an estimated total population of 67,243, of whom 34,055 were males and 33,185 were females.
[CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4] According to the 1994 national census, this town had a population of 38,717 people.
Debre Berhan was founded in the reign of
Emperor Zara Yaqob, in response to a
miraculous light that was seen in the sky at the time. Believing this was a sign from
God approving the death by
stoning of a group of heretics 38 days before, the emperor ordered a church built on the site, and later consturcted an extensive palace nearby, and a second church, dedicated to
Saint Cyriacus. Zara Yaqob spent 12 of the last 14 years of his life.
Historian Richard Pankhurst offers the date of 1456 for the date of the founding of this church, providing a plausible argument that the light in the sky was
Halley's Comet, which could have been in Shewa that year, although the traditional dates (10th day of the month of Maggabit, i.e. 6 or 7 March) do not coincide with the days that the comet was most visible (13 through 17 June).
[Richard P.K. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns: From the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), p. 37] While his
Baeda Maryam did spend the first part of his reign in Debre Berhan, the new emperor eventually returned to the established itinerant practice of living in a permanent encampment that was constantly on the move through the realm. The departure of the court led to a decline in the population and importance of this town. Pankhurst explains that the needs of the imperial court and army for firewood and food was so burdensome that, "it could not remain in any one locality for more than four months, nor return to the same place in less than 10 years due to the resultant shortage of food",
[Pankhurst, Ethiopian Towns, p. 41] which doomed the existence of any capital city in this period.
While little more than a large village, Debre Berhan is mentioned a few times in the 16th century, the first time as a mustering center by Emperor
Lebna Dengel against the invading armies of
Ahmad Gragn. After he had defeated Lebna Dengel at the
Battle of Amba Sel, Ahmad mustered his troops twice in Debre Berhan before leading them on campaigns deeper into Ethiopian territory. At the second mustering, he proclaimed before his followers his famous claim that "Abyssinia is conquered!" then led them into the
highland provinces of
Tigray,
Begemder, and
Gojjam.
[Pankhurst, Ethiopian Towns, p. 40]The village returned to importance in the reign of
Asfa Wossen (1775-1808),
Meridazmach of Shewa, who built a palace there, and divided his time amongst this town, Ankober and Angolalla.
[Pankhurst, Ethiopian Towns, pp. 188f] The succeeding Meridazmaches prized Debre Berhan as a hunting lodge for its surrounding plains, and used it as a riding place.
[Pankhurst, Ethiopian Towns, p. 280] His son
Sahle Selassie rebuilt Debre Berhan after it had been ravaged in
Oromo raiding, and built a church dedicated to the
Trinity in this capital.
[Pankhurst, Ethiopian Towns, p. 190]Debre Berhan is a famed center of
rug making.
Despite its historical importance, none of the buildings Emperor Zara Yaqob built exist today, and no obvious 19th century construction is visible. The present church, although located on the site of the 15th century church, was built in 1906 at the orders of Emperor
Menelik II.
