Home Region: East Africa (Africa)

Kingdom of Kaffa

1390 CE 1897 CE

D G SC

New EA et_kaffa_k

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

[elite migration; Mato Dynasty] [elite replacement] Update here

Succeeding Entity:

No Polity found. Add one here.

General Description

The Kingdom of Kaffa held power in southwest Ethiopia. In the late fourteenth century, the Minjo kings of Kaffa took over the throne of the Mato Dynasty and formed the Kingdom of Kaffa in 1390 CE. In total, there were between sixteen to nineteen Kaffa monarchs during the existence of the kingdom. The capital of the Kingdom of Kaffa was at Bonga, and eventually the kingdom acquired a second capital at Anderacha. The Kingdom of Kaffa controlled vast areas of land, establishing trade networks as far as Gondar in the north of Ethiopia during the mid-nineteenth century. The kingdom was home to a diverse range of forty-eight clans who practiced Islam, Christianity and indigenous religions. Kaffa was also divided into eighteen districts which were organized under minor administrative figures. The kingdom finally collapsed in 1897 when the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II conquered Kaffa territory. ^[1]

[1]: (Orent 1970, 263-293) Orent, Amnon. 1970. ‘Refocusing on the History of Kafa Prior to 1897: A Discussion of Political Processes’. African Historical Studies. Vol. 3:2. Pp 263-293. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2A389XGK/collection

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

2 Capital

1 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

1 Polity Succession

2 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

1 Religious Tradition

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

Hierarchical Complexity

2 Settlement Hierarchy

2 Administrative Level

Professions

Bureaucracy Characteristics

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

2 Market

2 Communal Building

Transport Infrastructure

2 Road

Special-purpose Sites

2 Trading Emporia

2 Special Purpose Site

Information / Writing System

2 Written Record

2 Script

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

2 Sacred Text

2 Religious Literature

Information / Money

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

Information / Measurement System

1 Weight Measurement System

1 Volume Measurement System

1 Length Measurement System

1 Area Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

Military use of Metals

Projectiles

Handheld weapons

Animals used in warfare

Armor

Naval technology

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions

19 Power Transition

Instability Events

20 Instability Event

General Variables

Identity and Location Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	37 N	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Original Name	Kingdom of Kaffa	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Capital	Anderacha	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Capital	Bonga	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Alternative Name	Kingdom of Kafa	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Temporal Bounds Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1798 CE ➜ 1821 CE]
Loading...

Duration	[1390 CE ➜ 1897 CE]
Loading...

Political and Cultural Relations Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Succeeding Entity	Ethiopian Empire	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Relationship to Preceding Entity	elite migration	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Preceding Entity	elite migration; Mato Dynasty [elite replacement] Update here
Loading...

Degree of Centralization	unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1529 CE
Loading...

Degree of Centralization	loose	1530 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Language Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Afro-Asiatic	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Language	Kafa	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Language	Yemsa	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Religion Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religious Tradition	Ethiopian Religion	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Hierarchical Complexity Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	- Suspected	1390 CE 1797 CE
Loading...

Settlement Hierarchy	3	1798 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Administrative Level	- Suspected	1390 CE 1797 CE
Loading...

Administrative Level	10	1798 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Professions Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Bureaucracy Characteristics Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Law Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Absent Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Judge	Absent Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Formal Legal Code	Absent Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Court	Absent Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Specialized Buildings: polity owned Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1797 CE
Loading...

Market	Present	1798 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Communal Building	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1797 CE
Loading...

Communal Building	Present	1798 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Transport Infrastructure Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1844 CE
Loading...

Road	Present	1845 CE 1854 CE
Loading...

Special-purpose Sites Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Trading Emporia	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1844 CE
Loading...

Trading Emporia	Present	1845 CE 1854 CE
Loading...

Special Purpose Site	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1844 CE
Loading...

Special Purpose Site	Present	1845 CE 1854 CE
Loading...

Information / Writing System Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1499 CE
Loading...

Written Record	Present	1500 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Script	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1499 CE
Loading...

Script	Present	1500 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Information / Kinds of Written Documents Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Sacred Text	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1530 CE
Loading...

Sacred Text	Present	1531 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Religious Literature	Unknown Suspected	1390 CE 1530 CE
Loading...

Religious Literature	Present Inferred	1531 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Information / Money Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Foreign Coin	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Article	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Information / Postal System Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Information / Measurement System Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Weight Measurement System	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Volume Measurement System	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Length Measurement System	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Area Measurement System	Present Inferred	1390 CE 1897 CE
Loading...

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Military use of Metals Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Projectiles Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Handheld weapons Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Animals used in warfare Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Armor Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Naval technology Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Human Sacrifice Kingdom of Kaffa (et_kaffa_k)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More