Gendebelo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gendebelo (also called Gende Belo and Nora) was an ancient Muslim trading city in Ifat (present-day central Ethiopia).[1] Its location was discovered in 2009 by a team of French archaeologists.[2]
 Interactive map of Gendebelo | |
| Location | Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 9°51′30″N 40°15′21″E |
| Type | City |
| Site notes | |
| Discovered | 2009 |
| Archaeologists | François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar Bertrand Hirsch |
History
Gendebelo was a medieval Muslim trading center thought to be lost.[2] It was believed to be situated about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Ankober.[3] Gendebelo was "a great mercantile city", where camel caravans transversing through Adal brought all kinds of Indian spices except ginger (which was grown locally) from the Adal port of Zeila.[3] It was governed by the Walasma dynasty.[4]
In the sixteenth century the city is referenced in the work Futuh al-Habasha by Adalite author Sihab ad-Din Ahmad during Adal's invasion of Abyssinia.[5]
Discovery
In 2009, French archaeologists François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar and Bertrand Hirsch[6] discovered the site as a medieval city now known as Nora, which has been abandoned for years except for the mosque.[7]
An old Ajami manuscript helped the archaeologists determine the city's location.[7][6] Italian scholar and Ethiopia expert Enrico Cerulli had found the manuscript in the Muslim city of Harar in 1936, where it was being used to wrap sugar.[7][6] The archaeologists also used the writings of Alessandro Zorzi, a 16th-century Venetian explorer who had found the ruins of Gendebelo in the desert and referred to it as "the place where mules are to be unloaded and camels take over."[7][6]