Gondar: History
=== Origins ===
The term Gondar was first mentioned during the reign of Amda Seyon I as the name of a regiment of soldiers stationed (likely in Wegera) to guard nearby trade routes and control a restive population. In 1636, Emperor Fasilides selected Gondar as his katama (royal camp). Situated about 35 km due north of Lake Tana in the midst of Kémant country, Fasilides translocation from Danqaz to Gondar contributed to trading benefits as it was where caravans from Sudan and the Red Sea converged, despite Lent and rainy season prohibiting expeditions that made the emperor stay at the capital. Such incidents quickly enabled him to prolong his reign and construct many buildings for the purpose of giving capital and additional reforms.
Within the capital, Fasilides ordered the construction of the imposing edifice known as the Fasil Ghebbi or Fasilides Castle. Further, he established five other churches, including Mädòane Aläm and Fit Abbo. The pleasure-pool with stone pavilion beside the Qaha river known as the "Bath of Fasilides". In 1648, a Yemeni ambassador, Hassan ibn Ahmad al-Haymi, who visited the palace described it as a great house of stone and lime and "one of marvelous of buildings, worthy of admiration, and the most beautiful of outstanding wonders." The head stonemason was an Indian named Abdal Kerim who had previously worked on the palace of Emperor Susenyos I in Danqaz. In the newly built castle Al-Haymi saw beds from Constantinople, mattresses from India glittering with gold, sofas inlaid with pieces of jewelry and gems. His eye was also struck by the attire of the courtiers: gowns of silk brocade embroidered with gold, silk gowns, golden girdles "set with marvelous stones and precious gems", swords from Sennar inlaid with the choicest pure gold.
By the time of Fasilides' death in 1667, Gondar was so well established that his successor Yohannes I (1667–1682) made no attempt to seek out a new capital for himself like the former monarchs. On the contrary, he spent much more time in Gondar then his father had done. Though, he left every year on expeditions before returning to his capital, but spent half the year inside the city. In 1669–1670, the Emperor ordered Muslims and Jews to separate from Christians and form their own sectors in Gondar. By 1676, this decree resulted in Muslims settling in the lower town near the Qaha, in a quarter called Eslam Bet or Eslamge. The Beta Israel were assigned four quarters, including Abarra and Kayla Meda, near the Qaha. Key areas in the city included the royal enclosure (Makkabäbiya or Fail Gémb), Addebabay (a public square and market), Abun Bet (home of the abun), Eccäge Bet (residence of the -éccäge and a refuge), Qañn Bet (noble quarters), and Déngay (inhabited by Christian merchants). Yohannes died in July 1682, he "lived for ten days in a great new building" constructed that very year. According to the chronicles, this edifice, which was ornamented in ivory, was built by an Ethiopian architect named Walda Giyorgis who was described as "able, intelligent, and of good renown."
Yohannes's successor, Iyasu I (1682–1706), seems to have been very conscious to maintain the good will of the citizens of Gondar and it was reported that he never closed the doors of his palace, even at night, to give his subjects the impression that he trusted them. Iyasu's reign, like that of his father and grandfather, witnessed considerable building in the city. …