is servants’). Thus, the chronicler ascribes the full victory to his own people, undermining the role of the Portuguese. However, both contemporary sources of the Portuguese, Castanhoso, and Bermudez, confirm that he was killed by one of the Portuguese soldiers. I think that during that time, Gälawdewos’s soldiers were not familiar with the use of a gun and it was possible only in the hand of the Portuguese.
Similarly, the chronicler also commits some errors concerning periodization. He relates the arrival of the first Jesuit missionary to the time of the king’s return from the expedition against the people of Gämbo in 1552: ‘he found in court the Portuguese envoys that were waiting for him.’ But the chronicler silenced deliberately the purpose of the coming of the missionaries.
Historically, it is known that the arrival of the Portuguese soldiers was realized after lengthy and repeated ask for military support by both King Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl and his son King Gälawdewos. Neglecting this fact, the chronicler claims that they came from across the sea since they were hungry of warfare. His statement reads በይእቲ፡ ዓመት፡ ዐርጉ፡ እምባሕር፡ ደቂቀ፡ ቶቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ያፌት፡ ዕደው፡ ኃያላን፡ ወጽኑዓን፡ እለ፡ ጽሙኣን፡ ለፀብእ፡ ከመ፡ ተኵላ፡ ወርኁባን፡ ለቀትል፡ ከመ፡ አንበሳ። (‘In this year children of Tubal, son of Japheth, strong and brave men, who were thirsty for combat like wolves and hungry for killing like a lion, landed from the sea’). In addition, the chronicler deliberately passes over the names of all the most important personalities of the Portuguese forces who came to support the king and those Jesuit missionaries who came in the half of the sixteenth century. However, the letter of King Gälawdewos indicates that he appreciated them for their support. It appears that the chronicler treats more fairly the Muslims than the Portuguese. He mentions most of the names of the military commanders of Aḥmad since the chronicler was well acquainted in Arabic language. He does not deny the defeat of the king by the Muslim army. This fact is only provided by the Portuguese sources. In this regard, what is written in the chronicle coincides with the oral information. In addition, the chronicle in most cases corresponds with the reading of Castanhoso and the work of Castanhoso is more devoted to recount the history from the Portuguese perspective, particularly before they contacted King Gälawdewos. However, the chronicle does not tell us what happened to the Portuguese after the war. Many Portuguese sources confirm that they were well treated in the court and they were donated some land. The letter of the king indicates that he had good heart for the Portuguese until his death. Many Jesuit missionaries, with the exception of Bermudez, state that Gälawdewos was kind to them. In addition, the chronicler mentions the kind treatment of the people who had been driven by Oromo in the war of 1557.
Finally, the Chronicle dedicates a very small chapter for the religious disputes between the King and the Portuguese missionaries whereby he overemphasizes the victory of the church people from Ethiopian side undermining the Portuguese missionaries which were led by the Oviedo. However, the chronicler does not have the arguments of the missionary side that still looked at the Chronicle is one-sided.
This article is not only limited to commenting on the failure of the Chronicle on the points raised in the Chronicle, but I suppose, however, abundant stories of Portuguese soldiers neglected in the Chronicle. Although Gälawdewos has succeeded in restoring the peace and stability of the kingdom, he has always faced challenges: fighting against the rapid expansion of Oromo, the revival of Muslim states, the strengthening of the kingdom with various people (Gämbo, Gumär), in all these campaigns the Portuguese engaged with the king and keeping him until his death, which emerges from the Portuguese sources and from the letter of the King. According to data gathered from the text, the king participated in more than eight battles after the arrival of Portuguese until his death 1559, in most of these battles Portuguese s