GONDAR, one of the former capitals of Abyssinia, situated on a basaltic ridge some 7,50o ft. above the sea, about 21 m. N.E. of Lake Tana, a splendid view of which is obtained from the castle. Two streams, the Angreb on the east side and the Gaha or Kaha on the west, flow from the ridge, and meeting below the town, pass onwards to the lake. Gondar was a small village when at the beginning of the i6th century it was chosen by the Negus Sysenius (Seged I.) as the capital of his kingdom. His son Fasilidas, or A'lem-Seged (1633-1667), was the builder of the castle which bears his name. Later emperors built other castles and palaces, the latest in date being that of the Negus Yasu II., erected about 1736, at which time Gondar appears to have been at the height of its prosperity. Thereafter it suffered greatly from the civil wars which raged in Abyssinia, and was more than once sacked, most recently in 1868 by the emperor Theodore, and in 1887 by the dervishes under Abu Anga, who inflicted very great injury, de stroying many churches, damaging the castles and carrying off much treasure. The population, estimated by James Bruce in 177o at 10,000 families, had dwindled in 1935 to about 3,00o persons. Since the pacification of the Sudan by the British (1886-1889) there has been some revival of trade between Gondar and the regions of the Blue Nile. Among the inhabitants are numbers of Mohammedans, and there is a settlement of Falashas. Cotton, cloth, gold and silver ornaments, copper wares, fancy articles in bone and ivory, excellent saddles and shoes are among the products of the local industry.
Unlike any other buildings in Abyssinia, the castles and palaces of Gondar resemble, with some modifications, the mediaeval fortresses of Europe, the style of architecture being the result of the presence in the country of numbers of Portuguese. Fasili das's castle was built by Indian workmen, under the superin tendence of Abyssinians who had learned something of architecture from the Portuguese adventurers. The castle has two storeys, is 90 ft. by 84 ft., has a square tower and circular domed towers at the corners. The most extensive ruins are a group of royal build ings enclosed in a wall. These ruins include the palace of Yasu II., which has several fine chambers. Christian Levantines were employed in its construction and it was decorated in part with Venetian mirrors, etc. In the same enclosure is a small castle attributed to Yasu I. The exterior walls of the castles and palaces named are little damaged and give to Gondar a unique character among African towns. Of the 44 churches, all in the circular Abyssinian style, which are said to have formerly existed in Gon dar or its immediate neighbourhood, Major Powell-Cotton found only one intact in 1900.
See E. Ruppell, Reise in A b yssinien (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1 838 184o) ; T. von Heuglin, Reise each Abessinien (Jena, 1868) ; G. Lejean, Voyage en Abyssinie (Paris, 1872) ; Achille Raffray, Afrique orientate; Abyssinie (Paris, 1876) ; P. H. G. A Sporting Trip through Abyssinia, chaps. 27-3o (London, 1902) ; and Rosita Forbes, Front Red Sea to Blue Nile (1925) . Views of the castle are given by Heuglin, Raff ray, Powell-Cotton and Rosita Forbes.