Siltʼe denote their origin inHarar and claim to be progenitors of theHadiya Sultanate.[3][4] The country of the Silt'e first appears in fourteenth-century texts as Silt'e-Ge.[5] Tradition states that some of Silt'e's forefathers were Harar residentKabir Hamid and saintAwBarkhadle.[6]
The lastGarad of the Gan-Silte dynasty was Sediso K’albo beforeMenelik's forces invaded in the 1800s.[10] Silte people were incorporated intoGurage region after their lands were annexed by Ethiopia following the defeat of the Hadiya leaderHassan Enjamo.[11] The Abyssinian commanderGobana Dacche in the late 19th century is stated to have ravaged the lands of Silt'e during his invasion and divided Silt'e lands among theNeftenya.[12]
In the early 90s Silte obtained a separate zone following protests that theGurage ethnic label was imposed on them.[13]
Dirk Bustorf 2011:Lebendige Überlieferung: Geschichte und Erinnerung der muslimischen Siltʼe Äthiopiens. With an English Summary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (Aethiopistische Forschungen 74).
Nishi Makoto 2005:Making and Unmaking of the National-State and Ethnicity in Modern Ethiopia: a Study on the History of the Silte People. African Study Monographs. Supplementary Issue 29. pp. 157–68online version
Dinberu Alamu et al. 1987 (E.C.):Gogot. Yegurage biherasab tarik, bahilinna qwanqwa, Walqite (in Amharic).
Rahmeto Hussein 1984: "The History of Azernet-Berbere until the Expansion of Shoa During Menelik II", Senior Essay, Department of History, Addis Ababa University .
