The history of Ethiopic (Ge'ez) numbers

[Belay Tekalign]

1- Preface: The Ge'ez numerals do not have a zero. There are 20 separate characters to be studied. The rest could be constructed. One thing that confuses a new student is that the number 1000 is written as 10 x 100 (፲፻) and 10,000 as 100 x 100 (፼). To write the year in Ethiopian Calendar (2007), you will use (20 x 100) + 7 (፳፻፯ ). I have seen 2007 written as ፪ሺ7. However easy to read the injection of the letter ሺ is, I don't think this is correct since there is no ሺ letter in Ge'ez. The following letters were added by Amharic - (ሸ ፤ ቸ ፤ ኘ ፤ ኸ ፤ ዠ ፤ ጀ ፤ ጨ ). They do not exist in Ge'ez. In return Amharic lost the difference between (ሀ ፤ ሐ ፤ ኅ ) ፤ ( ጸ ፤ ፀ ) ፤ (አ ፤ ዐ ). This shows the two languages are separate. Care must be taken to differentiate the duplicate looking letters mentioned above. We will come back to this at later time. 

2- The history of Ethiopic (Ge'ez) numbers

Legend has it Classical Ethiopic (Ge'ez) numerals invented by the Nine Saints who immigrated to Axum following the persecution of the Eastern Orthodox in the Roman Empire. The 4th Ecumenical Debate also known as Chalcedon (የቀለዶንያ ጉባዔ) Council (451 AD) was convened by the Byzantian Emperor Marcian in collaboration with the Bishop of Rome Pope Leo. The council repudiated the notion of a single nature in Christ, which caused the separation of Coptic Egyptian (by extension Ethiopian), Syrian, Armenian, and Malankara Indian churches. Following the council the Byzantine emperor, Marcian, ordered a persecution of these church members and as a result many were killed. This is how the nine saints ended up in Axum as a refugee.

The nine saints (ተሰአቱ ቅዱሳን) are attributed to the translation of Greek Bible to Ge'ez and in the process invented the Abugida System (Syllabo-Alphabet - ሀ ፤ ሁ ፤ ሂ ፤ ሃ ፤ ሄ ፤ ህ ፤ ሆ - hä ፤ hu ፤ hi ፤ ha ፤ he ፤ hə ፤ ho )Their names are Abba Aftse, Abba Alef, Abba Aragawi, Abba Garima (Isaac, or Yeshaq), Abba Guba, Abba Liqanos, Abba Pantelewon, Abba Sehma, and Abba Yem’ata (አባ አፍፄ ፤ አባ አሌፍ ፤ አባ አረጋዊ ፤ አባ ገሪማ ፤ አባ ጉባ ፤ አባ ሊቃኖስ ፤ አባ ጳንጤሌዎን ፤ አባ ጽሕማ እና አባ የማታ ናቸው) Their names are enshirined in the many illustrious monasteries they built around Axum. Most notable monasteries are Abba Aftse's at Yeha, Abba Aregawi's Debre Damo, Abba Pantelewon at Axum for the rest refer to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Saints. Abba Garima's gospel is currently considered the oldest gospel in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garima_Gospels)

Reference: http://geez.org/Numerals/