Abu Rumi

Who was Abu Rumi?

Abu Rumi is the name recorded as being the translator for the first complete Bible in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia. Previously, only partial Amharic translations existed, and the Ethiopian Bible existed only in Ge'ez, the ancient liturgical language of Ethiopia. His story is recorded by William Jowett. He was educated in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but it is not clear if he was a monk, priest, or had any official status within the church.

According to Jowett, Abu Rumi served as a translator for the Scots explorer James Bruce at the age of 22. Abu Rumi left Ethiopia in his 28th year, visited Cairo, Jerusalem, Syria and India, where he resided in the house of Sir William Jones. "We are not told what he is supposed to have taught that great orientalist," writes Edward Ullendorff, "but presumably it was a smattering of Ge'ez and Amharic poetry".

While travelling through Cairo, at which time his age is estimated at "about fifty or fifty-five years of age", Abu Rumi became very ill and was taken in by M. Jean-Louis Asselin de Cherville, the French Consul in Cairo. He provided Abu Rumi with food, lodging, and medical care. But more significantly, he also provided him with writing materials. Over 10 a period of 10 years, Abu Rumi produced a complete translation of the Bible in Amharic. He then made one more journey to Jerusalem; Abu Rumi died of the plague in Cairo.