Editing Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie (section)

== Science and explorations ==
[[File:Antoine d'Abbadie (c 1870).jpg|thumb|Antoine d'Abbadie]]

In 1835, the [[French Academy]] commissioned Antoine d’Abbadie to undertake a scientific mission to Brazil. The findings of this expedition were later published in 1873<ref name="EB" />{{refn|group=nb|The date of the trip to Brazil is stated as 1836 by some sources.<ref name="ww" /> }} under the title ''Observations relatives à la physique du globe faites au Brésil et en Éthiopie''. In November 1836, he embarked on the frigate L'Andromède, accompanied by [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]], who was then in exile following the failed Strasbourg uprising.

Having successfully completed his assignment in Brazil, Antoine hastened to Cairo in 1837 to join his younger brother, Arnaud, who awaited him there. The two young explorers, aged 26 and 21, subsequently embarked on an expedition that would keep them in Ethiopia for nearly 12 years.

In February 1838, the d’Abbadie brothers landed at [[Massawa]].<ref name="EB">{{harvnb|Hoiberg|2010|p=8}}</ref> They traveled extensively throughout Ethiopia, reaching as far south as the [[Kingdom of Kaffa]]. Often journeying together but occasionally venturing separately, their explorations encompassed scientific research and political engagement. Antoine, in particular, immersed himself in local political dynamics, advocating for French interests and supporting [[Catholic missions|Catholic missionary]] efforts.<ref name="ce">{{harvnb|Shahan|1907}}</ref>

Arnaud d’Abbadie held several distinguished roles in Ethiopia, including those of general, judge, and diplomat. He actively participated in battles and was granted the title of [[Ras (title)|Ras]], one of the most esteemed honors in the country. Antoine, by contrast, followed an academic path and became a dedicated scholar. Reflecting on his time in Ethiopia, he remarked, "When residing in a foreign country without any known antecedents, it is advisable to adopt a vocation in line with local customs, as failure to do so may result in being branded as a political spy, a hazardous accusation in any nation. As I was unable to engage in combat, agriculture, or merchandising, I identified as a "mamhir", or teacher and scholar, during my time in Christian Ethiopia and received an education from their public and non-compulsory schools."

During their extended stay, the two brothers fully assimilated into local customs. They exchanged their European attire for the turban and [[toga]] of the Ethiopians and traversed the region barefoot, as, at the time, only lepers and Jews wore sandals. This cultural integration earned them warm receptions wherever they traveled.<ref name="Notice Historique" />

The d’Abbadie brothers undertook extensive journeys throughout Ethiopia, meticulously documenting a wide range of topics, including human and physical geography, religion, legislative texts, ethnography, philology, linguistics, numismatics, and history. Antoine, in particular, amassed a remarkable collection of 250 [[Ethiopian manuscript collections|ancient manuscripts]]. With the assistance of the Ethiopian [[Debtera]] Tewelde Medhin of Welkait, he also compiled the first-ever Amharic-French dictionary, encompassing 15,000 words.

[[File:Portrait of Debtera Tewelde Medhin of Welkait.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Debtera Tewelde Medhin of Welkait]]

By late 1848, after fulfilling and exceeding their ambitious self-imposed goals, the d’Abbadie brothers departed Ethiopia, leaving behind a legacy of unparalleled scholarly and cultural contributions.

Antoine became involved in various controversies relating both to his geographical results and his political intrigues. He was especially attacked by [[Charles Tilstone Beke]], who impugned his veracity, especially with reference to the journey to Kaffa. But time and the investigations of subsequent explorers have shown that Abbadie was quite trustworthy as to his facts, though wrong in his assertion — hotly contested by Beke — that the [[Blue Nile]] was the main stream. The topographical results of his explorations were published in Paris between 1860 and 1873<ref name="EB" /> in ''Géodésie d'Éthiopie'', full of the most valuable information and illustrated by ten maps. Of the ''Géographie de l'Éthiopie'' (Paris, 1890)<ref name="EB" /> only one volume was published. In ''Un Catalogue raisonné de manuscrits éthiopiens'' (Paris, 1859) is a description of 234 Ethiopian [[manuscript]]s collected by Antoine.<ref name="EB" /><ref>His manuscripts and notebooks have been digitized by the [[National Library of France]] and are available on their web portal [[Gallica]] as "Ethiopien d' Abbadie" and "Antoine d' Abbadie – Carnets".</ref> He also compiled various vocabularies, including a ''Dictionnaire de [[Amharic language|la langue amariñña]]'' (Paris, 1881), and prepared an edition of the ''[[Shepherd of Hermas]]'', with the Latin version, in 1860. He published numerous papers dealing with the geography of Ethiopia, Ethiopian coins and ancient inscriptions. Under the title of ''Reconnaissances magnétiques'' he published in 1890 an account of the [[magnetic]] observations<ref name="Delpech" /> made by him in the course of several journeys to the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Levant]]. The general account of the travels of the two brothers was published by [[Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie|Arnaud]] in 1868 under the title of ''Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute Ethiopie''. The book has been translated into English "Twelve Years in Upper Ethiopia".

Antoine was responsible for streamlining techniques in [[geodesy]], along with inventing a new [[theodolite]] for measuring angles.