Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie

Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie d'Arrast, also listed as Michel Arnaud d'Abbadie in the Chambers Biographical Dictionary was a French-Basque explorer of Irish origin, renowned for his extensive travels in Ethiopia alongside his elder brother, Antoine d'Abbadie d'Arrast. Arnaud distinguished himself as a geographer, ethnologist, and linguist, gaining intimate knowledge of Abyssinian polemarchs and serving as an active observer of their battles and courtly life. In 1868, Arnaud published the first volume, the foundational account of their travels, entitled Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute-Ethiopie. The following three volumes were published posthumously. The work was also translated into English under the title Twelve Years in Upper Ethiopia and into Amharic under the name በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ ተራሮች ቆይታዬ.