Religions in Eritrea
1530-1541
Excerpt: Another great power came in the person of the Imam of Harrar, Ahmad bin Ibrahim, better known as Ahmad Gran (the left-handed). In 1530 he began to attack the plateau. Within four years he laid waste to all of the Christian highlands, including Tigre and Eritrea. He converted hundreds of thousands to Islam by force. Only by surrender and conversion could people save their lives. The Christian nobility survived only as a hunted band.