Ethiopia

Lore & Background

Anatomically modern humans emerged in what is now Ethiopia. In 980 BC, the Kingdom of D'mt extended its realm over Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia, while the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilisation in the region for 900 years. Christianity arrived to the kingdom in 330 AD, while Islam gained influence during the first Hijra in 615. After the collapse of Aksum in 960, the Zagwe dynasty ruled the north-central parts of Ethiopia. The Shewan usurper, Yekuno Amlak, overthrew the dynasty in 1270 at the Battle of Ansata, inaugurating the Ethiopian Empire and the Solomonic dynasty. Under Emperor Amda Seyon I (r. 1314–1344), the empire grew in prestige through territorial expansion against neighbouring Muslim territories. Later, the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543) weakened the empire and opened the way for the Oromo expansion. The growing influence of the Oromo at the Gondarine court ultimately contributed to the fragmentation known as Zemene Mesafint, beginning in 1769. Emperor Tewodros II ended the Zemene Mesafint at the beginning of his reign in 1855, marking the reunification and modernisation of Ethiopia. In the late 19th century, Ethiopia repelled foreign invasions from both Egypt and Italy, most notably defeating an Italian invasion at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. Under Emperor Menelik II, it also expanded its territory, remaining independent during the Scramble for Africa and establishing its current borders. Ethiopia lost its sovereignty in 1936, when Italy under Benito Mussolini invaded during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and following Ethiopia's defeat, Italian East Africa was established. In 1941, during World War II, it was liberated by the British Army, and its full sovereignty was restored in 1944. The Derg, a Soviet-backed military junta, took power in 1974 after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie and the Solomonic dynasty, and ruled the country for nearly 17 years amidst the Ethiopian Civil War. Following the dissolution of the Derg in 1991, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) dominated the country with a new constitution and ethnic-based federalism. Since then, Ethiopia has suffered from prolonged and unsolved inter-ethnic clashes and political instability marked by authoritarianism. From 2018, regional and ethnically based factions carried out armed attacks in multiple ongoing wars throughout Ethiopia.

In Their Own Story

The morning mist still clings to the Simien escarpment when the Negus rides out from Addis Ababa, his horse's breath steaming in the thin highland air. Below, the Oromo lowlands stretch toward the Red Sea, where a Portuguese carrack bobs at anchor, its captain waiting for a trade agreement that will reshape the spice routes. The Negus does not look at the sea. He looks north, toward the Amhara highlands where his Zema warriors sharpen their spears, and south, where the Oromo confederations are testing the southern borders. A scribe scrolls the Kebra Nagast in the chapel, the ink still wet. The kingdom endures. It always has.

Reader's Guide

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Did You Know?

• Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, with Addis Ababa as its capital.
• The Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilisation in the region for 900 years.
• Ethiopia repelled an Italian invasion at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.
• Ethiopia is a founding member of the UN and hosts the headquarters of the African Union Commission.
• The name 'Ethiopia' is traditionally held to come from the name of the first King of Ethiopia, Ethiop or Ethiopis.