History of Ethiopia
This article covers the prehistory and history of Ethiopia,
from emergence as an empire under the Aksumites to
its current form as the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia, as well as the history of other areas in what is
now Ethiopia such as the Afar Triangle. The Ethiopian
Empire (Abyssinia) was first founded by Habesha people
in the Ethiopian Highlands. Due to migration and impe-
rial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily
Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, including Oromos,
Amhara, Somalis, Tigray, Afars, Sidama, Gurage, Agaw
and Harari, among others.
One of the earliest kingdoms to rise to power in the terri-
tory was the kingdom of D'mt in the 10th century BCE,
which established its capital at Yeha. In the first cen-
tury CE the Aksumite Kingdom rose to power in Tigray
Region with its capital at Aksum and grew into a major
power on the Red Sea, subjugating Yemen and Meroe
and converting to Christianity in the early fourth century.
The Aksumite empire fell into decline with the rise of
Islam, forcing the Ethiopians to move south into the high-
lands for refuge. The Aksumites gave way to the Zagwe
Dynasty who established a new capital at Lalibela, be-
fore giving way to the Solomonic Dynasty in the 13th
century. During the early Solomonic period Ethiopia
went through military reforms and imperial expansion
that made it dominate the Horn of Africa. Portuguese
missionaries arrived at this time.
In 1529, a conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash)
by the Somali Muslim Adal Sultanate allied with the
Ottoman Empire devastated the highlands, and was
only deterred by a Portuguese intervention. With both
Ethiopia and Adal greatly weakened by the war, the Galla
people were able to invade into the highlands, conquering
the remains of the Adal Sultanate and pushing deep into
Ethiopia. The Portuguese presence also increased, while
the Ottomans began to push into what is now Eritrea, cre-
ating the Habesh Eyalet. The Portuguese brought mod-
ern weapons and baroque architecture to Ethiopia, and in
1622 converted the emperor Susenyos I to Catholicism,
sparking a civil war which ended in his abdication and an
expulsion of all Catholics from Ethiopia. A new capital
was established at Gondar in 1632, and a period of peace
and prosperity ensued until the country was split apart by
warlords in the 18th century during the Zemene Mesafint.
Ethiopia was reunified in 1855 Tewodros II, beginning
Ethiopia’s modern history. Ethiopia began to go through
a slow modernisation process under a leadership of
Yohannes IV, and defended itself from an Egyptian in-
vasion in 1874. Emperor Yohannes fought and won wars
1
against Egyptians, Italians and Mehadists to keep his peo-
ple free from foreign invaders. He was killed in action
in 1889. Under Menelik II Ethiopia defeated an Italian
invasion in 1896 and came to be recognised as a legiti-
mate state by European powers. A more rapid moderni-
sation took place under Menelik II and Haile Selassie,
however this was not enough to deter another Italian inva-
sion in 1935. The modern Italian army annexed Ethiopia
and combined it with its other colonies to create Italian
East Africa, forcing Haile Selassie to flee the country. A
joined force of British and Ethiopian rebels managed to
drive the Italians out of the country in 1941, and Haile
Selassie was returned to the throne. Ethiopia and Er-
itrea joined to a federation, but when Haile Selassie ended
the federation in 1961, and made Eritrea a province of
Ethiopia a war for Eritrean independence occurred, last-
ing until 1991.
Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and the militaristic
Derg Regime came to power. In 1977 Somalia invaded
to try and annex the Ogaden region, but were pushed
back by Ethiopian, Soviet, and Cuban forces. In 1977
and 1978 the government tortured or killed hundreds of
thousands of suspected enemies in the Red Terror. After
a famine in 1984 killing 1 million people, the Derg fell
in 1991 and the Federal Democratic Republic was estab-
lished. Ethiopia remains impoverished, but its economy
has become one of the world’s fastest growing.[1]
1 Timeline
2 Prehistory
It was not until 1963 that evidence of the presence of an-
cient hominids was discovered in Ethiopia, many years
after similar such discoveries had been made in neigh-
bouring Kenya and Tanzania. The discovery was made
by Gerrard Dekker, a Dutch hydrologist, who found
Acheulian stone tools that were over a million years old
at Kella.[2] Since then many important finds have pro-
pelled Ethiopia to the forefront of palaentology. The
oldest hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2
million year old Ardipithicus ramidus (Ardi) found by
Tim D. White in 1994.[3] The most well known ho-
minid discovery is Lucy, found in the Awash Valley of
Ethiopia’s Afar region in 1974 by Donald Johanson, and
is one of the most complete and best preserved, adult
Australopithecine fossils ever uncovered. Lucy’s taxo-
2 4 ANTIQUITY

nomic name, Australopithecus afarensis, means 'southern panther and other animal skins, myrrh-trees and ostrich
ape of Afar', and refers to the Ethiopian region where feathers from the African coastal belt; and in the Fourth
the discovery was made. Lucy is estimated to have lived Egyptian Dynasty (2789–2767 BC) a Puntite is men-
3.2 million years ago.[4] There have been many other no- tioned to be in the service of the son of Cheops, the
builder of the Great Pyramid.[8] J. H. Breasted posited
table fossil findings in the country. Near Gona stone tools
were uncovered in 1992 that were 2.52 million years old, that this early trade relationship could have been realized
these are the oldest such tools ever discovered anywhere through overland trade down the Nile and its tributaries
in the world.[5] In 2010 fossilised animal bones, that were
(i.e. the Blue Nile and Atbara). The Greek historian
3.4 million years old, were found with stone-tool-inflicted
and geographer Agatharchides had documented seafar-
marks on them in the Lower Awash Valley by an inter- ing among the early Egyptians: “During the prosperous
national team, led by Shannon McPherron, which is the period of the Old Kingdom, between the 30th and 25th
oldest evidence of stone tool use ever found anywhere in centuries B. C., the river-routes were kept in order, and
the world.[6] Egyptian ships sailed the Red Sea as far as the myrrh-
[9]
East Africa, and more specifically the general area of country.”
Ethiopia, is widely considered the site of the emergence The first known voyage to Punt occurred in the 25th cen-
of early Homo sapiens in the Middle Paleolithic. In 2004 tury BC under the reign of Pharaoh Sahure. The most
fossils found near the Omo river at Kibbish by Richard famous expedition to Punt, however, comes during the
Leakey in 1967 were redated to 195,000 years old, the reign of Queen Hatshepsut probably around 1495 BC, as
oldest date anywhere in the world for modern Homo sapi- the expedition was recorded in detailed reliefs on the tem-
ens. Homo sapiens idaltu, found in the Middle Awash in ple of Deir el-Bahri at Thebes. The inscriptions depict a
Ethiopia in 1997, lived about 160,000 years ago.[7] trading group bringing back myrrh trees, sacks of myrrh,
elephant tusks, incense, gold, various fragmented wood,
and exotic animals. Detailed information about these two
3 Bronze Age contacts with Egypt nations is sparse, and there are many theories concerning
their locations and the ethnic relationship of their peo-
ples. The Egyptians sometimes called the Land of Punt,
“God’s-Land”, due to the “large quantities of gold, ivory,
and myrrh that could be easily obtained”.[10]
Evidence of Naqadan contacts include obsidian from
Ethiopia and the Aegean.[11]

4 Antiquity

4.1 Etymology

Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and

Diodorus Siculus used the word Aethiopia (Αιθιοπία) to
refer to the peoples living immediately to the south of
ancient Egypt, specifically the area now known as the an-
cient Kingdom of Kush, now a part of modern Nubia in
Egypt and Sudan, as well as all of Sub-Saharan Africa in
general.
Wall relief depicting an Egyptian expedition to the Land of Punt In ancient times the name Ethiopia was primarily used
during the reign of Hatshepsut. to refer to the modern day nation of Sudan based in the
The earliest records of Ethiopia appear in Ancient Egypt, upper Nile valley south of Egypt, also called Kush, and
during the Old Kingdom period. Egyptian traders from then secondarily in reference to Sub-Saharan Africa in
about 3000 BC who refer to lands south of Nubia or general.[12][13][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Reference to the
Kush as Punt and Yam. The Ancient Egyptians were Kingdom of Aksum designated as Ethiopia dates only as
in possession of myrrh (found in Punt), which Richard far back as the first half of 4th century following the 4th
Pankhurst interprets to indicate trade between the two century invasion of Kush in Sudan by the Aksumite em-
countries was extant from Ancient Egypt’s beginnings. pire. Earlier inscription of Ezana Habashat (the source
Pharaonic records indicate this possession of myrrh as for “Abyssinia”) in Ge'ez, South Arabian alphabet, was
early as the First and Second dynasties (3407–2888 BC), then translated in Greek as “Aethiopia”.
which was also a prized product of the Horn of Africa Re- The state of Sheba mentioned in the Old Testament is
gion; inscriptions and pictorial reliefs also indicate ivory, sometimes believed to have been in Ethiopia, but more
4.3 Axum 3

often is placed in Yemen. According to the Ethiopian 4.3 Axum

narrative, best represented in the Kebra Negest, the Queen
of Sheba slept with King Solomon, resulting in a child, Main article: Kingdom of Aksum
named Ebn Melek (later Emperor Menelik I). When he The first verifiable kingdom of great power to rise in
was of age, Menelik returned to Israel to see his father,
who sent with him the son of Zadok to accompany him
with a replica of the Ark of the Covenant (Ethiosemitic:
tabot). On his return with some of the Israelite priests,
however, he found that Zadok’s son had stolen the real
Ark of the Covenant. Some believe the Ark is still be-
ing preserved today at the Church of Our Lady Mary
of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia. The tradition that the bib-
lical Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who visited
King Solomon in Jerusalem in ancient Israel is supported
by the 1st century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus,
who identified Solomon’s visitor as a queen of Egypt and
Ethiopia.

4.2 Dʿmt

Main article: Dʿmt

The first kingdom known to have existed in Ethiopia was

King Ezana’s Stele in Axum.

Ethiopia was that of Axum in the 1st century AD. It

Temple at Yeha, possible capital of D'mt.
the kingdom of D'mt, with its capital at Yeha, where a
Sabaean style temple was built around 700 BC. It rose to
power around the 10th century BC. The D'mt kingdom
was influenced by the Sabaeans in Yemen, however it is
not known to what extent. While it was once believed
that D'mt was a Sabaean colony, it is now believed that
Sabaean influence was minor, limited to a few localities,
and disappeared after a few decades or a century, per-
haps representing a trading or military colony in some
sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the civilization
of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.[21][22] Few
inscriptions by or about this kingdom survive and very
little archaeological work has taken place. As a result, it
is not known whether Dʿmt ended as a civilization before
Aksum's early stages, evolved into the Aksumite state, or
was one of the smaller states united in the Aksumite king-
dom possibly around the beginning of the 1st century.[23]
was one of many successor kingdoms to Dʿmt and was
able to unite the northern Ethiopian plateau beginning
around the 1st century BC. They established bases on
the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from
there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure
Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one
of the four great powers of his time. The origins of
the Axumite Kingdom are unclear, although experts have
offered their speculations about it. Even whom should
be considered the earliest known king is contested: al-
though Carlo Conti Rossini proposed that Zoskales of
Axum, mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,
should be identified with one Za Haqle mentioned in the
Ethiopian King Lists (a view embraced by later histori-
ans of Ethiopia such as Yuri M. Kobishchanov[24] and
Sergew Hable Sellasie), G.W.B. Huntingford argued that
Zoskales was only a sub-king whose authority was limited
to Adulis, and that Conti Rossini’s identification can not
be substantiated.[25]
Inscriptions have been found in southern Arabia celebrat-
ing victories over one GDRT, described as "nagashi of
Habashat [i.e. Abyssinia] and of Axum.” Other dated in-
scriptions are used to determine a floruit for GDRT (in-
terpreted as representing a Ge'ez name such as Gadarat,
Gedur, Gadurat or Gedara) around the beginning of the
3rd century. A bronze scepter or wand has been discov-
4 4
ered at Atsbi Dera with an inscription mentioning “GDR
of Axum”. Coins showing the royal portrait began to be
minted under King Endubis toward the end of the 3rd
century.
Gold coin of the Aksumite King Ousas
Christianity was introduced into the country by
Frumentius, who was consecrated first bishop of
Ethiopia by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria about
330. Frumentius converted Ezana, who left several
inscriptions detailing his reign both before and after
his conversion. One inscription found at Axum, states
that he conquered the nation of the Bogos, and returned
thanks to his father, the god Mars, for his victory.
Later inscriptions show Ezana’s growing attachment to
Christianity, and Ezana’s coins bear this out, shifting
from a design with disc and crescent to a design with
a cross. Expeditions by Ezana into the Kingdom of
Kush at Meroe in Sudan may have brought about its
demise, though there is evidence that the kingdom was
experiencing a period of decline beforehand. As a result
of Ezana’s expansions, Aksum bordered the Roman
province of Egypt. The degree of Ezana’s control over
Yemen is uncertain. Though there is little evidence
supporting Aksumite control of the region at that time,
his title, which includes king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar
and Dhu-Raydan (all in modern-day Yemen), along with
gold Aksumite coins with the inscriptions, “king of the
Habshat" or “Habashite,” indicate that Aksum might
have retained some legal or actual footing in the area.[26]
Toward the close of the 5th century, a great company
of monks known as the Nine Saints are believed to have
established themselves in the country. Since that time,
monasticism has been a power among the people, and not
without its influence on the course of events.
The Axumite Kingdom is recorded once again as con-
trolling part – if not all – of Yemen in the 6th cen-
tury. Around 523, the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas came to
power in Yemen and, announcing that he would kill all
the Christians, attacked an Aksumite garrison at Zafar,
burning the city’s churches. He then attacked the Chris-
tian stronghold of Najran, slaughtering the Christians who
would not convert. Emperor Justin I of the Eastern Ro-
man empire requested that his fellow Christian, Kaleb,
help fight the Yemenite king, and around 525, Kaleb in-
vaded and defeated Dhu Nuwas, appointing his Christian
follower Sumuafa' Ashawa' as his viceroy. This dating is
ANTIQUITY
An Aksumite palace at Dungur
tentative, however, as the basis of the year 525 for the
invasion is based on the death of the ruler of Yemen at
the time, who very well could have been Kaleb’s viceroy.
Procopius records that after about five years, Abraha de-
posed the viceroy and made himself king (Histories 1.20).
Despite several attempted invasions across the Red Sea,
Kaleb was unable to dislodge Abreha, and acquiesced in
the change; this was the last time Ethiopian armies left
Africa until the 20th century when several units partic-
ipated in the Korean War. Eventually Kaleb abdicated
in favor of his son Wa'zeb and retired to a monastery,
where he ended his days. Abraha later made peace with
Kaleb’s successor and recognized his suzerainty. Despite
this reverse, under Ezana and Kaleb the kingdom was at
its height, benefiting from a large trade, which extended
as far as India and Ceylon, and were in constant commu-
nication with the Byzantine Empire.
Details of the Axumite Kingdom, never abundant, be-
come even more scarce after this point. The last king
known to mint coins is Armah, whose coinage refers
to the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614. An early
Muslim tradition is that the Negus Sahama offered asy-
lum to a group of Muslims fleeing persecution during
Muhammad's life (615), but Stuart Munro-Hay believes
that Axum had been abandoned as the capital by then[27]
– although Kobishchanov states that Ethiopian raiders
plagued the Red Sea, preying on Arabian ports at least
as late as 702.[28]
Some people believed the end of the Axumite Kingdom is
as much of a mystery as its beginning. Lacking a detailed
history, the kingdom’s fall has been attributed to a persis-
tent drought, overgrazing, deforestation, plague, a shift
in trade routes that reduced the importance of the Red
Sea—or a combination of these factors. Munro-Hay cites
the Muslim historian Abu Ja'far al-Khwarazmi/Kharazmi
(who wrote before 833) as stating that the capital of “the
kingdom of Habash” was Jarma. Unless Jarma is a nick-
name for Axum (hypothetically from Ge'ez girma, “re-
markable, revered”), the capital had moved from Axum
to a new site, yet undiscovered.[29]
5.1 Zagwe dynasty 5

5 Middle Ages and married a female descendant of the Aksumite monar-

chs (“son-in-law”) or previous ruler. Exactly when the
new dynasty came to power is unknown, as is the number
5.1 Zagwe dynasty
of kings in the dynasty. The new Zagwe dynasty estab-
lished its capital at Roha (also called Adeffa), where they
Main article: Zagwe Dynasty
build a series of monolithic churches. These structures
About 1000 (presumably c. 960, though the date is
are traditionally ascribed to the King Gebre Mesqel Lali-
bela, with the city being renamed Lalibela in his honour;
though in truth some of them were built before and after
him. The architecture of the Zagwe shows a continuation
of earlier Aksumite traditions, as can be seen at Lalibela
and at Yemrehana Krestos Church. The building of rock-
hewn churches, which first appeared in the late Aksumite
era and continued into the Solomonic dynasty, reached its
peak under the Zagwe.
The Zagwe dynasty controlled a smaller area than the
Aksumites or the Solomonic dynasty, with its core in
the Lasta region. The Zagwe seem to have ruled over
a mostly peaceful state with a flourishing urban culture,
in contrast to the more warlike Solomonids with their
mobile capitals. David Buxton remarked that the Za-
gwe achieved 'a degree of stability and technical advance-
ment seldom equaled in Abyssinian history'. The church
and state were very closely linked, and they may have
had a more theocratic society than the Aksumites of
Solomonids, with three Zagwe kings being canonized as
saints and one possibly being an ordained priest.[30]

5.1.1 Foreign Relations

Unlike the Aksumites, the Zagwe were very isolated from

the other Christian Nations, although they did maintain
a degree of contact through Jerusalem and Cairo. Like
many other nations and denominations, the Ethiopian
Church maintained a series of small chapels and even an
annex at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[31] Saladin,
after retaking the Holy City in 1187, expressly invited the
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, the Zagwe dynasty King credited with Ethiopian monks to return and even exempted Ethiopian
having constructed the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. pilgrims from the pilgrim tax. His two edicts pro-
vide evidence of Ethiopia’s contact with these Crusader
uncertain), a non-Christian princess, Yodit (“Gudit”, a States during this period.[32] It was during this period
play on Yodit meaning “evil”), conspired to murder all that the Ethiopian king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela ordered
the members of the royal family and establish herself as the construction of the legendary rock-hewn churches of
monarch. According to legends, during the execution of Lalibela.
the royals, an infant heir of the Axumite monarch was Later, as the Crusades were dying out in the early four-
carted off by some faithful adherents and conveyed to teenth century, the Ethiopian King Wedem Ar'ad dis-
Shewa, where his authority was acknowledged. Concur- patched a thirty-man mission to Europe, where they trav-
rently, Yodit reigned for forty years over the rest of the eled to Rome to meet the Pope and then, since the Me-
kingdom and transmitted the crown to her descendants. dieval Papacy was in schism, they traveled to Avignon to
Though parts of this story were most likely made up by meet the Antipope. During this trip, the Ethiopian mis-
the Solomonic Dynasty to legitimize its rule, it is known sion also traveled to France, Spain and Portugal in the
that a female ruler did conquer the country about this hopes of building an alliance against the Muslim states
time. then threatening Ethiopia’s existence. Plans were even
At one point during the next century, the last of Yo- drawn up of a two-pronged invasion of Egypt with the
dit’s successors were overthrown by an Agaw lord named French King, but nothing ever came of the talks, although
Mara Takla Haymanot, who founded the Zagwe dynasty this brought Ethiopia back to Europe’s attention, leading
(named after the Agaw people who ruled during this time) to expansion of European influence when the Portuguese
6 5 MIDDLE AGES
explorers reached the Indian Ocean.[33]
5.2 Early Solomonic period (1270–1529)
Lebna Dengel, nəgusä nägäst (Emperor) of Ethiopia and a mem-
ber of the Solomonic dynasty.
Around 1270, a new dynasty was established in the
Abyssinian highlands under Yekuno Amlak who deposed
the last of the Zagwe kings and married one of his daugh-
ters. According to legends, the new dynasty were male-
line descendants of Aksumite monarchs, now recognized
as the continuing Solomonic dynasty (the kingdom be-
ing thus restored to the biblical royal house). This legend
was created to legitimize the Solomonic dynasty and was
written down in the 14th century in the Kebra Negast, an
account of the origins of the Solomonic dynasty.
Under the Solomonic dynasty, the chief provinces be-
came Tigray (northern), what is now Amhara (central)
and Shewa (southern). The seat of government, or rather
of overlordship, had usually been in Amhara or Shewa,
the ruler of which, calling himself nəgusä nägäst, exacted
tribute, when he could, from the other provinces. The ti-
tle of nəgusä nägäst was to a considerable extent based on
their alleged direct descent from Solomon and the queen
of Sheba; but it is needless to say that in many, if not
in most, cases their success was due more to the force
of their arms than to the purity of their lineage. Under
the early Solomonic dynasty Ethiopia engaged in mili-
tary reforms and imperial expansion which left it dom-
inating the Horn of Africa, especially under the rule of
Amda Seyon I. There was also great artistic and literary
advancement at this time, but also a decline in urbani-
sation as the Solomonic emperors didn't have any fixed
capital, but rather moved around the empire in mobile
camps.
Under the early Solomonic dynasty monasticism grew
strongly. The abbot Abba Ewostatewos created a new
order called the Ewostathians who called for reforms in
the church, including observance of the Sabbath, but was
persecuted for his views and eventually forced into exile,
eventually dying in Armenia. His zealous followers, also
persecuted, formed isolated communities in Tigray. The
movement grew strong enough that the emperor Dawit I,
after first trying to crush the movement, legalized their
observance of the Sabbath and proselytization of their
faith. Finally under Zara Yaqob a compromise was made
between the new Egyptian bishops and the Ewostathians
at the Council of Mitmaq in 1450, restoring unity to the
Ethiopian church.[34]
5.2.1 Portuguese influence
Towards the close of the 15th century the Portuguese mis-
sions into Ethiopia began. A belief had long prevailed in
Europe of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the
far east, whose monarch was known as Prester John, and
various expeditions had been sent in quest of it. Among
others engaged in this search was Pêro da Covilhã, who
arrived in Ethiopia in 1490, and, believing that he had at
length reached the far-famed kingdom, presented to the
nəgusä nägäst of the country, a letter from his master the
king of Portugal, addressed to Prester John.
Pêro da Covilhã remained in the country, but in 1507 an
Armenian named Matthew was sent by the Emperor to
the king of Portugal to request his aid against the Mus-
lims. In 1520 a Portuguese fleet, with Matthew on board,
entered the Red Sea in compliance with this request, and
an embassy from the fleet visited the Emperor, Lebna
Dengel, and remained in Ethiopia for about six years.
One of this embassy was Father Francisco Álvares, who
wrote one of the earliest accounts of the country.[35]
5.2.2 The Abyssinian-Adal War (1529–1543)
Main articles: Abyssinian–Adal war, Adal Sultanate,
Sultanate of Ifat and Walashma dynasty
Between 1528 and 1540, armies of Muslims, under
the Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, entered Ethiopia
from the low country to the south-east, and overran the
Abyssinian Kingdom, obliging the Emperor to take refuge
in the mountain fastnesses. In this remote location, the
ruler again turned to the Portuguese. João Bermudes, a
subordinate member of the mission of 1520, who had re-
mained in the country after the departure of the embassy,
was, according to his own statement (which is untrustwor-
thy), ordained successor to the Abuna (archbishop), and
sent to Lisbon. Bermudes certainly came to Europe, but
with what credentials is not known.
6.1 Early Gondar period (1632–1769)
The Sultan of Adal (right) and his troops battling King Yagbea-
Sion and his men during the Abyssinian-Adal War
In response to Bermudes message, a Portuguese fleet un-
der the command of Estêvão da Gama, was sent from
India and arrived at Massawa in February 1541. Here
he received an ambassador from the Emperor beseech-
ing him to send help against the Muslims, and in the July
following a force of 400 musketeers, under the command
of Cristóvão da Gama, younger brother of the admiral,
marched into the interior, and being joined by native
troops were at first successful against the enemy; but they
were subsequently defeated at the Battle of Wofla (28 Au-
gust 1542), and their commander captured and executed.
On February 21, 1543, however, Al-Ghazi was shot and
killed in the Battle of Wayna Daga and his forces were
totally routed. After this, quarrels arose between the Em-
peror and Bermudes, who had returned to Ethiopia with
Gama and now urged the emperor to publicly profess his
obedience to Rome. This the Emperor refused to do, and
at length Bermudes was obliged to make his way out of
the country.[35]
5.3 Oromo Movements
Main article: Oromo migrations
The Oromo migrations were a series of expansions in
the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo people from
southern areas of Ethiopia to more northern regions. The
migrations had a severe impact on the Solomonic dynasty
of Abyssinia, as well as being the death blow to the re-
cently defeated Adal Sultanate.
6 Gondarine Period
Gondar as a third permanent capital (after Aksum and
Lalibela)of the Christian Kingdom was founded by Fasi-
ladas in 1636. it the most important center of commerce
for the Kingdom.[36]
7
The Royal Enclosure (Fasil Ghebbi) and Gondar.
6.1 Early Gondar period (1632–1769)
The Jesuits who had accompanied or followed the Gama
expedition into Ethiopia, and fixed their headquarters at
Fremona (near Adwa), were oppressed and neglected, but
not actually expelled. In the beginning of the 17th cen-
tury Father Pedro Páez arrived at Fremona, a man of
great tact and judgment, who soon rose into high favour at
court, and won over the emperor to his faith. He directed
the erection of churches, palaces and bridges in different
parts of the country, and carried out many useful works.
His successor Afonso Mendes was less tactful, and ex-
cited the feelings of the people against him and his fellow
Europeans. Upon the death of Emperor Susenyos and
accession of his son Fasilides in 1633, the Jesuits were
expelled and the native religion restored to official sta-
tus. Fasilides made Gondar his capital and built a castle
there which would grow into the castle complex known as
the Fasil Ghebbi, or Royal Enclosure. Fasilides also con-
structed several churches in Gondar, many bridges across
the country, and expanded the Church of Our Lady Mary
of Zion in Aksum.
During this time of religious strife Ethiopian philosophy
flourished, and it was during this period that the philoso-
phers Zera Yacob and Walda Heywat lived. Zera Yaqob
is known for his treatise on religion, morality, and reason,
known as Hatata.[37]
6.1.1 Aussa Sultanate
Main articles: Sultanate of Aussa and Mudaito Dynasty
The Sultanate of Aussa (Afar Sultanate) succeeded the
earlier Imamate of Aussa. The latter polity had come
into existence in 1577, when Muhammed Jasa moved his
capital from Harar to Aussa with the split of the Adal
Sultanate into Aussa and the Harari city-state. At some
point after 1672, Aussa declined and temporarily came to
an end in conjunction with Imam Umar Din bin Adam's
recorded ascension to the throne.[38]
The Sultanate was subsequently re-established by Kedafu
around the year 1734, and was thereafter ruled by his
Mudaito Dynasty.[39] The primary symbol of the Sultan
was a silver baton, which was considered to have magical
8 6
State flag of the Aussa Sultanate.
properties.[40]
6.2 Zemene Mesafint
Main article: Zemene Mesafint
This era was, on one hand, a religious conflict between
settling Muslims and traditional Christians, between na-
tionalities they represented, and on the other hand be-
tween feudal lords on power over the central government.
Some historians date the murder of Iyasu I, and the re-
sultant decline in the prestige of the dynasty, as the be-
ginning of the Ethiopian Zemene Mesafint (“Era of the
Princes”), a time of disorder when the power of the
monarchy was eclipsed by the power of local warlords.
Early nineteenth century warriors in Abyssinia
Nobles came to abuse their positions by making emper- soon as the leader of Amharic-Tigrean (Christian) camp
ors, and encroached upon the succession of the dynasty, of the struggle.
by candidates among the nobility itself: e.g. on the death
of Emperor Tewoflos, the chief nobles of Ethiopia feared
that the cycle of vengeance that had characterized the
reigns of Tewoflos and Tekle Haymanot I would continue
if a member of the Solomonic dynasty were picked for
the throne, so they selected one of their own, Yostos to
be negusa nagast (king of kings) – however his tenure was
brief.
Iyasu II ascended the throne as a child. His mother, Em-
GONDARINE PERIOD
press Mentewab played a major role in Iyasu’s reign, as
well as in that of her grandson Iyoas too. Mentewab had
herself crowned as co-ruler, becoming the first woman to
be crowned in this manner in Ethiopian history.
Empress Mentewab was crowned co-ruler upon the suc-
cession of her son (a first for a woman in Ethiopia) in
1730, and held unprecedented power over government
during his reign. Her attempt to continue in this role
following the death of her son 1755 led her into con-
flict with Wubit (Welete Bersabe), his widow, who be-
lieved that it was her turn to preside at the court of her
own son Iyoas. The conflict between these two queens
led to Mentewab summoning her Kwaran relatives and
their forces to Gondar to support her. Wubit responded
by summoning her own Oromo relatives and their consid-
erable forces from Yejju.
The treasure of the Empire being allegedly penniless on
the death of Iyasu, it suffered further from ethnic con-
flict between nationalities that been part of the Empire
for hundreds of years—the Agaw, Amharans, Showans,
and Tigreans—and the Oromo newcomers. Mentewab’s
attempt to strengthen ties between the monarchy and the
Oromo by arranging the marriage of her son to the daugh-
ter of an Oromo chieftain backfired in the long run. Iyasu
II gave precedence to his mother and allowed her every
prerogative as a crowned co-ruler, while his wife Wubit
suffered in obscurity. Wubit waited for the accession of
her own son to make a bid for the power wielded for so
long by Mentewab and her relatives from Qwara. When
Iyoas assumed the throne upon his father’s sudden death,
the aristocrats of Gondar were stunned to find that he
more readily spoke in the Oromo language rather than in
Amharic, and tended to favor his mother’s Yejju relatives
over the Qwarans of his grandmothers family. Iyoas fur-
ther increased the favor given to the Oromo when adult.
On the death of the Ras of Amhara, he attempted to pro-
mote his uncle Lubo governor of that province, but the
outcry led his advisor Wolde Leul to convince him to
change his mind.
It is believed that the power struggle between the Qwarans
led by the Empress Mentewab, and the Yejju Oromos led
by the Emperor’s mother Wubit was about to erupt into
an armed conflict. Ras Mikael Sehul was summoned to
mediate between the two camps. He arrived and shrewdly
maneuvered to sideline the two queens and their support-
ers making a bid for power for himself. Mikael settled
The reign of Iyaos’ reign becomes a narrative of the
struggle between the powerful Ras Mikael Sehul and the
Oromo relatives of Iyoas. As Iyoas increasingly favored
Oromo leaders like Fasil, his relations with Mikael Sehul
deteriorated. Eventually Mikael Sehul deposed the Em-
peror Iyoas (7 May 1769). One week later, Mikael Sehul
had him killed; although the details of his death are con-
tradictory, the result was clear: for the first time an Em-
7.1 1855–1936 9

peror had lost his throne in a means other than his own 7.1 1855–1936
natural death, death in battle, or voluntary abdication.
Under the Emperors Tewodros II (1855–1868),
Mikael Sehul had compromised the power of the Em-
Yohannes IV (1872–1889), and Menelek II (1889–
peror, and from this point forward it lay ever more openly
1913), the empire began to emerge from its isolation.
in the hands of the great nobles and military commanders.
Under Emperor Tewodros II, the "Age of the Princes"
This point of time has been regarded as one start of the
(Zemene Mesafint) was brought to an end.
Era of the Princes.
An aged and infirm imperial uncle prince was enthroned
as Emperor Yohannes II. Ras Mikael soon had him mur- 7.1.1 Tewodros II and Tekle Giyorgis II (1855–
dered, and underage Tekle Haymanot II was elevated to 1872)
the throne.
Main article: British Expedition to Abyssinia
This bitter religious conflict contributed to hostility to- Emperor Tewodros (or Theodore) II was born Lij Kassa
ward foreign Christians and Europeans, which persisted
into the 20th century and was a factor in Ethiopia’s isola-
tion until the mid-19th century, when the first British mis-
sion, sent in 1805 to conclude an alliance with Ethiopia
and obtain a port on the Red Sea in case France con-
quered Egypt. The success of this mission opened
Ethiopia to many more travellers, missionaries and mer-
chants of all countries, and the stream of Europeans con-
tinued until well into Tewodros's reign.
This isolation was pierced by very few European trav-
ellers. One was the French physician C.J. Poncet, who
went there in 1698, via Sennar and the Blue Nile. Af-
ter him James Bruce entered the country in 1769, with
the object of discovering the sources of the Nile, which
he was convinced lay in Ethiopia. Accordingly, leaving
Massawa in September 1769, he travelled via Axum to
Gondar, where he was well received by Emperor Tekle
Haymanot II. He accompanied the king on a warlike
expedition round Lake Tana, moving South round the
eastern shore, crossing the Blue Nile (Abay) close to its
point of issue from the lake and returning via the west-
ern shore. Bruce subsequently returned to Egypt at the
end of 1772 by way of the upper Atbara, through the
kingdom of Sennar, the Nile, and the Korosko desert.
During the 18th century the most prominent rulers were
the emperor Dawit III of Gondar (died May 18, 1721), Emperor Tewodros II's rule is often placed as the beginning of
Amha Iyasus of Shewa, who consolidated his kingdom modern Ethiopia, ending the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era
and founded Ankober, and Tekle Giyorgis of Amhara) of the Princes).
– the last-mentioned is famous of having been elevated
to the throne altogether six times and also deposed six in Qwara, in 1818. His father was a small local chief, and
times. The first years of the 19th century were disturbed his relative (possible uncle) Dejazmach Kinfu was gov-
by fierce campaigns between Ras Gugsa of Begemder, ernor of the provinces of Dembiya, Qwara and Chelga
and Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray, who fought over con- between Lake Tana and the northwestern frontier. Kassa
trol of the figurehead Emperor Egwale Seyon. Wolde Se- lost his inheritance upon the death of Kinfu while he was
still a young boy. After receiving a traditional education
lassie was eventually the victor, and practically ruled the
in a local monastery, he went off to lead a band of bandits
whole country till his death in 1816 at the age of eighty.
that roved the country in a Robin Hood-like existence.
Dejazmach Sabagadis of Agame succeeded Wolde Se-
His exploits became widely known, and his band of fol-
lassie in 1817, through force of arms, to become warlord
lowers grew steadily until he led a formidable army. He
of Tigre.
came to the notice of the ruling Regent, Ras Ali, and his
mother Empress Menen Liben Amede (wife of the pup-
pet Emperor Yohannes III). In order to bind him to them,
Ras Ali and the Empress arranged for Kassa to marry
7 Modern Ali’s daughter, and upon the death of his uncle Kinfu,
he was made chief of Kwara and all Dembea with the
10 7 MODERN

title of Dejazmatch. He turned his attention to conquer- a few preliminary minor campaigns, to undertake offen-
ing the remaining chief divisions of the country, Gojjam, sive operations against the northern princes. But these
Tigray and Shewa, which still remained unsubdued. His projects were of little avail, for Ras Kassai of Tigray, had
relations with his father-in-law and grandmother-in-law by this time (1872) risen to supreme power in the north.
deteriorated however, and he soon took up arms against Proclaiming himself negusa nagast under the name of
them and their vassals, and was successful. Yohannes (or John) IV, he forced Sahle Maryam to ac-
knowledge his overlordship.
In early 1868, the British force seeking Tewodros’ surren-
der, after he refused to release imprisoned British sub-
jects, arrived on the coast of Massawa. The British and
Dajazmach Kassa came to an agreement in which Kassa
would let the British pass through Tigray (the British were
going to Magdala which Tewodros had made his capi-
tal) in exchange for money and weapons. Surely enough,
when the British completed their mission and were leav-
ing the country, they rewarded Kassa for his cooperation
with artillery, muskets, rifles, and munitions, all in all
worth approximately £500,000 (Marcus 2002, pp. 71–
72). This formidable gift came in handy when in July
1871 the current emperor, Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II, at-
tacked Kassa at his capital in Adwa, for Kassa had refused
to be named a ras or pay tribute (Marcus, H. 2002, 72).
Although Kassa’s army was outnumbered 12,000 to the
emperor’s 60,000, Kassa’s army was equipped with more
modern weapons and better trained. At battle’s end, forty
percent of the emperor’s men had been captured. The
Map of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the 19th century. emperor was imprisoned and would die a year later. Six
months later on 21 January 1872, Kassa became the new
On February 11, 1855, Kassa deposed the last of the emperor under the name Yohannes IV (Zewde, B. 2001,
Gondarine puppet Emperors, and was crowned negusa 43).
nagast of Ethiopia under the name of Tewodros II. He
soon after advanced against Shewa with a large army.
Chief of the notables opposing him was its king Haile
Melekot, a descendant of Meridazmach Asfa Wossen.
Dissensions broke out among the Shewans, and after a
desperate and futile attack on Tewodros at Dabra Berhan,
Haile Melekot died of illness, nominating with his last
breath his eleven-year-old son as successor (November
1855) under the name Negus Sahle Maryam (the future
emperor Menelek II). Darge, Haile Melekot’s brother,
and Ato Bezabih, a Shewan noble, took charge of the
young prince, but after a hard fight with Angeda, the
Shewans were obliged to capitulate. Sahle Maryam was
handed over to the Emperor, taken to Gondar, and there
trained in Tewodros’s service, and then placed in com-
fortable detention at the fortress of Magdala. Tewodoros
afterwards devoted himself to modernizing and centraliz- Abyssinia depicted on map before 1884 Berlin Conference to di-
ing the legal and administrative structure of his kingdom, vide Africa.
against the resistance of his governors. Sahle Maryam of
Shewa was married to Tewodros II’s daughter Alitash.
In 1865, Sahle Maryam escaped from Maqdala, aban- 7.1.2 Yohannes IV (1872–1889)
doning his wife, and arrived in Shewa, and was there
acclaimed as Negus. Tewodros forged an alliance be- Main articles: British Expedition to Abyssinia, Battle of
tween Britain and Ethiopia, but as explained in the next Adwa and Ethiopian–Egyptian War
section, he committed suicide after a military defeat by
the British. On the death of Tewodros, many Shewans, Ethiopia was never colonized by a European power, but
including Ras Darge, were released, and the young Ne- was occupied by Italians in 1936 (see below); how-
gus of Shewa began to feel himself strong enough, after ever, several colonial powers had interests and designs on
7.1 1855–1936 11

tle ensued at Gallabat, in which the dervishes, under Zeki

Tumal, were beaten. But a stray bullet struck the king,
and the Ethiopians decided to retire. The king died dur-
ing the night, and his body fell into the hands of the enemy
(March 9, 1889). When the news of Yohannes’s death
reached Sahle Maryam of Shewa, he proclaimed himself
emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, and received the submis-
sion of Begemder, Gojjam, the Yejju Oromo, and Tigray.

7.1.3 Menelik II (1889–1913)

Main article: Battle of Adwa

On May 2 of that same year, Emperor Menelik signed

Menelik II

Ethiopia in the context of the 19th century "Scramble for

Africa.”
When Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom, in 1867
failed to answer a letter Tewodros II of Ethiopia had sent
her, he took it as an insult and imprisoned several British
residents, including the consul. An army of 12,000 was
sent from Bombay to Ethiopia to rescue the captured na-
tionals, under the command of Sir Robert Napier. The
Ethiopians were defeated, and the British stormed the
fortress of Magdala (now known as Amba Mariam) on
April 13, 1868. When the Emperor heard that the gate
had fallen, he fired a pistol into his mouth and killed him-
self. Sir Robert Napier was raised to the peerage, and Ethiopia in 1908, according to a Rand McNally map
given the title of Lord Napier of Magdala.
The Italians now came on the scene. Asseb, a port near the Treaty of Wuchale with the Italians, granting them a
the southern entrance of the Red Sea, had been bought portion of Northern Ethiopia, the area that would later be
from the local sultan in March 1870 by an Italian com- Eritrea and part of the province of Tigray in return for the
pany, which, after acquiring more land in 1879 and 1880, promise of 30,000 rifles, ammunition, and cannons.[41]
was bought out by the Italian government in 1882. In this The Italians notified the European powers that this treaty
year Count Pietro Antonelli was dispatched to Shewa in gave them a protectorate over all of Ethiopia. Menelik
order to improve the prospects of the colony by treaties protested, showing that the Amharic version of the treaty
with Sahle Maryam of Shewa and the sultan of Aussa. said no such thing, but his protests were ignored.
In April 1888 the Italian forces, numbering over 20,000 On March 1, 1896, Ethiopia’s conflict with the Italians,
men, came in contact with the Ethiopian army, but ne- the First Italo–Ethiopian War, was resolved by the com-
plete defeat of the Italian armed forces at the Battle of
gotiations took the place of fighting, with the result that
Adowa. A provisional treaty of peace was concluded at
both forces retired, the Italians only leaving some 5,000
troops in Eritrea, later to become an Italian colony. Addis Ababa on October 26, 1896, which acknowledged
Meanwhile, the Emperor Yohannes IV had been engaged the independence of Ethiopia.
with the dervishes, who had in the meantime become Menelik granted the first railway concession, from the
masters of the Egyptian Sudan, and in 1887 a great bat- coast at Djibouti (French Somaliland) to the interior, to a
12 7 MODERN

French company in 1894. The railway was completed to

Dire Dawa, 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Harrar, by the
last day of 1902.
Under the reign of Menelik, beginning in the 1880s,
Ethiopia set off from the central province of Shoa, to in-
corporate 'the lands and people of the South, East and
West into an empire'.[42] The people incorporated were
the western Oromo (non Shoan Oromo), Sidama, Gurage,
Wolayta and other groups.[43] He began expanding his
kingdom to the south and east, expanding into areas that
had never been under his rule, resulting in the borders of
Ethiopia of today. He did this with the help of Ras Gob-
ena's Shewan Oromo militia.[44] During the conquest of
the Oromo, the Ethiopian Army carried mass atrocities
against the Oromo population including mass mutilation,
mass killings and large scale slavery.[45][46][47] Some es-
timates for the number of people killed as a result of the
conquest go into the millions.[48][49][50] Large scale atroc-
ities were also committed against the Dizi people and the
people of the Kaficho kingdom.[51][52]

7.1.4 Iyasu V, Zauditu and Haile Selassie (1913–

1936)

Main articles: Battle of Adwa and Ethiopian coup d'état

of 1928
When Menelik II died, his grandson, Lij Iyassu, suc-
ceeded to the throne but soon lost support because of his
Muslim ties. He was deposed in 1916 by the Christian Iyasu V (Lij Iyasu), Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913–16.
nobility, and Menelik’s daughter, Zauditu, was made em-
press. Her cousin, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was made re-
gent and successor to the throne. for aid in resisting the Italians. Nevertheless, the country
Upon the death of Empress Zauditu in 1930, Ras Tafari was formally annexed on May 9, 1936 and the Emperor
Makonnen, adopting the throne name Haile Selassie, was went into exile.
crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. His full ti- The war was full of cruelty: the Ethiopians used Dum-
tle was “His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquer- dum bullets (prohibited by the Hague Convention of
ing Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia 1899, Declaration IV,3) and the Italians used gas (pro-
and Elect of God.” hibited under the Geneva Protocol of 1922).[53] Many
Following the death of Abba Jifar II of Jimma, Emperor Ethiopians died in the invasion. The Negus claimed that
Haile Selassie seized the opportunity to annex Jimma. In more than 275,000 Ethiopian fighters were killed com-
1932, the Kingdom of Jimma was formally absorbed into pared to only 1,537 Italians, while the Italian authorities
Ethiopia. During the reorganization of the provinces in estimated that 16,000 Ethiopians and 2,700 Italians (in-
1942, Jimma vanished into Kaffa Province. cluding Italian colonial troops) died in battle.[54]
Italy in 1936 requested the League of Nations to recog-
nize the annexation of Ethiopia: all member nations (in-
7.2 Italian period (1936–1941) cluding Britain and France), with the exception of the
Soviet Union, voted to support it. The King of Italy
Main articles: Second Italo-Abyssinian War and Italian (Victor Emmanuel III) was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia
East Africa and the Italians created an Italian empire in Africa (Italian
East Africa) with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Soma-
Emperor Haile Selassie’s reign was interrupted in 1935 lia. In 1937 Mussolini boasted that, with his conquest
when Italian forces invaded and occupied Ethiopia. of Ethiopia, “finally Adua was avenged” and that he had
[55]
The Italian army, under the direction of dictator Benito abolished slavery in Ethiopia.
Mussolini, invaded Ethiopian territory on October 2, The Italians invested substantively in Ethiopian infras-
1935. They occupied the capital Addis Ababa on May 5. tructure development. They created the “imperial road”
Emperor Haile Selassie pleaded to the League of Nations between Addis Abeba and Massaua, the Addis Abeba –
7.4 Post–World War II period (1941–1974) 13

Saudi Arabia
Red
Sea
Aden
Anglo-Egyptian Asmara Yemen (Britain)
Sudan
(Britain and Egypt) Eritrea
Gulf of Aden
Gondar
French Somaliland
Amara (France)

British Somaliland
Scioa Harar (Britain)
Galla- Addis
Ababa
Sidamo Harrar
Jimma

Somalia

Uganda
(Britain) Mogadishu
Indian Ocean
Kenya
(Britain)
Haile Selassie’s reign as emperor of Ethiopia is the best known
and perhaps most influential in the nation’s history.

Map of Italian East Africa after Italy’s annexation of Ethiopia,

as part of the Italian Empire 7.4 Post–World War II period (1941–
1974)
Main articles: Modernization under Haile Selassie and
Mogadishu and the Addis Abeba – Assab. 900 km Eritrean War of Independence[56]

of railways were reconstructed or initiated (like the rail- After World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie exerted nu-
way between Addis Abeba and Assab), dams and hydro-
electric plants were built, and many public and private
companies were established in the underdeveloped coun-
try. The most important were: “Compagnie per il co-
tone d'Etiopia” (Cotton industry); “Cementerie d'Etiopia”
(Cement industry); “Compagnia etiopica mineraria”
(Minerals industry); “Imprese elettriche d'Etiopia” (Elec-
tricity industry); “Compagnia etiopica degli esplosivi”
(Armament industry); “Trasporti automobilistici (Citao)"
(Mechanic & Transport industry).
Much of these improvements were part of a plan to bring
half a million Italians to colonize the Ethiopian plateaus.
In October 1939 the Italian colonists in Ethiopia were
35,441, of whom 30,232 male (85.3%) and 5,209 fe-
male (14.7%), most of them living in urban areas.[57]
Only 3,200 Italian farmers moved to colonize farm ar-
eas, where they were under sporadic attack by pro-Haile Population in 1976 Ethiopia, when Eritrea was the fourteenth
Selassie guerrillas. province.

merous efforts to promote the modernization of his na-

tion. The country’s first important school of higher edu-
cation, University College of Addis Ababa, was founded
in 1950. The Constitution of 1931 was replaced with the
7.3 World War II 1955 constitution which expanded the powers of the Par-
liament. While improving diplomatic ties with the United
Main article: East African Campaign (World War II) States, Haile Selassie also sought to improve the nation’s
In spring 1941 the Italians were defeated by British and relationship with other African nations. To do this, in
Allied forces (including Ethiopian forces). On May 5, 1963, he helped to found the Organisation of African
1941, Emperor Haile Selassie re-entered Addis Ababa Unity.
and returned to the throne. The Italians, after their final In 1961 the 30-year Eritrean Struggle for Independence
stand at Gondar in November 1941, conducted a guerrilla began, following the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie
war in Ethiopia, that lasted until summer 1943. After the I's dissolution of the federation and shutting down the
defeat of Italy, Ethiopia annexed the former Italian colony Eritrean parliament. The Emperor declared Eritrea the
of Eritrea. fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962.[58] The Negus
14 7 MODERN

suffered criticism due to the expenses involved in fight-

ing the Nationalist forces.
By the early 1970s Emperor Haile Selassie’s advanced
age was becoming apparent. As Paul B. Henze explains:
“Most Ethiopians thought in terms of personalities, not
ideology, and out of long habit still looked to Haile Se-
lassie as the initiator of change, the source of status and
privilege, and the arbiter of demands for resources and at-
tention among competing groups.”[59] The nature of the
succession, and of the desirability of the Imperial monar-
chy in general, were in dispute amongst the Ethiopian
people.
Perceptions of this war as imperialist were among the pri-
mary causes of the growing Ethiopian Marxist movement.
In the early 1970s, the Ethiopian Communists received
the support of the Soviet Union under the leadership of
Leonid Brezhnev. This help lead to the 1974 marxist
coup of Mengistu.
The government’s failure to effect significant economic
and political reforms over the previous fourteen years cre-
ated a climate of unrest. Combined with rising inflation,
corruption, a famine that affected several provinces (es-
pecially Welo and Tigray) but was concealed from the
outside world, and the growing discontent of urban in-
terest groups, the country was ripe for revolution. The
unrest that began in January 1974 became an outburst of Tanks in the streets of Addis Ababa after rebels seized the capital
general discontent. The Ethiopian military, with assis- during the Ethiopian Civil War.
tance from the Comintern, began to both organize and
incite a full-fledged revolution.[60]
itary in style. The Derg summarily executed 59 members
7.5 Communist period (1974–1991) of the former government, including two former Prime
Ministers and Crown Councilors, Court officials, minis-
Main articles: Derg, Ethiopian Civil War, Red Terror ters, and generals. Emperor Haile Selassie died on Au-
(Ethiopia) and Ethio-Somali War gust 22, 1975. He was allegedly strangled in the basement
[61]
After a period of civil unrest which began in February of his palace or smothered with a wet pillow.
Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam assumed power as head
of state and Derg chairman, after having his two prede-
cessors killed, as well as tens of thousands of other sus-
pected opponents. The new Marxist government under-
took socialist reforms, including nationalisation of land-
lords’ property[62] and the church’s property. Before the
coup, Ethiopian peasants’ way of life was thoroughly in-
fluenced by the church teachings; 280 days a year are re-
ligious feasts or days of rest. Mengistu’s years in office
were marked by a totalitarian-style government and the
country’s massive militarization, financed by the Soviet
Union and the Eastern Bloc, and assisted by Cuba. In De-
cember 1976, an Ethiopian delegation in Moscow signed
a military assistance agreement with the Soviet Union.
High ranking Derg members; Mengistu Haile Mariam, Teferi The following April 1977, Ethiopia abrogated its military
Benti and Atnafu Abate.
assistance agreement with the United States and expelled
1974, the aging Emperor Haile Selassie I was removed the American military missions.
from his position. On September 12, 1974, a provisional The new regime in Ethiopia met with armed resis-
administrative council of soldiers, known as the Derg tance from the large landowners, the royalists and the
(“committee”) seized power from the emperor and in- nobility.[62] The center of resistance was largely cen-
stalled a government which was socialist in name and mil- tered in the province of Eritrea.[63] The Derg decided in
 15

November 1974 to pursue war in Eritrea rather than seek

a negotiated settlement. By mid-1976, the resistance had
gained control of most of the town and the countryside of
Eritrea.[64]
In July 1977, sensing the disarray in Ethiopia, Somalia
attacked across the Ogaden in pursuit of its irredentist
claims to the ethnic Somali areas of Ethiopia (see Ogaden
War).[65] They were assisted in this invasion by the armed
Western Somali Liberation Front. Ethiopian forces were
driven back far inside their own frontiers but, with the Flag of Ethiopia.
assistance of a massive Soviet airlift of arms and 17,000
Cuban combat forces, they stemmed the attack.[66] The
last major Somali regular units left the Ogaden March 15,
Eritrea separated from Ethiopia following the fall of the
1978. Twenty years later, the Somali region of Ethiopia
Derg in 1991, after a long independentist war.
remains under-developed and insecure.
In 1994, a new constitution was written that formed a
From 1977 through early 1978, thousands of suspected
bicameral legislature and a judicial system. An elec-
enemies of the Derg were tortured and/or killed in a
tion took place in May 1995 in which Meles Zenawi
purge called the "Red Terror". Communism was offi-
was elected the Prime Minister and Negasso Gidada was
cially adopted during the late 1970s and early 1980s; in
elected President. Also at this time, the members of the
1984, the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE) was estab-
Parliament were elected. Ethiopia’s second multiparty
lished, and on February 1, 1987, a new Soviet-style civil-
election was held in May 2000. Prime Minister Meles
ian constitution was submitted to a popular referendum.
was one again elected as Prime Minister in October 2000.
It was officially endorsed by 81% of voters, and in ac-
In October 2001, Lieutenant Girma Wolde-Giorgis was
cordance with this new constitution, the country was re-
elected president.
named the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on
September 10, 1987, and Mengistu became president. In 2005, during the general elections in Ethiopia, al-
legations of irregularities that brought victory to the
The regime’s collapse was hastened by droughts and
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front re-
famine, which affected around 8 million people, leav-
sulted in widespread protests in which the government
ing 1 million dead, as well as by insurrections, particu-
is accused of massacring civilians (see Ethiopian police
larly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea. The
massacres).
regime also conducted a brutal campaign of resettlement
and villagization in Ethiopia in the 1980s. In 1989, the With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with the
Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with rise of radical Islamism, Ethiopia again turned to the
other ethnically based opposition movements to form Western powers for alliance and assistance. After the
the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front September 11 attacks in 2001, the Ethiopian army began
(EPRDF). In May 1991, EPRDF forces advanced on to train with US forces based out of the Combined Joint
Addis Ababa. Mengistu fled the country to asylum in Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) established
Zimbabwe, where he still resides. in Djibouti, in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.
Ethiopia allowed the US to station military advisors at
Hundreds of thousands were killed due to the Red Terror,
Camp Hurso.[69]
forced deportations, or from using hunger as a weapon.[67]
In 2006, after a long trial, Mengistu was found guilty of In 2006, an Islamic organisation seen by many as hav-
genocide.[68] ing ties with al-Qaeda, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU),
spread rapidly in Somalia. Ethiopia sent logistical support
to the Transitional Federal Government opposing the Is-
lamists. Finally, on December 20, 2006, active fighting
8 The Federal Democratic Repub- broke out between the ICU and Ethiopian Army. As the
Islamist forces were of no match against the Ethiopian
lic (1991–present) regular army, they decided to retreat and merge among
the civilians, and most of the ICU-held Somalia was
In July 1991, the EPRDF, the Oromo Liberation Front quickly taken. Human Rights Watch accused Ethiopia of
(OLF), and others established the Transitional Govern- various abuses including indiscriminate killing of civil-
ment of Ethiopia (TGE) which was composed of an 87- ians during the Battle of Mogadishu (March – April
member Council of Representatives and guided by a na- 2007). Ethiopian forces pulled out of Somalia in January
tional charter that functioned as a transitional constitu- 2009, leaving a small African Union force and smaller
tion. In June 1992, the OLF withdrew from the govern- Somali Transitional Government force to maintain the
ment; in March 1993, members of the Southern Ethiopia peace. Reports immediately emerged of religious funda-
Peoples’ Democratic Coalition also left the government. mentalist forces occupying one of two former Ethiopian
16
bases in Mogadishu shortly after withdrawal.[70]
Meles Zenawi died on 20 August 2012 and was succeeded
by Hailemariam Desalegn. Mulatu Teshome was elected
president on 7 October 2013.[71]
9 See also
10 Further reading
• African Zion, the Sacred Art of Ethiopia. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
• Antonicelli, Franco (1961). Trent'anni di storia ital-
iana 1915 – 1945. Torino: Mondadori.
• Bahru Zewde (2001). A History of Modern Ethiopia,
1855–1974 (2nd ed.). Oxford: James Currey.
ISBN 978-0-852-55786-0.
• Bernand, Étienne; Drewes, Abraham Johannes;
Schneider,Roger; Anfray,Francis (1991). Recueil
des inscriptions de l'Ethiopie des périodes pré-
axoumite et axoumite. Académie des inscriptions et
belles-lettres, De Boccard. ASIN B0000EAFWP.
• Del Boca, Angelo (1985). Italiani in Africa Ori-
entale: La conquista dell'Impero. Roma: Laterza.
ISBN 88-420-2715-4.
• Gibbons, Ann. The First Human : The Race to Dis-
cover our Earliest Ancestor. Anchor Books (2007).
ISBN 978-1-4000-7696-3
• Henze, Paul B. (2000). A History of Ethiopia. Lay-
ers of Time. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1-
85065-393-3.
• Johanson, Donald & Wong, Kate. Lucy’s Legacy :
The Quest for Human Origins. Three Rivers Press
(2009). ISBN 978-0-307-39640-2
• Markakis, John & Nega Ayele (1978). Class and
Revolution in Ethiopia. Addis Abeba: Shama Books.
ISBN 99944-0-008-8.
• Marcus, Harold A History of Ethiopia, Berkeley
1994.
• Mauri, Arnaldo (2003), The early development of
banking in Ethiopia, “International Review of Eco-
nomics”, ISSN 1865-1704, Vol. 50, n. 4, pp. 521–
543. WP of the same author [72]
• Mauri, Arnaldo (2009), The re-establishment of the
national monetary and banking system in Ethiopia,
1941–1963, South African Journal of Economic His-
tory, ISSN 1011-3436, Vol. 24, n. 2, pp. 82–130.
11 REFERENCES
• Mauri, Arnaldo “Monetary developments and de-
colonization in Ethiopia”, Acta Universitatis Danu-
bius Œconomica, ISSN 2065-0175, Vol. 6 n. 1,
2010, pp. 5–16.[73]
• Munro-Hay,Stuart (1992). Aksum: An African
Civilisation of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University
Press. ISBN 0-7486-0209-7.
• Pankhurst, Richard (2001). The Ethiopians: A His-
tory (Peoples of Africa). Wiley-Blackwell; New Ed
edition. ISBN 0-631-22493-9.
• Pankhurst, Richard (2005). Historic images of
Ethiopia. Addis Abeba: Shama books. ISBN
99944-0-015-0.
• Phillipson, David W. (2003). Aksum: an archaeo-
logical introduction and guide. Nairobi: The British
Institute in Eastern Africa. ISBN 1-872566-19-7.
• Sergew Hable Selassie. Ancient and Medieval
Ethiopian History to 1270 Addis Ababa: United
Printers, 1972.
• Taddesse Tamrat. Church and State in Ethiopia,
1270–1527 Hollywood, CA: Tsehai Publishers &
Distributors, second printing with new preface and
new foreword 2009.
• Vestal, Theodor M. “Consequences of the British
occupation of Ethiopia during World War II”, B.J.
Ward (ed), Rediscovering the British Empire, Mel-
bourne 2007.
• Young, John (1993). Peasant Revolution in Ethiopia:
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, 1975–1991.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59198-8.
11 References
[1] “Ethiopia: One of the world’s fastest growing economies”.
BBC News. 15 November 2011.
[2] “Melka Kunture”. Sapienza University of Rome. Re-
trieved 8 January 2013.
[3] Ansari, Azadeh (October 7, 2009). “Oldest human skele-
ton offers new clues to evolution”. CNN.com/technology.
Retrieved 2 March 2011.
[4] “Mother of man – 3.2 million years ago”. Bbc.co.uk. Re-
trieved 2009-03-16.
[5] Schuster, Angela M.H. “World’s Oldest Stone Tools”. Ar-
chaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 8 January
2013.
[6] “Oldest tool use and meat-eating revealed”. The Natural
History Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2013.

[7] White, Tim D., Asfaw, B., DeGusta, D., Gilbert,
H., Richards, G.D., Suwa, G. and Howell, F.C.
(2003). “Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle
Awash, Ethiopia”. Nature 423 (6491): 742–747.
doi:10.1038/nature01669. PMID 12802332.
[8] Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands: Es-
says in Regional History from Ancient Times to The
End of the 18th century (Asmara: Red Sea Press,
Inc., 1997), pp.4–5, https://books.google.com/books?id=
zpYBD3bzW1wC
[9] Agatharchides, in Wilfred Harvey Schoff (Secretary of the
Commercial Museum of Philadelphia) with a foreword by
W. P. Wilson, Sc. Director, The Philadelphia Museums.
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the
Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century, Trans-
lated from the Greek and Annotated (1912). New York,
New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., pages 50 (for at-
tribution) and 57 (for quote).
[10] Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in
Regional History from Ancient Times to The End of the
18th century (Asmara: Red Sea Press, Inc., 1997), p.4,
https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC.
[11] Laurent Bavay, Thierry de Putter, Barbara Adams,
Jacques Novez, Luc André, 2000. The Origin of Obsidian
in Predynastic and Early Dynastic Upper Egypt, MDAIK
56 (2000), pp. 5–20. See on-line post: .
[12] Richard Lobban, Historical Dictionary of Ancient and
Medieval Nubia, Scarecrow Press, 2004. p.1–1i
[13] David M. Goldenberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slav-
ery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, p. 18.
[14] Noah Webster, The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and
New Testaments, in the Common Version, p. xiv
[15] Reilly, W. (1908). Cush. In The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April
19, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/
cathen/04575c.htm
[16] Rodney Steven Sadler, Can a Cushite Change His Skin?:
An Examination of Race, Ethnicity, And Othering in the
Hebrew Bible.
[17] http://concordances.org/hebrew/3568.htm
[18] http://www.jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/293/
293_Sheba2.pdf
[19] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/
5890-ethiopia
[20] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4815-cush
[21] Munro-Hay, Aksum, p. 57.
[22] Phillipson. "The First Millennium BC in the Highlands of
Northern Ethiopia and South–Central Eritrea: A Reassess-
ment of Cultural and Political Development”. African Ar-
chaeological Review (2009) 26:257–274
[23] Uhlig, Siegbert (ed.), Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha.
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. p. 185.
17
[24] Yuri M. Kobishchanov, Axum, Joseph W. Michels, edi-
tor; Lorraine T. Kapitanoff, translator, (University Park,
Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 1979), pp.54–
59.
[25] Expressed, for example, in his The Historical Geography
of Ethiopia (London: the British Academy, 1989), p.39.
[26] Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum, p. 81.
[27] Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum, p.56.
[28] Kobishchanov, Axum, p.116.
[29] Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum, pp.95–98.
[30] Negash, Tekeste. “The Zagwe period re-interpreted: post-
Aksumite Ethiopian urban culture” (PDF). Retrieved 17
March 2014.
[31] Erlich, Haggai. The Cross and the River; Ethiopia, Egypt
and the Nile. Boulder: Lynne Rienne Publishers, 2002.
p.41–43
[32] Erlich, p. 37.
[33] Pankhurst, Richard. The Ethiopians, A History. Malden:
Blackwell Publishers, Inc, 1998. p.77–85.
[34] Marcus, Harold (1994). A History of Ethiopia.
[35] Baynes, Thomas Spencer (1838). “Abyssinia”. The Ency-
clopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and
General Literature, Volume 1 (Ninth ed.). Henry G. Allen
and Company. p. 65.
[36] Grade 9th History text
[37] Kiros, Teodoros. “The Meditations of Zara Yaquob”. Re-
trieved 18 September 2012.
[38] Abir, p. 23 n.1.
[39] Abir, pp. 23–26.
[40] Trimingham, p. 262.
[41] Pakenham, The Scramble for Africa, pp. 472–3
[42] John Young (1998). “Regionalism and Democracy
in Ethiopia”. Third World Quarterly 19 (2): 192.
doi:10.1080/01436599814415. JSTOR 3993156.
[43] International Crisis Group, “Ethnic Federalism and its
Discontents”. Issue 153 of ICG Africa report (4 Septem-
ber 2009) p. 2.
[44] Edward C. Keefer (1973). “Great Britain and Ethiopia
1897–1910: Competition for Empire”. International
Journal of African Studies 6 (3): 470. JSTOR 216612.
[45] Conquest, Tyranny, and Ethnocide against the Oromo:
A Historical Assessment of Human Rights Conditions in
Ethiopia, ca. 1880s–2002 by Mohammed Hassen, North-
east African Studies Volume 9, Number 3, 2002 (New
Series)
[46] Genocidal violence in the making of nation and state in
Ethiopia by Mekuria Bulcha, African Sociological Review
18
[47] Conquest, Tyranny, and Ethnocide against the Oromo:
A Historical Assessment of Human Rights Conditions in
Ethiopia, ca. 1880s–2002 by Mohammed Hassen, North-
east African Studies Volume 9, Number 3, 2002 (New
Series)
[48] A. K. Bulatovich Ethiopia Through Russian Eyes: Coun-
try in Transition, 1896–1898, translated by Richard
Seltzer, 2000
[49] Conquest, Tyranny, and Ethnocide against the Oromo:
A Historical Assessment of Human Rights Conditions in
Ethiopia, ca. 1880s–2002 by Mohammed Hassen, North-
east African Studies Volume 9, Number 3, 2002 (New
Series)
[50] Power and Powerlessness in Contemporary Ethiopia by
Alemayehu Kumsa, Charles University in Prague
[51] Power and Powerlessness in Contemporary Ethiopia by
Alemayehu Kumsa, Charles University in Prague
[52] Haberland, “Amharic Manuscript”, pp. 241f
[53] Antonicelli, Franco. Trent'anni di storia italiana 1915 –
1945, p. 79.
[54] Antonicelli, Franco. Trent'anni di storia italiana 1915 –
1945, p. 133.
[55] Del Boca, Angelo. Italiani in Africa Orientale: La con-
quista dell'Impero, p.131.
[56] 1940 Article on the special road Addis Abeba-Assab and
map (in Italian)
[57] Italian emigration in Etiopia (in Italian)
[58] Semere Haile The Origins and Demise of the Ethiopia-
Eritrea Federation Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 15,
1987 (1987), pp. 9–17
[59] Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia
(New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 282.
[60] Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, ed. (1991). A
Country Study: Ethiopia (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.:
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN
0-8444-0739-9.
[61] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence (Public Affairs Publishing: New
York, 2005) p. 217.
[62] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence, p. 244.
[63] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence, p. 245.
[64] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence, p. 245–246.
[65] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence, p. 246.
[66] Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence, p. 247.
11 REFERENCES
[67] Stéphane Courtois, ed. (1997). The Black Book of Com-
munism. Harvard University Press. pp. 687–695. ISBN
978-0-674-07608-2.
[68] “Mengistu found guilty of genocide”. BBC News. Decem-
ber 12, 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
[69] “U.S. trainers prepare Ethiopians to fight”. Stars and
Stripes. 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
[70] “Somali joy as Ethiopians withdraw”. BBC News. January
13, 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
[71] Kussa, Mulugeta (2013-10-07). “Dr. Mulatu Teshome
elected new President of Ethiopia”. Ertagov.com
(Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency). Retrieved
2013-10-07.
[72] https://ideas.repec.org/p/mil/wpdepa/2003-04.html
[73] https://ideas.repec.org/p/mil/wpdepa/2010-15
11.1 Videography
• Adwa: an African victory, Haïlé Gerima, US, 1999,
Mypheduh Films, 97 min
• Fascist Legacy, Ken Kirby, Royaume-Uni, 1989,
documentary 2x50min Fascist Legacy on YouTube
11.2 Historical documents
• d'Abaddie, Arnauld Michel (1815–1894?), Douze
ans de séjour dans la Haute-Éthiopie, Tome Ier,
Paris, 1868
• Alvares, Francisco in: Giovanni Battista Ramusio
Historiale description de l'Ethiopie, contenant vraye
relation des terres, & pais du grand Roy & Empereur
Prete-Ian, l'assiette de ses royaumes & provinces,
leurs coutumes, loix & religion, avec les pourtraits
de leur temples & autres singularitez, cy devant non
cogneues, Anvers, Omnisys, 1558, BNF
• Blanc, Henri (1831–1911), Ma captivité en
Abyssinie sous l'empereur Théodoros – avec des dé-
tails sur l'Empereur Theodros, sa vie, ses mœurs, son
peuple, son pays, traduit de l'anglais par Madame
Arbousse-Bastide.
• Bruce, James, Jean-Henri Castéra, Charles-Joseph
Panckoucke, Pierre Plassan, Voyage en Nubie et en
Abyssinie entrepris pour découvrir les sources du Nil,
Paris, 1791
• Budge, E. A. Wallis, The Queen of Sheba and her
only son Menelik, London 1932.
• Castanhoso, The Portuguese expedition to Abyssinia
in 1541–1543 as narrated by Castanhoso; translated
and introduced by Whitrich (Archive.org)
 19

• Ferret, Pierre Victor Ad., Joseph Germain Galinier 12 External links

Voyage en Abyssinie dans les provinces du Tigré, du
Samen et de l'Amhara, Paris, 1847
• Giffre de Rechac, Jean de Les estranges evenemens
du voyage de Son Altesse, le serenissime prince Zaga-
Christ d'Ethiopie, Hachette, Paris, 1635, BNF
• The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Travel and Trade
in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Cen-
tury
• Reybaud, Louis Voyage dans l’Abyssinie mérid-
ionale, Revue des Deux Mondes, tome 27, Paris,
1841
• (Amharic) Original letters from Ethiopian emper-
ors, website of the national archives of Addis Abeba
• Ethiopian warrior, Ancient Greek Alabastron, 480-
470 BC
• Pankhurst, Dr. Richard. “History of Northern
Ethiopia – and the Establishment of the Italian
Colony or Eritrea”. Civic Webs Virtual Library. Re-
trieved March 25, 2005.
• ETHIOPIA – A Country Study (at the Library of
Congress)
• Fighting Hunger and poverty in Ethiopia (Peter Mid-
dlebrook)
• “The history of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia” (Hartford Web Publishing website)

11.3 Articles This article incorporates text from a publication now

in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).
• A Brief History of Trade and Business in Ethiopia "article name needed ". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
from Ancient to Modern Times, Dr. Richard Cambridge University Press.
Pankhurst, 1999: set of 2 articles published in
the Addis Tribune summarizing a speech by Dr.
Pankhurst at the 74’th District Conference and As-
sembly of Rotary International, in Addis Ababa 7–9
May 1999
• Ethiopia Across the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, Dr.
Richard Pankhurst, 1999: set of 3 articles pub-
lished in the Addis Tribune newspaper in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, on the relations between Ethiopia
and countries on the Indian Ocean in ancient and
early medieval times
• A History of Early Twentieth Century Ethiopia, Dr.
Richard Pankhurst, 1997: set of 20 articles pub-
lished in the Addis Tribune summarizing the history
of Ethiopia from the beginning of the 20th century
until the 1960s
• History of Northern Ethiopia – and the Establish-
ment of the Italian Colony or Eritrea, Dr. Richard
Pankhurst, 1999: article published in the Addis Tri-
bune showing how Eritrea has historically been a
part of Ethiopia
• Mauri, Arnaldo (2003), “The early development of
banking in Ethiopia”, International Review of Eco-
nomics, ISSN 1865-1704, Vol. L, n. 4, Abstract
• Mauri, Arnaldo (2009), The re-establishment of the
national monetary and banking system in Ethiopia,
1941–1963, The South African Journal of Eco-
nomic History, ISSN 1011-3436, Vol. 24, n. 2, pp.
82–130.
• Mauri, Arnaldo (2010), Monetary developments and
decolonization in Ethiopia, Acta Universitatis Danu-
bius Œconomica, ISSN 2065-0175, VI, n. 1/2010,
pp. 5–16. and
20 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

13 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

13.1 Text
• History of Ethiopia Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ethiopia?oldid=718605371 Contributors: Mav, Wesley, Koyaa-
nis Qatsi, XJaM, SimonP, Hotlorp, Olivier, Ubiquity, Paul Barlow, Llywrch, DopefishJustin, Mic, Ixfd64, Sannse, Ahoerstemeier, Docu,
Jpatokal, Kingturtle, Kragen, Error, Wik, Imc, Joy, Warofdreams, Jerzy, Phil Boswell, Vardion, Chrism, Nurg, Romanm, Mirv, Cscotts,
Rursus, Ktotam, Jeroen, SoLando, HaeB, GreatWhiteNortherner, Oberiko, Peruvianllama, Everyking, Michael Devore, Waltpohl, Gil-
gamesh~enwiki, Per Honor et Gloria, Golbez, Gyrofrog, Gdr, Sam Hocevar, Loopy, Mike Rosoft, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Aris
Katsaris, Dbachmann, Bender235, El C, Cherry blossom tree, Kwamikagami, Vanished user kjij32ro9j4tkse, Galf, Bobo192, Vervin,
Menelik~enwiki, Darwinek, Bobbis, Pearle, Mdd, Mark Dingemanse, Arthena, Fornadan, Yhever, Bantman, Snowolf, BanyanTree, Oyster-
toadfish, Heronimo sehmi, Ultramarine, Natalya, FrancisTyers, Angr, Kelly Martin, Woohookitty, Mshara1, PatGallacher, Jftsang, Jacobo-
lus, Pbhj, Briangotts, Tabletop, John Hill, Amartine, Paxsimius, BD2412, Drmaass, Rjwilmsi, Ligulem, FayssalF, Miskin, Ian Pitchford,
Ground Zero, CalJW, Nihiltres, GünniX, Spudtater, Merhawie, Magbatz, Codex Sinaiticus, Kenmayer, King of Hearts, Chobot, Spase-
munki, Gdrbot, Bgwhite, YurikBot, Wavelength, Sceptre, RussBot, Supernova490, Shell Kinney, Zekerags, Stassats, NawlinWiki, Spike
Wilbury, Aeusoes1, The Ogre, Ezeu, Zwobot, DeadEyeArrow, Mddake, Sven-steffen arndt, ThirteenthGreg, 21655, Pb30, De Adminis-
trando Imperio, Red Jay, Elfalem, 4shizzal, Archer7, Asterion, Roke, KnightRider~enwiki, SmackBot, Mscuthbert, Dpwkbw, Amorphia,
Alana Smithy, Gilliam, Hmains, Skizzik, Chris the speller, Bistropha, Hibernian, Constanz, Eusebeus, Kelvin Case, Size J Battery, Chlew-
bot, OrphanBot, Rrburke, Puddingpie, Yom, Windupcanary, Qwerty0, Chymicus, Khazar, John, Gobonobo, Mgiganteus1, IronGargoyle,
JialiangGao, CharlesMartel, Martian.knight, Halaqah, Dantheman102100, Norm mit, HisSpaceResearch, OttomanReference, Yodin, Shoe-
ofdeath, Thricecube, FairuseBot, Tawkerbot2, Jvol, Vanisaac, ChrisCork, JForget, CmdrObot, Ldingley, AshLin, Themightyquill, Citan-
uleht, Futureobservatory, Doug Weller, Legis, Kozuch, Asiaticus, JamesAM, Varavour, Cluckbang, Ntsukunyane Mphanya, Nick Num-
ber, AntiVandalBot, Bocephusjohnson, DuncanHill, Ironinmohscale, The Transhumanist, Arch dude, VoABot II, DoomScythe, Ling.Nut,
Dak06, Crazytonyi, Silentaria, Brunodam, Patstuart, Scaletail, MartinBot, Mmoneypenny, Wowaconia, RoboRanks, Asal46, Plasticup,
Belovedfreak, Dierk Lange~enwiki, Zheim, DorganBot, Idioma-bot, VolkovBot, Macedonian, Bry9000, Philip Trueman, TXiKiBoT, Vip-
inhari, Andres rojas22, LeaveSleaves, Mkpumphrey, Brianga, Juggernautthunderclap, Logan, Demize, FlyingLeopard2014, Fixipedia, SD
Martin61, StAnselm, Calliopejen1, Steorra, WereSpielChequers, Slide Maintenance, Til Eulenspiegel, Flyer22 Reborn, Fiseha D. Letta,
Yerpo, Filos96, Antonio Lopez, Goustien, Lightmouse, Mátyás, Sean.hoyland, Hamiltondaniel, Alfons Åberg, ClueBot, XPTO, Drmies,
Mild Bill Hiccup, Auntof6, Mkativerata, Excirial, Alexbot, Mumia-w-18, Sun Creator, SoxBot III, Benjamin M. A'Lee, WikHead, Ad-
dbot, Some jerk on the Internet, Ronhjones, Fieldday-sunday, Debresser, Blaylockjam10, Yonaka, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Middayexpress,
Luckas-bot, Yobot, WellsSouth, CinchBug, AnomieBOT, Archon 2488, DuilioM, Kingpin13, Flewis, Materialscientist, Mariomassone,
Lele giannoni, J04n, Sabanglana, ProtectionTaggingBot, Uxbona, Vittuone, Guner1234, Arnaldo Mauri, Recognizance, M2545, D A R C
12345, DrilBot, Pinethicket, I dream of horses, Deguef, SkyMachine, Lotje, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Lee Manchester, Onel5969, Rjwilm-
siBot, DanTheRoman, WildBot, Salvio giuliano, Mace123, EmausBot, John of Reading, WikitanvirBot, Wikipelli, K6ka, ZéroBot, Sun-
dostund, Donner60, MALLUS, PassionOrPain, Bill william compton, The White Hart of Wikiwood, ClueBot NG, Tron9698, DanTrent,
‫אדעולם‬, Helpful Pixie Bot, GuySh, BG19bot, MusikAnimal, 8Magicgiven, Joshdcovington, BattyBot, Mediran, YFdyh-bot, Stumink,
Placeratethio, EmperorOfSiberia, Placeatethio, Dexbot, Mogism, Janweh64, Intlcorn, Meti04, Saveis18, Spinel9876, Addprogress, Perfect
Masiya, Lovingkindness7, Ace score, SantiLak, Gembres, Djehuti Sekhemresementawy, Amortias, HMSLavender, Yehudakonjoset, Sal-
lyfam, Mahlet Fasil, Daduxing, YeOldeGentleman, Ej276, King Kashta, L0st H0r!z0ns, Genious12999, EthiopianHabesha, HeirOfSumer,
Bambamtambalamb, OrganicEarth, Uxy, Peter SamFan, EastAE2919 and Anonymous: 314

13.2 Images
• File:Abyssinia1891map_excerpt2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Abyssinia1891map_excerpt2.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Addis_Ababa-8e00855u.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Addis_Ababa-8e00855u.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the
digital ID fsa.8e00855.
This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.
Original artist: British Press Service, no 3757
Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
• File:African_Map_in_1840.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/African_Map_in_1840.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Original publication: 1843
Immediate source: http://www.themapdatabase.com/1843/10/ Original artist: University of Florida Map and Imagery Library - Africa
(Life time: 175)
• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Cristofano_dell’Altissimo,_Portrait_of_Lebnä-Dengel._c._1552-1568.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/4/45/Cristofano_dell%E2%80%99Altissimo%2C_Portrait_of_Lebn%C3%A4-Dengel._c._1552-1568.jpg License: Public do-
main Contributors: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/westmedcult/files/2011/11/Greenfield-Western-Med-wksp-draft.pdf Original
artist: Cristofano dell'Altissimo
• File:Derg.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Derg.gif License: Public domain Contributors:
http://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%B5%E1%8B%95%E1%88%8D:%E1%88%98%E1%8A%95%E1%8C%8D%E1%88%
B5%E1%89%B1-%E1%89%B0%E1%8D%88%E1%88%AA-%E1%8A%A0%E1%8C%A5%E1%8A%93%E1%8D%89.gif
Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20'
height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
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data-file-height='590' /></a>
13.2 Images 21

• File:Early_nineteenth_century_warriors_Colour.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Early_

nineteenth_century_warriors_Colour.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Ethio_w3.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Ethio_w3.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Zheim
• File:EthiopiaRAND1908.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/EthiopiaRAND1908.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Created by Ken Mayer by superimposing layers over a map from the 1908 edition of Rand McNally & Co.'s Indexed
Atlas of the World (Chicago, New York). http://rare-maps.com/MAPS_PIC/RAND-1908-ABYSSINIA.JPG Original artist: Kenmayer
• File:Ethiopia_pop_1976.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Ethiopia_pop_1976.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Flag_of_Ethiopia.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Flag_of_Ethiopia.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: http://www.ethiopar.net/type/Amharic/hopre/bills/1998/654.ae..pdf Original artist: Drawn by User:SKopp
• File:Gebre_Mesqel_Lalibela.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Gebre_Mesqel_Lalibela.png License:
Public domain Contributors: Stanislaw Chojnacki, Ethiopian Icons: Catalogue of the Collection of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (Milan:
Skira, 2000), cat. 17 Original artist: unknown artist, originally made in Lalibela area, Ethiopia
• File:In_The_Precincts_Of_The_Old_Church_of_St._Mary_of_Zion_(2857064590).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/3/38/In_The_Precincts_Of_The_Old_Church_of_St._Mary_of_Zion_%282857064590%29.jpg License: CC BY
2.0 Contributors: In The Precincts Of The Old Church of St. Mary of Zion Original artist: A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific
Northwest
• File:Italian_East_Africa_(1938–1941).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Italian_East_Africa_
%281938%E2%80%931941%29.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
• Italian East Africa Map.jpg Original artist:
• derivative work: Themightyquill (talk)
• File:Menelik_II_-_4.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Menelik_II_-_4.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: R. Pankhurst, The Ethiopians : A History, 2001 Original artist: Unknown but obviously dided 70 years ago
• File:Ousas.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Ousas.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Classi-
cal Numanistic group [1] Original artist: Classical Numismatic Group
• File:Punt2.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Punt2.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own
work Original artist: Hans Bernhard (Schnobby)
• File:Red_Red.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Red_Red.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Mozillaman
• File:Royal_Enclosure_at_Gondar.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Royal_Enclosure_at_Gondar.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://wikitravel.org/shared/Image:Ethiopia-Djibouti_120.JPG Original artist: Baye Amsalo
(Amsalo)
• File:Stela_aksum.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Stela_aksum.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:T-55_Ethiopian_Civil_War_1991.JPEG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/T-55_Ethiopian_Civil_
War_1991.JPEG License: Public domain Contributors: U.S. Department of Defense, DF-ST-92-03616 Original artist: DoD photo by:
MSGT ED BOYCE
• File:Téwodros_II_-_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/T%C3%A9wodros_II_-_2.jpg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Berhanou Abebe, Histoire de l'Éthiopie d'Axoum à la Révolution, Paris, Maisonneuve & Larose, coll. « Monde
africain », 1998 (ISBN 2-7068-1340-7) Original artist:
• derivative work: Vob08 (<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Vob08' title='User talk:Vob08'>talk</a>)
• File:Wikibooks-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikibooks-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.
• File:Wikinews-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: This is a cropped version of Image:Wikinews-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Simon 01:05, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Updated by Time3000 17 April 2007 to use official Wikinews colours and appear correctly on dark backgrounds. Originally uploaded by
Simon.
• File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau
• File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Wikiversity-logo-en.svg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Snorky
• File:Wiktionary-logo-en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Vector version of Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs),
based on original logo tossed together by Brion Vibber
• File:YagbeaSionBattlingAdaSultan.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/
YagbeaSionBattlingAdaSultan.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: “Le Livre des Merveilles”, reproduction in “Le
Livre des Merveilles”, Marie-Therese Gousset. Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050' data-file-height='590' /></a>
22 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Yasu_V.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Yasu_V.jpg License: Public domain Con-

tributors: http://www.royalark.net/Ethiopia/shoa5.htm Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050' data-file-height='590' /></a>
• File:Yeha_Tigray_Ethiopia.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Yeha_Tigray_Ethiopia.jpg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Original Photograph Original artist: Jialiang Gao www.peace-on-earth.org

13.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0