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99-577: Waja (also known as Waja Temuga ) is a town in northern Ethiopia . Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region , south of the city of Alamata , Waja has a latitude and longitude of 12°17′N 39°36′E  /  12.283°N 39.600°E  / 12.283; 39.600 with an elevation of 1471 meters above sea level. It is one of two towns in Alamata woreda . Records at

198-525: A Marxist-Leninist state . The abolition of feudalism , increased literacy , nationalization , and sweeping land reform including the resettlement and villagization from the Ethiopian Highlands became priorities. After a power struggle in 1977, Mengistu Halie Mariam gained undisputed leadership of the Derg. In 1977, Somalia, which had previously been receiving assistance and arms from

297-490: A British mission that concluded with an alliance between the two nations, but it was not until 1855 that the Amhara kingdoms of northern Ethiopia (Gondar, Gojjam , and Shewa ) were briefly united after the power of the emperor was restored beginning with the reign of Tewodros II . Tewodros II began a process of consolidation, centralisation, and state-building that would be continued by succeeding emperors. This process reduced

396-863: 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 democratic backsliding . From 2018, regional and ethnically based factions carried out armed attacks in multiple ongoing wars throughout Ethiopia . Ethiopia

495-481: A diet that featured giant mole rats . Evidence of some of the earliest known stone-tipped projectile weapons (a characteristic tool of Homo sapiens ), the stone tips of javelins or throwing spears, were discovered in 2013 at the Ethiopian site of Gademotta , which date to around 279,000 years ago. In 2019, additional Middle Stone Age projectile weapons were found at Aduma, dated 100,000–80,000 years ago, in

594-621: A judicial system. In April 1993, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia after a national referendum . In May 1998, a border dispute with Eritrea led to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War , which lasted until June 2000 and cost both countries an estimated $ 1 million a day. This had a negative effect on Ethiopia's economy, and a border conflict between the two countries would continue until 2018 . As of 2018, further civil war in Ethiopia continues, mainly due to destabilization of

693-470: A literacy rate of only 49%. Tradition holds that the name Ethiopia (ኢትዮጵያ) comes from the name of the first King of Ethiopia, Ethiop, or Ethiopis . Ayele Berkerie explains: According to an Ethiopian tradition, the term Ethiopia is derived from the word Ethiopis, a name of the Ethiopian king, the seventh in the ancestral lines. Metshafe Aksum or the Ethiopian Book of Aksum identifies Itiopis as

792-467: A mild climate year round. With temperatures fairly uniform year round, the seasons in Addis Ababa are largely defined by rainfall: a dry season from October to February, a light rainy season from March to May, and a heavy rainy season from June to September. The average annual rainfall is approximately 1,200 millimetres (47 in). There are on average seven hours of sunshine per day. The dry season

891-551: A native Ethiopian one, although in earlier times many suggested it was Sabaean -influenced because of the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea . Other scholars regard Dʿmt as the result of a union of Afroasiatic-speaking cultures of the Cushitic and Semitic branches; namely, local Agaw peoples and Sabaeans from Southern Arabia. However, Ge'ez , the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, is thought to have developed independently from

990-520: A result, Ethiopia preserved its sovereignty during the Scramble for Africa . In 1936, Ethiopia was occupied by Fascist Italy and annexed with Italian-possessed Eritrea and Somaliland , later forming Italian East Africa . In 1941, during World War II , it was occupied by the British Army , and its full sovereignty was restored in 1944 after a period of military administration . The Derg ,

1089-485: A similar elevation to Addis Ababa and have a comparable climate. In less elevated regions, particularly the lower lying Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands in the east of Ethiopia, the climate can be significantly hotter and drier. Dallol , in the Danakil Depression in this eastern zone, has the world's highest average annual temperature of 34 °C (93.2 °F). Ethiopia is vulnerable to many of

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1188-508: A transition age between two eras – the era of the absolute monarchy and the era of rule by the Were Sheikh rulers of Yeju. Tekle Giyorgis I , whose first reign was from 1779 to 1784, tried to assert all over again some, if not all, of the powers of the monarchy. Unfortunately for him and the dynasty as a whole, he ended up losing everything. Ali I defeated him in early 1784 at a place called Afara Wanat and replaced him with Iyasu III who

1287-464: A voyage to Ethiopia. When the vessel stopped at a Red Sea port, the natives killed all the travellers except the two brothers, who were taken to the court as slaves . They were given positions of trust by the monarch, and they converted members of the royal court to Christianity. Frumentius became the first bishop of Aksum. A coin dated to 324 shows that Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity (after Armenia did so in 301), although

1386-400: A weak Ethiopian imperial presence. The Zemene Mesafint, which in a span of eighty-six years saw twenty-three emperors occupy the throne (some were placed on and removed from the throne numerous times) came to an end with the rise of Kassa Hailu – better known by his later throne name of Tewodros II . Kassa won his way to control the imperial throne first by occupying Dembea , then following

1485-481: Is Australopithecus afarensis ( Lucy ). Known locally as Dinkinesh , the specimen was found in the Awash Valley of Afar Region in 1974 by Donald Johanson , and is one of the most complete and best-preserved adult Australopithecine fossils ever uncovered. Lucy's taxonomic name refers to the region where the discovery was made. This hominid is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago. Ethiopia

1584-639: Is a multi-ethnic state with over 80 different ethnic groups . Christianity is the most widely professed faith in the country, with significant minorities of the adherents of Islam and a small percentage to traditional faiths . This sovereign state is a founding member of the UN, the Group of 24 , the Non-Aligned Movement , the Group of 77 , and the Organisation of African Unity . Addis Ababa

1683-531: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia , is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa . It shares borders with Eritrea to the north , Djibouti to the northeast , Somalia to the east , Kenya to the south , South Sudan to the west , and Sudan to

1782-683: Is also considered one of the earliest sites of the emergence of anatomically modern humans , Homo sapiens . The oldest of these local fossil finds, the Omo remains , were excavated in the southwestern Omo Kibish area and have been dated to the Middle Paleolithic , around 200,000 years ago. Additionally, skeletons of Homo sapiens idaltu were found at a site in the Middle Awash valley. Dated to approximately 160,000 years ago, they may represent an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens , or

1881-681: Is ascribed to a legendary individual called Ityopp'is . He was an extra-biblical son of Cush, son of Ham , said to have founded the city of Axum . The Greek name Αἰθιοπία (from Αἰθίοψ , "an Ethiopian") is a compound word, later explained as derived from the Greek words αἴθω and ὤψ ( eithō "I burn" + ōps "face"). According to the Liddell-Scott Jones Greek-English Lexicon , the designation properly translates as burnt-face in noun form and red-brown in adjectival form. The historian Herodotus used

1980-423: Is famous for having been elevated to the throne altogether six times and also deposed six times. Meanwhile, Amha Iyasus , Meridazmach of Shewa (1744–1775), wisely kept out of this endless fighting, devoting his energies to consolidating his kingdom and founding Ankober . This was a practice that his successors followed to the end of the kingdom. The years from 1771 to 1784 constituted a sort of interregnum or

2079-401: Is surrounded by lowlands, steppes , or semi-desert. There is a great diversity of terrain with wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation and settlement patterns. Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from the deserts along the eastern border to the tropical forests in the south to extensive Afromontane in the northern and southwestern parts. Lake Tana in the north

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2178-705: Is the headquarters of the African Union , the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry , the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Standby Force and many of the global non-governmental organizations focused on Africa. Ethiopia became a full member of BRICS in 2024. Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries but is sometimes considered an emerging power , having

2277-570: Is the source of the Blue Nile . It also has many endemic species, notably the gelada , the walia ibex and the Ethiopian wolf ("Simien fox"). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, and this has helped to encourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation. The nation is a land of geographical contrasts, ranging from the vast fertile west, with its forests and numerous rivers, to

2376-508: Is the sunniest time of the year, though even at the height of the rainy season in July and August there are still usually several hours per day of bright sunshine. The average annual temperature in Addis Ababa is 16 °C (60.8 °F), with daily maximum temperatures averaging 20–25 °C (68.0–77.0 °F) throughout the year, and overnight lows averaging 5–10 °C (41.0–50.0 °F). Most major cities and tourist sites in Ethiopia lie at

2475-713: The East African Rift that splits the country into the African and Somali tectonic plates . Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out for the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. Southwestern Ethiopia has been proposed as a possible homeland of the Afroasiatic language family . In 980 BC, the Kingdom of D'mt extended its realm over Eritrea and

2574-689: The East African campaign in 1941. The country was placed under British military administration , and then Ethiopia's full sovereignty was restored with the signing of the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944. On 24 October 1945, Ethiopia became a founding member of the United Nations . In 1952, Haile Selassie orchestrated a federation with Eritrea . He dissolved this in 1962 and annexed Eritrea, resulting in

2673-467: The Eritrean War of Independence . Haile Selassie also played a leading role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Opinion within Ethiopia turned against Haile Selassie, owing to the worldwide 1973 oil crisis causing a sharp increase in gasoline prices starting on 13 February 1974, leading to student and worker protests. The feudal oligarchical cabinet of Aklilu Habte-Wold

2772-600: The Ethiopian–Adal War , but was ultimately defeated at the 1543 Battle of Wayna Daga . By the 16th century, an influx of migration by ethnic Oromo into northern parts of the region fragmented the empire's power. Embarking from present-day Guji and Borena Zone , the Oromos were largely motivated by several folkloric conceptions—beginning with Moggaasaa and Liqimssa —many of whom related to their raids. This persisted until gada of Meslé. According to Abba Bahrey ,

2871-580: The Fincha Habera site in Bale Mountains at an elevation of 3,469 metres (11,381 feet) above sea level. At this high altitude, humans are susceptible both to hypoxia and to extreme weather. According to a study published in the journal Science , this dwelling is proof of the earliest permanent human occupation at high altitude yet discovered. Thousands of animal bones, hundreds of stone tools, and ancient fireplaces were discovered, revealing

2970-528: The Horn of Africa , which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. The territories that have frontiers with Ethiopia are Eritrea to the north and then, moving in a clockwise direction, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Within Ethiopia is a vast highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley , which runs generally southwest to northeast and

3069-575: The House of Yejju , a dynasty that included Ali I of Yejju , Aligaz , Gugsa and Ali II based in Yejju, a region in Wollo . Other regional lords included Kenfu Hailu of Gondar , Ras Dullu Menz , Ras Hailu Yosedeq of Gojjam , Sabagadis Woldu of Tigre, Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigre , Wube Haile Mariam of Simien, and provincial king Sahle Selassie of Shewa . The lords fought against each other for

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3168-747: The Mahdist War allied to Britain, Turkey, and Egypt against the Sudanese Mahdist State. In 1887, Menelik II , king of Shewa , invaded the Emirate of Harar after his victory at the Battle of Chelenqo . On 10 March 1889, Yohannes IV was killed by the Sudanese Khalifah Abdullah's army whilst leading his army in the Battle of Gallabat . Ethiopia, in roughly its current form, began under the reign of Menelik II, who

3267-472: The Merawi massacre in early 2024, which left 50 to 100 residents deaths in Merawi town in Amhara. At 1,104,300 square kilometres (426,372.61 sq mi), Ethiopia is the world's 26th-largest country, comparable in size to Bolivia . It lies between the 3rd parallel north and the 15th parallel north and longitudes 33rd meridian east and 48th meridian east . The major portion of Ethiopia lies in

3366-640: The Monumentum Adulitanum , a 3rd-century inscription belonging to the Aksumite Empire , indicates that Aksum's ruler governed an area that was flanked to the west by the territory of Ethiopia and Sasu. The Aksumite King Ezana eventually conquered Nubia the following century, and the Aksumites thereafter appropriated the designation "Ethiopians" for their own kingdom. In the Ge'ez version of

3465-536: The Red Terror , a violent political repression campaign by the Derg against various opposition groups. In 1987, the Derg dissolved itself and established the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) upon the adoption of the 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia . A 1983–85 famine affected around 8 million people, resulting in 1 million dead. Insurrections against authoritarian rule sprang up, particularly in

3564-457: The Sabaean language . As early as 2000 BC, other Semitic speakers were living in Ethiopia and Eritrea where Ge'ez developed. Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century. It may have been a trading or military colony in alliance with the Ethiopian civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Axumite state. After

3663-475: The Solomonic dynasty , claimed descent from the biblical Solomon and Queen of Sheba under their son Menelik I . By the 14th century, the empire had grown in prestige through territorial expansion and fighting against adjacent territories; most notably, the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543) contributed to fragmentation of the empire, which ultimately fell under a decentralization known as Zemene Mesafint in

3762-613: The USSR , invaded Ethiopia in the Ogaden War , capturing part of the Ogaden region. Ethiopia recovered it after it began receiving massive military aid from the Soviet bloc countries. By the end of the seventies, Mengistu presided over the second-largest army in all of sub-Saharan Africa , as well as a formidable air force and navy. In 1976–78, up to 500,000 were killed as a result of

3861-740: The Zemene Mesafint or "Age of Princes," a period of isolation. Emperors became figureheads, controlled by regional lords and noblemen like Ras Mikael Sehul, Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray, and by the Yejju Oromo dynasty of the Wara Sheh , including Ras Gugsa of Yejju . Before the Zemene Mesafint, Emperor Iyoas I had introduced the Oromo language ( Afaan Oromo ) at court, replacing Amharic. Ethiopian isolationism ended following

3960-495: The colours of the pan-African flag with green, yellow and red stripes in representation of pan-Africanist ideology. The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) . He came to power after Lij Iyasu was deposed, and undertook a nationwide modernization campaign from 1916 when he was made a Ras and Regent ( Inderase ) for the Empress Regnant Zewditu , and became

4059-587: The de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu's death, on 2 November 1930, he succeeded her as emperor. In 1931, Haile Selassie endowed Ethiopia with its first-ever Constitution in emulation of Imperial Japan's 1890 Constitution . The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , beginning when it was invaded by Fascist Italy in early October 1935, and by subsequent Italian rule of

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4158-456: The effects of climate change . These include increases in temperature and changes in precipitation. Climate change in these forms threatens food security and the economy, which is agriculture based. Many Ethiopians have been forced to leave their homes and travel as far as the Gulf, Southern Africa and Europe. Zemene Mesafint The most powerful lords during the Zemene Mesafint were from

4257-577: The fastest economic growth in sub-Saharan African countries because of foreign direct investment in expansion of agricultural and manufacturing industries; agriculture is the country's largest economic sector, accounting for over 37% of the gross domestic product as of 2022. However, in terms of per capita income and the Human Development Index , the country is regarded as poor, with high rates of poverty , poor respect for human rights , widespread ethnic discrimination , and

4356-495: The northwest . Ethiopia covers a land area of 1,104,300 square kilometres (1,104,300 square kilometres (426,400 sq mi)). As of 2024 , it is home to around 132 million inhabitants, making it the 10th-most populous country in the world, the 2nd-most populous in Africa after Nigeria , and the most populated landlocked country on Earth. The national capital and largest city, Addis Ababa , lies several kilometres west of

4455-432: The Amhara provinces of Maqet, Wadla, Dalanta and Dawent. Their authority over the lords of the rest of the regions – Qwara , Gojjam , Wollo , Semien , Tigray up to Hamasien , Wag and the like – was rather restricted to the power of making them pay regular tributes, be in attendance in their court for a given period of the year, participate in their wars and exercise right of appeal in matters of justice. They also had

4554-646: The Ezana inscription, Aἰθίοπες is equated with the unvocalized Ḥbšt and Ḥbśt (Ḥabashat), and denotes for the first time the highland inhabitants of Aksum. This new demonym was subsequently rendered as ḥbs ('Aḥbāsh) in Sabaic and as Ḥabasha in Arabic . Derivatives of this are used in some languages that use loanwords from Arabic, for example in Malay Habsyah . In English, and generally outside of Ethiopia,

4653-623: The Italian government to expand their territorial claims. This First Italo–Ethiopian War culminated in the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896, in which Italy's colonial forces were defeated by the Ethiopians. During this time, about a third of the population died in the Great Ethiopian Famine (1888 to 1892), and the rinderpest swept through the area, destroying much of the herd economy. On 11 October 1897, Ethiopia adopted

4752-574: The Nordic Africa Institute website provide details of the primary school in 1968. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Waja has an estimated total population of 11,020, of whom 5,373 are men and 5,647 are women. The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 6,050, of whom 2,732 were men and 3,318 were women. This article about a location in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia

4851-693: The Oromo princes over the Abyssinian kingdom. Hailu gained support from the locals and defeated Oromo lords and princes and would throne himself as Tewodros II , attempting to fulfill a prophecy that a man named Tewodros would restore the Ethiopian Empire to greatness and rule for 40 years. Traditionally, the beginning of this period is set on the date Ras Mikael Sehul deposed Emperor Iyoas I (7 May 1769), and its end to Kassa's coronation as Emperor Tewodros II (11 February 1855), having defeated in battle all of his rivals. Some historians date

4950-477: The Oromo relatives of Iyoas. Iyoas effectively had little say, as he inherited an empty Imperial treasury and depended heavily on his Oromo relations. As he increasingly favored Oromo leaders like Fasil , his relations with Mikael Sehul deteriorated. Eventually Mikael Sehul deposed the Emperor Iyoas (7 May 1769). One week later, Mikael Sehul had him killed; although the details of his death are contradictory,

5049-634: The Qwarans of his grandmothers family. Iyoas further increased the favour given to the Oromo. On the death of the Ras of Amhara, he attempted to promote his uncle Lubo governor of that province, but the outcry led his adviser Wolde Leul to convince him to change his mind. The conflict between these two queens led to Mentewab summoning her relatives with their armed supporters from Qwara to Gondar to support her. Wubit responded by summoning her own Oromo relatives and their considerable forces from Wollo. Fearing that

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5148-453: The Red Sea. The Persian prophet Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his era, during the 3rd century. It is also believed that there was a connection between Egyptian and Ethiopian churches. There is diminutive evidence that the Aksumites were associated with the Queen of Sheba , via their royal inscription. Around 316 AD, Frumentius and his brother Edesius from Tyre accompanied their uncle on

5247-544: The Tigrayan rebel forces agreed to a cessation of hostilities on 2 November 2022 . Coupled with OLA insurgency , the federal government relations with Fano militias, who previously allied to the government in the Tigray War, deteriorated in mid-2023, resulting in a war in the Amhara Region . According to reports conducted by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), mass human rights violations carried out by ENDF troops including door-to-door searches, extrajudicial killings, massacres and detentions. Notable incident includes

5346-425: The Yejju region of Wollo. It is preferable to call them by the name that they themselves preferred and by what others called them: Warra Sheh or Werre Sheikh (sons of the Sheikh) a name which reflects their Muslim background. This appellation clearly refers to the family rather than to the province, and to their Islamic and Oromo roots. Scholars now agree that of the Warra Sheh rulers, Ras Gugsa's reign (1800–1825)

5445-421: The appellation to denote those parts of Africa south of the Sahara that were then known within the Ecumene (habitable world). The earliest mention of the term is found in the works of Homer , where it is used to refer to two people groups, one in Africa and one in the east from eastern Turkey to India. This Greek name was borrowed into Amharic as ኢትዮጵያ, ʾĪtyōṗṗyā . In Greco - Roman epigraphs, Aethiopia

5544-469: The assassination of its governor Sayf ibn Dhī Yazan . The Red Sea was left to the Rashidun Caliphate in 646, and the port city of Adulis was plundered by Arab Muslims in the 8th century; along with irrevocable land degradation , claimed climate change and sporadic rainfall precipitation from 730 to 760, these factors likely caused the kingdom to decline in power as part of an important trade route. Aksum came to an end in 960 when Queen Gudit defeated

5643-451: The capital of Gondar , the Empire suffered from regional conflict between regions that had been part of the Empire for hundreds of years—the Agaw , Amharics , Tigrayans and the Oromo . Mentewab's attempt to strengthen ties between the monarchy and the Oromo of Wollo by arranging the marriage of her son Iyasu to Wubit, the daughter of an Oromo chieftain from Wollo backfired in the long run. Her attempt to continue her powerful role after

5742-409: The capital to Gondar in 1636, marking the beginning of the " Gondarine period ". He expelled Jesuits, reclaimed lands, and relocated them to Fremona . During his rule, Fasilides constructed the iconic royal fortress, Fasil Ghebbi , built forty-four churches, and revived Ethiopian art . He is also credited with building seven stone bridges over the Blue Nile River . Gondar's power declined after

5841-405: The country (1936–1941) after Italian victory in the war. Italy, however, never managed to secure the country in its totality, due to resistance from the Arbegnoch , this made Ethiopia, along with Liberia , the only African countries to never be colonized. Following the entry of Italy into World War II , British Empire forces, together with the Arbegnoch , liberated Ethiopia in the course of

5940-458: The country and have a climate which is generally considerably cooler than other regions at similar proximity to the Equator. Most of the country's major cities are located at elevations of around 2,000–2,500 m (6,562–8,202 ft) above sea level, including historic capitals such as Gondar and Axum. The modern capital, Addis Ababa, is situated on the foothills of Mount Entoto at an elevation of around 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). It experiences

6039-410: The country and was granted asylum in Zimbabwe. In July 1991, the EPRDF convened a National Conference to establish the Transitional Government of Ethiopia composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution. In 1994, a new constitution was written that established a parliamentary republic with a bicameral legislature and

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6138-433: The country was historically known as Abyssinia. This toponym was derived from the Latinized form of the ancient Habash . Several important finds have propelled Ethiopia and the surrounding region to the forefront of  palaeontology . The oldest hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2 million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus ( Ardi ) found by Tim D. White in 1994. The most well-known hominid discovery

6237-450: The country. Ethnic violence rose during the late 2010s and early 2020s, with various clashes and conflicts leading to millions of Ethiopians being displaced. The federal government decided that elections for 2020 (later being rescheduled to 2021 ) be cancelled, due to health and safety concerns about COVID-19 . The Tigray Region 's TPLF opposed this, and proceeded to hold elections anyway on 9 September 2020. Relations between

6336-434: The death of Iyasu I (Iyasu the Great) (13 October 1706), and the resultant decline in the prestige of the dynasty, as the beginning of this period. Others date it to the beginning of Iyoas's reign (26 June 1755). During the Zemene Mesafint, various lords occasionally took advantage of their positions by making Emperors and encroaching upon the succession of the dynasty, by candidates among the nobility itself: for example, on

6435-477: The death of Iyasu I in 1706. Following Iyasu II 's death in 1755, Empress Mentewab brought her brother, Ras Wolde Leul, to Gondar, making him Ras Bitwaded. This led to regnal conflict between Mentewab's Quaregnoch and the Wollo group led by Wubit. In 1767, Ras Mikael Sehul , a regent in Tigray Province , seized Gondar, killing the child Iyoas I in 1769, the reigning emperor, and installed 70-year-old Yohannes II . Between 1769 and 1855, Ethiopia witnessed

6534-406: The death of Emperor Tewoflos in 1711, the chief nobles of Ethiopia feared that the cycle of vengeance that had characterised the reigns of Tewoflos and Tekle Haymanot I (1706–1708) would continue if a member of the Solomonic dynasty were picked for the throne, so they selected one of their own, Yostos , to be King of Kings ( Ge'ez : ንጉሠ ነገሥት , romanized:  nəgusä nägäst ). However,

6633-495: The death of Ras Aligaz, Ras Wolde Selassie , hereditary ruler of Enderta and overlord of Tigray, became Enderase of the Empire, briefly taking power away from the Wara Sheh rulers. Upon his death, power was transferred to Ras Aligaz's nephew, Ras Gugsa , who in turn transferred power to his sons Ras Yimam , Ras Mariye and Ras Dori . After the death of Ras Dori, Ras Ali II , a nephew of Ras Gugsa, became Enderase . Crummey, Rubenson, Abir and Shiferaw Bekele agree that despite

6732-439: The death of her son (1755) into the reign of her grandson Iyoas (r. 1755–1769) brought her into conflict with Wubit (Welete Bersabe), Iyasu's widow, who believed that it was her turn to serve as regent. When Iyoas assumed the throne upon his father's sudden death, the aristocrats of Gondar were stunned to find that he preferred to speak in the Oromo language rather than in Amharic , and favored his mother's Yejju relatives over

6831-419: The earliest expansion occurred under Emperor Dawit II ( luba Melbah ), when they encroached to Bale before invading Adal Sultanate. Ethiopia saw major diplomatic contact with Portugal from the 17th century, mainly related to religion. Beginning in 1555, Portuguese Jesuits attempted to develop Roman Catholicism as the state religion. After several failures, they sent several missionaries in 1603, including

6930-409: The expansion of their territory and to become the guardians of the kings of kings in Gondar , the capital of the empire at the time. The monarchy continued only in name because of its sacred character. This nominal but divinely ordained monarchy preserved the dynasty from actual extinction. The Zemene Mesafint period came to an end when a local outlaw , Kassa Hailu, would challenge the supremacy of

7029-407: The fall of Dʿmt during the 4th century BC, the Ethiopian plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms. In the 1st century AD, the Kingdom of Aksum emerged in what is now Tigray Region and Eritrea. According to the medieval Book of Axum , the kingdom's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush. Aksum would later at times extend its rule into Yemen on the other side of

7128-568: The federal government and Tigray deteriorated rapidly, and in November 2020, Ethiopia began a military offensive in Tigray in response to attacks on army units stationed there, marking the beginning of the Tigray war . By March 2022, as many as 500,000 people had died as a result of violence and famine . After a number of peace and mediation proposals in the intervening years, Ethiopia and

7227-404: The form of points considered likely to belong to darts delivered by spear throwers. In 980 BC, Dʿmt was established in present-day Eritrea and the northern part of Ethiopia in Tigray and Amhara regions, and is widely believed to be the successor state to Punt . This polity's capital was located at Yeha in what is now northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be

7326-546: The immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans. Archaic Homo sapiens fossils excavated at the Jebel Irhoud site in Morocco have since been dated to an earlier period, about 300,000 years ago, while Omo-Kibish I (Omo I) from southern Ethiopia is the oldest anatomically modern Homo sapiens skeleton currently known (196 ± 5 kya). According to some linguists, the first Afroasiatic -speaking populations arrived in

7425-514: The last king of Aksum. In response, the remnant of the Aksumite population to shift into the southern region and establish the Zagwe dynasty , changing its capital to Lalibela . Zagwe's rule ended when an Amhara noble man Yekuno Amlak revolted against King Yetbarak and established the Ethiopian Empire (known by exonym "Abyssinia"). The Ethiopian Empire initiated territorial expansion under

7524-679: The leadership of Amda Seyon I . He launched campaigns against his Muslim adversaries to the east, resulting in a significant shift in the balance of power in favor of the Christians for the next two centuries. After Amda Seyon's successful eastern campaigns, most of the Muslim principalities in the Horn of Africa came under the suzerainty of the Ethiopian Empire. Stretching from Gojjam to the Somali Coast in Zelia . Among these Muslim entities

7623-467: The mid-18th century. Emperor Tewodros II ended Zemene Mesafint at the beginning of his reign in 1855, marking the reunification and modernization of Ethiopia. From 1878 onwards, Emperor Menelik II launched a series of conquests known as Menelik's Expansions , which resulted in the formation of Ethiopia's current border. Externally, during the late 19th century, Ethiopia defended itself against foreign invasions, including from Egypt and Italy ; as

7722-457: The most influential, Spanish Jesuit Pedro Paez . Under Emperor Susenyos I , Roman Catholicism became the state religion of the Ethiopian Empire in 1622. This decision caused an uprising by the Orthodox populace. In 1632, Emperor Fasilides halted Roman Catholic state administration, restoring Orthodox Tewahedo as the state religion. Fasilides' reign solidified imperial power, relocating

7821-618: The name "Ethiopia" during the reign of Ezana in the 4th century. After the conquest of Kingdom of Kush in 330, the Aksumite territory reached its peak between the 5th and 6th centuries. This period was interrupted by several incursions into the South Arabian protectorate, including Jewish Dhu Nuwas of the Himyarite Kingdom and the Aksumite–Persian wars . In 575, the Aksumites besieged and retook Sana'a following

7920-464: The northern region of Ethiopia, while the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region for 900 years. Christianity was embraced by the kingdom in 330, and Islam arrived by the first Hijra in 615. After the collapse of Aksum in 960, the Zagwe dynasty ruled the north-central parts of Ethiopia until being overthrown by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, inaugurating the Ethiopian Empire and

8019-556: The northern regions of Eritrea and Tigray. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition movements in 1989, to form the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The collapse of Marxism–Leninism during the revolutions of 1989 coincided with the Soviet Union stopping aid to Ethiopia altogether in 1990. EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa in May 1991, and Mengistu fled

8118-442: The power of regional rulers, restructured the empire's administration, and created a professional army. These changes created the basis for establishing the effective sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ethiopian state. In 1875 and 1876, Ottoman and Egyptian forces, accompanied by many European and American advisors, twice invaded Abyssinia but were initially defeated. From 1885 to 1889 (under Yohannes IV ), Ethiopia joined

8217-537: The power struggle between the Qwarans and the Wolloyes led by the Emperor's mother Wubit would erupt into an armed conflict, the nobility summoned the powerful Ras Mikael Sehul to mediate between the two camps. He arrived and shrewdly maneuvered to sideline the two queens and their supporters making a bid for power for himself. Iyoas' reign becomes a narrative of the struggle between the powerful Ras Mikael Sehul and

8316-496: The region during the ensuing Neolithic era from the family's proposed urheimat ("original homeland") in the Nile Valley , or the Near East . The majority of scholars today propose that the Afroasiatic family developed in northeast Africa because of the higher diversity of lineages in that region, a telltale sign of linguistic origin. In 2019, archaeologists discovered a 30,000-year-old Middle Stone Age rock shelter at

8415-659: The religion may have been at first confined to court circles; it was the first major power to do so. The Aksumites were accustomed to the Greco-Roman sphere of influence, but embarked on significant cultural ties and trade connections between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire via the Silk Road , primarily exporting ivory , tortoise shell, gold and emeralds, and importing silk and spices. The kingdom adopted

8514-582: The result was clear: for the first time an Emperor had lost his throne in a means other than his own natural death, death in battle or voluntary abdication. From this point forward the Empire devolved ever more openly in the hands of the great nobles and military commanders; because of its effects, Iyoas' assassination is usually regarded as the start of the Era of the Princes. An aged and infirm imperial uncle prince

8613-536: The right of confirmation in their offices when new lords came to power in one way or another. At times, they even went to the extent of chaining some of their recalcitrant lords. The time period had a lasting demographic impact on Eritrea , with multiple previously predominantly Christian ethnic groups such as the Bilen and Tigre people being islamized by the Ottoman Empire and later Eyalet of Egypt due to

8712-447: The tenure of Yostos from 1711 to 1716 was brief and the throne returned to the Solomonic dynasty. The reign of Iyasu II (1730–1755) had brought the empire once again to disaster. He ascended the throne as a child, allowing his mother, Empress Mentewab to play a major role as his Regent from 1723 to 1730. Mentewab had herself crowned as co-ruler in 1730, becoming the first woman to be crowned in this manner in Ethiopian history. Beyond

8811-459: The twelfth king of Ethiopia and the father of Aksumawi. The Ethiopians pronounce Ethiopia እትዮጵያ with a Sades or the sixth sound እ as in incorporate and the graph ጰ has no equivalent in English or Latin graphs. Ethiopis is believed to be the twelfth direct descendant of Adam. His father is identified as Kush, while his grandfather is known as Kam. In the 15th-century Ge'ez Book of Axum , the name

8910-407: The weakness of the Emperor, the Yejju lords constituted a stable ruling elite of a multiethnic background that ruled the country in the name of the Solomonic dynasty. That being said, the term that perhaps needs to be precisely defined has to do with the appellation of the Yejju. Very often it is called the Yejju dynasty. There is no problem with this name except that at times it created confusion with

9009-490: The world's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are the largest continuous mountain ranges in Africa, and the Sof Omar Caves contains the largest cave on the continent. Ethiopia also has the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. The predominant climate type is tropical monsoon, with wide topographic-induced variation. The Ethiopian Highlands cover most of

9108-569: Was Emperor from 1889 until his death in 1913. From his base in the central province of Shewa, Menelik set out to annex territories to the south, east, and west — areas inhabited by the Oromo, Sidama , Gurage, Welayta , and other peoples. He achieved this with the help of Ras Gobana Dacche 's Shewan Oromo militia, which occupied lands that had not been held since Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi 's war, as well as other areas that had never been under Ethiopian rule. For his leadership, despite opposition from more traditional elements of society, Menelik II

9207-499: Was a full puppet. Two years later, in 1786, Ali I became Ras bitwadad and with his ascent to power, the Yejju dynasty, or more precisely, the Wara Seh dynasty came into being. Ras Ali I and his remaining Wara Seh family members became Enderases (Regents) of the Ethiopian Empire. Until the emergence of Dejazmach Kassa Hailu, the future Emperor Tewodros II , power was transferred from Ras Ali I to his brother Ras Aligaz. After

9306-661: Was a specific toponym for ancient Nubia . At least as early as c.  850 , the name Aethiopia also occurs in many translations of the Old Testament in allusion to Nubia. The ancient Hebrew texts identify Nubia instead as Kush . However, in the New Testament , the Greek term Aithiops does occur, referring to a servant of the Kandake , the queen of Kush. Following the Hellenic and biblical traditions,

9405-496: Was characterised more by peace than by war. The power of the Warra Sheh rulers was much more than predominance. They exercised actual authority over the other lords. The latter were their tributary lords and the Warra Sheh were suzerains or overlords. To be precise, the Warra Sheh did not exercise absolute authority outside of the provinces directly under their rule. These provinces extended from Begemeder across Chachaho Pass to

9504-528: Was enthroned as Emperor Yohannes II . Ras Mikael soon had him murdered, and underage Tekle Haymanot II was elevated to the throne. Then Mikael Sehul was defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa and the triumvirate of Fasil, Goshu of Amhara and Wand Bewossen of Begemder placed their own emperor on the throne. More emperors followed as these three fell from power and were replaced by other strongmen, who constantly elevated and removed emperors; Tekle Giyorgis

9603-453: Was heralded as a national hero. He had signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy in May 1889, by which Italy would recognize Ethiopia's sovereignty so long as Italy could control an area north of Ethiopia (now part of modern Eritrea). In return, Italy was to provide Menelik with weapons and support him as emperor. The Italians used the time between the signing of the treaty and its ratification by

9702-568: Was the Sultanate of Ifat . During the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob , the Ethiopian Empire reached its pinnacle. His rule was marked by the consolidation of territorial acquisitions from earlier rulers, the oversight of the construction of numerous churches and monasteries, the active promotion of literature and art, and the strengthening of central imperial authority. Ifat's successor, the Adal Sultanate , tried to conquer Ethiopia during

9801-535: Was toppled, and a new government was formed with Endelkachew Makonnen serving as Prime Minister. Haile Selassie's rule ended on 12 September 1974, when he was deposed by the Derg , a committee made up of military and police officers. After the execution of 60 former government and military officials , the new Provisional Military Administrative Council abolished the monarchy in March 1975 and established Ethiopia as

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