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| D'mt Empire c. 980 - c. 400 b.c. Kubek15, Africa in 400 B.c., 2010, WikiCommons, accessed August 25, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Africa_in_400_BC.jpg. |
Ethiopia’s unique position in avoiding colonialism in the Scramble for Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries is worth boasting about. An even greater feat is how that ancient kingdom more or less avoided the western slave trade that took place during the three centuries that followed Columbus’ discovery of the new world.
Before the Famous Aksumite Kingdom, the territory of modern northern Ethiopia and Eritrea was ruled by an empire known as D'mt. Very little is known about the nature of this kingdom. It is speculated that it was just an earlier era of the Aksumite Empire.
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| Area in the Kingdom of Aksum - c.100 -- c.900
Aksum, Map/Still, from Britannica Online for Kids,
accessed August 25, 2016,
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Going back to the era in ancient Ethiopia when the kingdom of Aksum ruled in a very stable epoch. The boundaries of Aksum were more in modern-day Sudan and Eritrea. The area covered by the kingdom of Aksum varied through the years and peaked around 1000 when it included the vassal state of Kitara.
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| Aksumite Kingdom at it's peak Jolie, Africa in 400 B.c., 2008, Wiki Commons, accessed August 25, 2016, https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adal.PNG. |
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| Zagwe Empire 1137-1270 A.D. LaGabrie, Zagwe Empire, 2015, Wiki Commons, accessed August 25, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Approximate_ extension_of _the_Zagwe_Empire.JPG. |
[1] During the middle ages, “The Zagwe dynasty ruled many parts of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea from approximately 1137 to 1270.” The boundaries of the kingdom were small, but well fortified. The rulers ruled through an emperor and since Mara Takla Haymanot — the founder of the Zagwe dynasty married a daughter of of the last king of Aksum, the Zagwe were considered a Solomonic bloodline as well.
From the fall of the Zagwe dynasty through the scramble for Africa, the area of Ethiopia remained with only several exceptions. [2] During the Ottoman era, the area of modern-day Eritrea was captured, but were driven out and lost all their territory except one seaport that remained in their hands until the Italian invasion later in the 1800’s.
From the fall of the Zagwe dynasty through the scramble for Africa, the area of Ethiopia remained with only several exceptions. [2] During the Ottoman era, the area of modern-day Eritrea was captured, but were driven out and lost all their territory except one seaport that remained in their hands until the Italian invasion later in the 1800’s.
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| An 1891 map of Ethiopia unknown, Ethiopia 1891, 2015, Wiki Commons, accessed August 25, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Abyssinia1891.jpg. |
Yet, exceptions to that uninterrupted streak of freedom from foreign conquests. [3] After defeating Italy’s invasion in 1895-96, the Italians returned successfully forty years later and captured the capital city of Addis Ababa. The ancient Solomonic monarchial dynasty came to a grinding halt with Italy claiming Ethiopia as her own. Fascist Italy brought Ethiopia’s land mass to be combined with Somaliland to the north-east and Eritrea to the north-central-west — together the newly formed territory was branded Italian East Africa from 1936-1941, with Emperor Haile Selassie in exile. In 1942, in the heat of World War II, Ethiopia was freed from the Italians by the Allied Powers. For the next ten years Ethiopia’s border included Eritrea and on September 15, 1952
Eritrea won their independence and Ethiopia became landlocked again.
[4] September 12, 1974 was the last day Haile Selassie was upon the throne of Ethiopia. A Soviet-backed coup called the Derg overtook Ethiopia and ruled through an old-world communist-style military dictatorship until 1991.
Since the 1990’s Ethiopia’s borders have stayed relatively the same and her politics have operated in a Democratic-style Republic model. Although this has not been free from oppression or corruption.
Since the 1990’s Ethiopia’s borders have stayed relatively the same and her politics have operated in a Democratic-style Republic model. Although this has not been free from oppression or corruption.
Within modern-day Ethiopia there are thirteen provinces that are based upon historical regions and religious orientation. Wikipedia notes that [5] “Various religions are adhered to in Ethiopia. Most Christians live in the highlands, whereas Muslims mainly inhabit the lowlands. Adherents of traditional faiths are primarily concentrated in the southern regions.”
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| Ethiopia's Modern-Day Administrative Zones UN Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia, Ethiopia's Zone Region, 2000, Wiki Commons, accessed August 25, 2016,https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Ethiopia_zone_region.jpg. |
[1] Parker Wilson, “Ethiopia Then and Now,” Prezi, November 3, 2012, accessed August 25, 2016, https://prezi.com/i1cfr6cbyamt/ethiopia-then-and-now/.
[2] “History of Eritrea,” History World, accessed August 25, 2016,http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad18#ixzz4IK2PCT1x.
[3] “Italo-Ethiopian War,” Britannica, December 29, 2015, accessed August 25, 2016,https://www.britannica.com/event/Italo-Ethiopian-War-1935-1936.
[4] “Ethiopian Treasures,” Ethiopian Treasures, accessed August 25, 2016,http://www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk/pages/derg.htm.
[5] “Demographics of Ethiopia,” Wikipedia, accessed August 25, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ethiopia.
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Bibliography
Accessed August 25, 2016.
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad18#ixzz4IK2PCT1x.
Britannica. “Italo-Ethiopian War.” December 29, 2015. Accessed August 25,
Wilson, Parker. “Ethiopia Then and Now.” Prezi. November 3, 2012.
Accessed August 25, 2016.
Wikipedia. “Demographics of Ethiopia.” Accessed August 25, 2016.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ethiopia.Ethiopian Treasures. “Ethiopian Treasures.” Accessed August 25,
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