Founded in 1270 byYekuno Amlak, who claimed to descend from the lastAksumite king and ultimately KingSolomon and theQueen of Sheba, it replaced theAgawkingdom of the Zagwe. While initially a rather small and politically unstable entity, the Empire managed to expand significantly under thecrusades ofAmda Seyon I (1314–1344) andDawit I (1382–1413), temporarily becoming the dominant force in theHorn of Africa.[19] The Ethiopian Empire would reach its peak during the long reign of EmperorZara Yaqob (1434–1468). He consolidated the conquests of his predecessors, built numerous churches and monasteries, encouraged literature and art, centralized imperial authority by substituting regional warlords with administrative officials, and significantly expanded his hegemony over adjacent Islamic territories.[20][21][22]
The neighboring MuslimAdal Sultanate began to threaten the empire by repeatedly attempting to invade it, finally succeeding underImamMahfuz.[23] Mahfuz's ambush and defeat by EmperorLebna Dengel brought about the early 16th-centuryjihad of the Ottoman-supported Adalite ImamAhmed Gran, who wasdefeated in 1543 with the help of thePortuguese.[24] Greatly weakened, much of the Empire's southern territory and vassals were lost due to theOromo migrations. In the north, in what is now Eritrea, Ethiopia managed to repulseOttoman invasion attempts, although losing its access to theRed Sea to them.[25] Reacting to these challenges, in the 1630s EmperorFasilides founded the new capital ofGondar, marking the start of a new golden age known as theGondarine period. It saw relative peace, the successful integration of the Oromo and a flourishing of culture. With the deaths of EmperorIyasu II (1755) andIyoas I (1769) the realm eventually entered a period of decentralization, known as theZemene Mesafint where regional warlords fought for power, with the emperor being a mere puppet.[26]
EmperorTewodros II (r. 1855–1868) put an end to theZemene Mesafint, reunified the Empire and led it into the modern period before dying during theBritish Expedition to Abyssinia. His successorYohannes IV engaged primarily in war and successfully foughtthe Egyptians andMahdists before dying against the latter in 1889. EmperorMenelik II, now residing inAddis Ababa, subjugated many peoples and kingdoms in what is now western, southern, and eastern Ethiopia, likeKaffa,Welayta,Harar, and other kingdoms. Thus, by 1898 Ethiopia expanded into its modern territorial boundaries. In the northern region, he confrontedItaly's expansion. Through a resounding victory over the Italians at theBattle of Adwa in 1896, utilizing modern imported weaponry, Menelik ensured Ethiopia's independence andconfined Italy to Eritrea.
Later, after theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War, Benito Mussolini'sItalian Empire occupied Ethiopia and establishedItalian East Africa, merging it with neighboringEritrea and theItalian Somaliland colonies to the south-east. DuringWorld War II, the Italians were driven out of Ethiopia with the help of the British army. The Emperor returned from exile and the country became one of the founding members of theUnited Nations. However, the1973 Wollo famine and domestic discontent led to the fall of the Empire in 1974 and the rise of theDerg.[27]
After the fall of theKingdom of Aksum in the 10th century AD, the Ethiopian Highlands would fall under the rule of theZagwe Dynasty. The new rulers wereAgaws that had come from theLasta region, later ecclesiastical texts accused this dynasty of not having pure "Solomonic" stock and derided their achievements. Even at the zenith of their power, most Christians would consider them to be usurpers. However, the architecture of the Zagwe shows a connotation of earlier Aksumite traditions, among those can be seen inLalibela, the building of rock hewn churches first appeared in the late Aksumite era and reached its peak under the Zagwe.[28]
The Zagwe were not able to stop squabbling over the throne, diverting men, energy and resources that could have been used to affirm the dynasty's authority. By the late 13th century, a youngAmhara nobleman namedYekuno Amlak rose to power inBete Amhara. He was strongly supported by the Orthodox Church as he promised to make the church a semi independent institution, he had also enjoyed support from the neighboring MuslimMakhzumi dynasty. Yekuno Amlak then rebelled against the Zagwe king and defeated him at theBattle of Ansata.Taddesse Tamrat argued that this king wasYetbarak, but due to a local form ofdamnatio memoriae, his name was removed from the official records.[29] A more recent chronicler ofWollo history, Getatchew Mekonnen Hasen, states that the last Zagwe king deposed by Yekuno Amlak wasNa'akueto La'ab.[30][31]
Non-contemporary portrait painting of EmperorYekuno Amlak from the 17th century
Yekuno Amlak would rise to the throne by 1270 AD. He was allegedly a descendant of the last king ofAksum,Dil Na'od, and hence the royal kings of Aksum. Through the Aksumite royal lineage, it was also claimed that Yekuno Amlak was a descendant of the biblical kingSolomon. The canonical form of the claim was set out in legends recorded in theKebra Nagast, a 14th century text. According to this, theQueen of Sheba, who supposedly came from Aksum, visitedJerusalem where she conceived a son with King Solomon. On her return to her homeland of Ethiopia, she gave birth to the child,Menelik I. He and his descendants (which included the Aksumite royal house) ruled Ethiopia until overthrown by the Zagwe usurpers. Yekuno Amlak, as a supposed direct descendant of Menelik I, was therefore claimed to have "restored" the Solomonic line.[32]
ThroughoutYekuno Amlak's reign he would enjoy friendly relations with the Muslims. He not only had established close ties with the neighboringMakhzumi dynasty but had also made contact with theRasulids in Yemen and the EgyptianMamluk Sultanate. In a letter sent to the Mamluke SultanBaybars, he would state his intention of friendly cooperation with the Muslims of Arabia, and described himself as being a protector of all Muslims in Abyssinia. A devout Christian, he would order the construction of the church of Genneta Maryam, commemorating his work with an inscription that reads, "By the grace of God, I king Yekuno Amlak, after I had come to the throne by the will of God, built this church."[32][33]
In 1285 Yekuno Amlak was succeeded by his sonYagbe'u Seyon, who wrote a letter the Mamluke Sultan,Qalawun asking him to allow the patriarch of Alexandria to send anabuna ormetropolitan for theEthiopian Orthodox Church, but also protesting the Sultan's treatment of his Christian subjects in Egypt, stating that he was a protector of his own Muslim subjects in Ethiopia.[34] Towards the end of his reign, Yagbe'u refused to appoint one of his sons to be his successors and instead decreed that each of them should rule for one year, he was succeeded by his sons in 1294 but this agreement immediately broke down, by 1299 one of his sonsWedem Arad seized the throne. Wedem Arad seems to have been in conflict with the neighbouringSultanate of Ifat who were trying to expand in easternShewa.[35]
Wedem Arad was succeeded by his son,Amda Seyon I, whose reign witnessed the composition of a very detailed and seemingly accurate account of the monarch's various campaigns against his Muslim enemies. This was the first of a series of royal chronicles which were written for the Ethiopian Emperors until modern times. These royal chronicles provided an unbroken chronological record of the entire medieval period in theHorn of Africa. A no less important work produced during his reign was theFetha Nagast or "Law of the Kings," which served as the country's legal code. Largely based on biblical principles, it codified the legal and social ideas of the time and remained in use until the early 20th century.[33]
The warlike emperor ofAmda Seyon I conducted many campaigns inGojjam,Damot andEritrea, but his most important campaigns were against his Muslim enemies to the east, which shifted the balance of power in favour of the Christians for the next two centuries. Around 1320, Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad of the Mamluk Sultanate based in Cairo began persecuting Copts and destroying their churches. Amda Seyon then threatened to divert the flow of the Nile if the sultan did not stop his persecution.Haqq ad-Din I, sultan of Ifat, seized and imprisoned an Ethiopian envoy on his way back fromCairo. Amda Seyon responded by invading theSultanate of Ifat, killing the sultan, sacking the capital and ravaging the Muslim territories, taking livestock, killing many inhabitants, destroying towns and mosques, and taking slaves.[36]
The Ifat sultan was succeeded bySabr ad-Din I who rallied the Muslims and waged a rebellion against the Ethiopian occupation. Amda Seyon responded by launching another campaign against his Muslim adversaries to the east, killing the Sultan and campaigning as far asAdal,Dawaro andBali in present day eastern Ethiopia. Amda Seyon's conquests significantly expanded the territory of the Ethiopian Empire, more than doubling it by size and establishing complete hegemony over the region. Relations between the Muslims of the Horn and the Ethiopian Empire seems to have broken down completely around this era, with the chronicler referring to the Muslims in the east and along the coast as "liars, hyenas, dogs, children of evil who deny the son of Christ."[37][38]
Following Amda Seyon's campaigns to the east. Most of the Muslims in the Horn would become tributaries to the Ethiopian Empire, among them being theIfat Sultanate. Amda Seyon was succeeded by his sonNewaya Krestos in 1344. Newaya Krestos would put down several Muslim revolts inAdal andMora. Towards the end of his reign he aggressively helped thePatriarch of AlexandriaMark IV, who had been imprisoned byAs-Salih Salih, theSultan of Egypt. One step Newaya Krestos took was to imprison the Egyptian merchants in his kingdom. The Sultan was forced to back down.[39]
In 1382,Dawit I succeeded the son of Newaya Krestos,Newaya Maryam, as Emperor of Ethiopia. The tributary state of theIfat Sultanate had begun to resist Ethiopian hegemony and assert their independence under SultanSa'ad ad-Din II. Sultan Sa'ad as-Din would then raid the Ethiopian frontier provinces capturing much loot and slaves. This resulted in EmperorDawit I declaring all the Muslims of the surrounding region to be "enemies of the Lord" and invading theIfat Sultanate. After a battle between Sa'ad ad-Din and the Emperor, in which the Ifat army was defeated and "no less [sic] than 400 elders, each of whom carried an iron bar as his insignia of office" were killed, Sa'ad ad-Din with his remaining supporters were chased to as far asZeila on the coast ofSomaliland. There, the Ethiopian army besieged Zeila, finally capturing the city and killing Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din, ending theIfat Sultanate. After Sa'ad ad-Din's death "the strength of the Muslims was abated", as Egyptian historianal-Maqrizi states, and then theAmhara settled in the Muslim territories "and from the ravaged mosques they made churches". The followers of Islam were said to have been harassed for over twenty years.[40] Following this victory, Ethiopian power would reach its zenith and this era would become legendary as a golden age of peace and stability for the Ethiopian Empire.[41]
However, the remainingWalashma returned from their exile in 1415 and established theAdal Sultanate centred around theHarar region. The Muslims then began to harass Christian held territories in the east prompting EmperorYeshaq I to dedicate much of his time to defending his eastern peripheral territories. He seems to have employed several Egyptian Christian advisors to drill his army and teach them how to make Greek fire. These advances were not enough to keep the Muslims at bay, and Emperor Yeshaq was soon killed fighting the Adalites in 1429. Yeshaq's death was followed by several years of dynastic confusion during which 5 emperors succeeded each other in 5 years. However in 1434,Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia would establish himself on the throne.[42]
During his first years on the throne,Zara Yaqob launched a strong campaign against survivals of pagan worship and "un-Christian practices" within the church. He also took measures to greatly centralize the administration of the country, bringing regions under much tighter imperial control. After hearing about the demolition of the Egyptian Debre Mitmaq monastery, he ordered a period of national mourning and built a church of the same name inTegulet. He then sent envoys to Egyptian Sultan,Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq strongly protesting against the persecution of Egyptian Copts and threatening to divert the flow of the Nile. The Sultan then encouraged theAdal Sultanate to invade the province ofDawaro to distract the Emperor. However, this invasion was repulsed by the Emperor who defeated and killed the Adalite SultanBadlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din at theBattle of Gomit.[43][44] The Egyptian sultan then had the Patraich of Alexandria severely beaten and threatened to execute him. The new Adalite sultanMuhammad ibn Badlay, son of the slain sultan, agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Emperor Zara Yaqob in the same year.[45] Zara Yaqob persecuted those who admitted to worshipping pagan gods, many of whom were decapitated in public.Zara Yaqob later foundedDebre Berhan after seeing amiraculous light in the sky. Believing this was a sign fromGod showing approval for his persecution of pagans, the emperor ordered a church built on the site, and later constructed an extensive palace nearby, and a second church dedicated toSaint Cyriacus.[39][46]
Zara Yaqob was succeeded byBaeda Maryam I. Emperor Baeda Maryam would give the title of the Queen Mother toEleni of Ethiopia, one of his father's wives. She proved to be an effective member of the royal family;Paul B. Henze comments that she "was practically co-monarch" during his reign. After the death of Baeda Maryam in 1478 he was succeeded by his 7-year-old sonEskender, whomEleni would serve as his regent. She attempted to establish peace with the Adal SultanMuhammad, but could not preventMahfuz the Emir ofHarar from making raids into Ethiopian territory. WhenEskender was of age, he invaded Adal and sacked its capital,Dakkar, but was defeated in an ambush returning home although he was able to escape. In 1517Mahfuz invaded the Ethiopian province ofFatager but was killed by a soldier of EmperorDawit II (Lebna Dengel) in aSingle combat[47]. His chronicles state that the Muslim threat was finished and the Emperor returned to the highlands as a hero.[48]
In 1527 a young imam by the name ofAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi rose to power in Adal after years of internal strife. The Adal Sultanate stockpiled imported firearms, cannons and other advanced weaponry from Arabia and theOttoman Empire, and invaded Ethiopia in 1529, inflicting a heavy defeat on EmperorDawit II, but later withdrew. He returned two years later to begin a definite invasion of the empire, burning churches, forcibly converting Christians and massacring the inhabitants. According to the chroniclers, everywhere he went his men "slew every adult Christian they found, and carried off the youths and the maidens and sold them as slaves." By the mid 1530s most of Ethiopia was under Adalite occupation and Lebna Dengel fled from mountain fortress to mountain fortress until he finally died of natural causes inDebre Damo.[49][50]
The Emperor was succeeded by his 18-year-old son,Gelawdewos, who faced a desperate situation but rallied his soldiers and people to resist the Muslim invasion. By 1540 Gelawdewos led a small force of around 70 men resisting in the highlands ofShewa. However, in 1541 four hundred well armed Portuguese musketeers had arrived inMassawa where they were reinforced by small contingents of Ethiopian warriors. This modest force made their way acrossTigray where they would defeat much larger contingents of Adalite men. Alarmed by the success of the Portuguese, Gragn sent a petition to theOttoman Empire and received 2,900 musket-armed reinforcements. Together with his Turkish allies Gragn attacked the Portuguese camp atWofla, killing 200 of their rank and file, including their commander,Cristóvão da Gama.[51]
After the catastrophe at Wofla, the surviving Portuguese were able to meet up withGelawdewos and his army in theSemien Mountains. The Emperor did not hesitate to take the offensive and won a major victory at theBattle of Wayna Daga, when the fate of Abyssinia was decided by the death of the Imam and the flight of his army. The invasion force collapsed and all the Abyssinians who had been cowed by the invaders returned to their former allegiance. The reconquest of Christian territories proceeded without encountering any effective opposition.[52]
TheOttoman Empire occupied parts of Ethiopia, from 1557, establishingHabesh Eyalet, the province of Abyssinia, by conqueringMassawa, the Empire's main port and seizingSuakin from the alliedFunj Sultanate in what is nowSudan. In 1573 theAdal Sultanate attempted to invade Ethiopia again; however, Sarsa Dengel successfully defended the Ethiopian frontier at theBattle of Webi River, where he defeated, captured and executed the Adalite SultanMuhammad ibn Nasir along with the core of the Adalite nobility.[56] This marked the end of Adal as a military power.[57]
The Ottomans were checked byEmperor Sarsa Dengel's victory and sacking ofArqiqo in 1589, thus containing them on a narrow coastline strip. The Afar Sultanate maintained the remaining Ethiopian port on the Red Sea atBaylul.[58]Oromo migrations through the same period occurred, with the movement of a large pastoral population from the southeastern provinces of the Empire. A contemporary account was recorded by the monkAbba Bahrey from the Gamo region. Subsequently, the empire organization changed progressively, with faraway provinces taking more independence. A remote province such asBale is last recorded paying tribute to the imperial throne duringYaqob's reign (1590–1607).[59]
In 1636, EmperorFasilides foundedGondar as a permanent capital, which became a highly stable, prosperous commercial center. This period saw profound achievements inEthiopian art andarchitecture, and innovations such as the construction of the royal complexFasil Ghebbi, and 44 churches[60] that were established aroundLake Tana. In the arts, the Gondarine period saw the creation ofdiptychs andtriptychs,murals andilluminated manuscripts, mostly with religious motifs. The reign ofIyasu the Great (1682-1706) was a major period of consolidation. It also saw the dispatching of embassies toLouis XIV's France and toDutch India. The Early Modern period was one of intense cultural and artistic creation. Notable philosophers from that area areZera Yacob andWalda Heywat. After the death of Iyasu I the empire fell into a period of political turmoil. From 1769 to 1855, the Ethiopian empire passed through a period known as thePrinces Era (in Amharic:Zemene Mesafint). This was a period of Ethiopian history with numerous conflicts between the variousRas (equivalent to the Englishdukes) and the Emperor, who had only limited power and only dominated the area around the contemporary capital ofGondar. The development of society and culture stagnated in this period. Religious conflict, both within theEthiopian Orthodox Church and between them and the Muslims, was often used as a pretext for mutual strife. The Princes Era ended with the reign of EmperorTewodros II.
In 1868, following the imprisonment of severalmissionaries and representatives of theBritish government, the British engaged in the punitiveExpedition to Abyssinia against Emperor Tewodros. With the backing of most nobles in Ethiopia, the campaign was a success for Britain, and the Ethiopian Emperor committed suicide rather than surrender.
The 1880s were marked by theScramble for Africa. Italy, seeking acolonial presence in Africa, was awarded Eritrea by Britain, which led to theItalo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 and the scramble for Eritrea's coastal regions between King Yohannes IV of Tembien and Italy. After the death of Emperor Yohannes IV, Italy signed atreaty withShewa (an autonomous kingdom within the empire), creating the protectorate of Abyssinia.
Due to significant differences between the Italian andAmharic translations of the treaty, Italy believed they had subsumed Ethiopia as aprotectorate, whileMenelik II of Shewa repudiated the protectorate status in 1893. Insulted, Italy declared war on Ethiopia in 1895. TheFirst Italo-Ethiopian War resulted in the 1896Battle of Adwa, in which Italy was decisively defeated by the numerically superior Ethiopians. As a result, theTreaty of Addis Ababa was signed in October, which strictly delineated the borders of Eritrea and forced Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia. Due to the Entoto Reforms, which provided the Ethiopian Military with modern rifles, many Italian Commanders expressed shock upon seeing that some Ethiopians had more advanced rifles than the average Italian infantryman.
Beginning in the 1890s, under the reign ofEmperor Menelik II, the empire's forces set off from the central province ofShewa to incorporate through conquest inhabited lands to the west, east and south of its realm.[63] The territories that were annexed included those of the western Oromo (non-Shoan Oromo), Sidama, Gurage, Wolayta,[64] and Dizi.[65] Among the imperial troops wasRas Gobena's Shewan Oromo militia. Many of the lands that they annexed had never been under the empire's rule, with the newly incorporated territories resulting in the modern borders of Ethiopia.[66]
Delegations from the United Kingdom andFrance – European powers whose colonial possessions lay next to Ethiopia – soon arrived in the Ethiopian capital to negotiate their own treaties with this newly-proven power.
In 1935, Italian soldiers under the command ofMarshalEmilio De Bono began what is known as theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War. During the conflict, both Ethiopian and Italian troops committed war crimes. Ethiopian troops are known to have made use ofDum-Dum bullets (in violation of theHague Conventions) and mutilated captured soldiers (often with castration).[67] Italian troops usedsulfur mustard inchemical warfare, ignoring theGeneva Protocol that it had signed seven years earlier. The Italian military dropped mustard gas in bombs, sprayed it from airplanes and spread it in powdered form on the ground. 150,000 chemical casualties were reported, mostly from mustard gas.
On May 1, 1936,Haile Selassie took a train toDjibouti and then boarded a British ship toJerusalem,[68] spending the majority of his time in the city with Ethiopian monks, praying with them at theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.[69][70] He then fled toBath, where he was granted asylum by British authorities who did not want him to stay inLondon, due to this being perceived as "politically embarrassing". Upon arrival, he stayed at a hotel, purchasingFairfield House shortly afterward to spend the remainder of his time.[71] He was accompanied by his children, grandchildren, servants and others. In Bath, Haile Selassie became accustomed to the "army of servants" and living in a single house as he was financially restricted. He was seen getting rid of jewelry on a couple of occasions. Upon leaving England, he left the house for the elderly, not visiting again until 1954.[72]
The war lasted seven months, during whichAddis Ababa was occupied on May 5, 1936, before an Italian victory was declared on May 9, 1936. Italy proclaimed the establishment of theItalian Empire in East Africa, with King Victor Emmanuel III as Emperor of Ethiopia, which was united with other Italian colonies in eastern Africa to form the new colony ofItalian East Africa on June 1. The invasion was condemned by theLeague of Nations, though not much was done to end the hostility.
On June 30, 1936, Selassie traveled once toGeneva to plead with theLeague of Nations that Ethiopia not be officially recognized as part of theItalian Empire. He also had European allies who traveled to Ethiopia to report the news about theEthiopian Army struggling with Italy. This helped Britain's later entry into Ethiopia.[72][73][74]
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and France, as the latter was in the process of being conquered byGerman forces at the time, andBenito Mussolini wished to expand Italy's colonial holdings. TheItalian conquest of British Somaliland in August 1940 was successful, but the war turned against Italy afterward. The British accompanied Haile Selassie toSudan and helped him organise his army within seven months,[75] finally launching amilitary campaign in January 1941, which returned him to the throne on May 5 of the same year.[72][76][77]
On 27 August 1942,Haile Selassie abolished the legal basis ofslavery throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including death, for slave trading.[78] After World War II, Ethiopia became acharter member of the United Nations. In 1948, theOgaden, a region disputed withSomalia, was granted to Ethiopia.[79] On 2 December 1950, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 390 (V), establishing the federation ofEritrea (the former Italian colony) into Ethiopia.[80] Eritrea was to have its own constitution, which would provide for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural balance, while Ethiopia was to manage its finances, defense, and foreign policy.[80]
Despite his centralization policies that had been made before World War II, Haile Selassie still found himself unable to push for all the programs he wanted. In 1942, he attempted to institute a progressive tax scheme, but this failed due to opposition from the nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well.[81] Ethiopia was still "semi-feudal",[82] and the emperor's attempts to alter its social and economic form by reforming its modes of taxation met with resistance from the nobility and clergy, which were eager to resume their privileges in the postwar era.[81] Where Haile Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes, the burdens were often passed by the landowners to the peasants.[81] Despite his wishes, the tax burden remained primarily on the peasants.
Between 1941 and 1959, Haile Selassie worked to establish theautocephaly of theEthiopian Orthodox Church.[83] The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by theabuna, a bishop who answered to the Patriarchate in Egypt. Haile Selassie applied to Egypt'sHoly Synod in 1942 and 1945 to establish the independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with theSee of St. Mark.[83] Finally, in 1959,Pope Kyrillos VI elevated the Abuna to Patriarch-Catholicos.[83] The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church.[81] In addition to these efforts, Haile Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting the legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses.[81][84]
During the celebrations of his Silver Jubilee in November 1955, Haile Selassie introduced arevised constitution,[85] whereby he retained effective power, while extending political participation to the people by allowing the lower house of parliament to become an elected body. Party politics were not provided for. Modern educational methods were more widely spread throughout the Empire, and the country embarked on a development scheme and plans for modernization, tempered by Ethiopian traditions, and within the framework of the ancient monarchical structure of the state. Haile Selassie compromised when practical with the traditionalists in the nobility and church. He also tried to improve relations between the state and ethnic groups, and granted autonomy toAfar lands that were difficult to control. Still, his reforms to end feudalism were slow and weakened by the compromises he made with the entrenched aristocracy. The Revised Constitution of 1955 has been criticized for reasserting "the indisputable power of the monarch" and maintaining the relative powerlessness of the peasants.[86]
On 13 December 1960, while Haile Selassie was on a state visit toBrazil, his Imperial Guard forces stagedan unsuccessful coup, briefly proclaiming Haile Selassie's eldest sonAsfa Wossen as emperor. The coup d'état was crushed by the regular army and police forces. The coup attempt lacked broad popular support, was denounced by theEthiopian Orthodox Church, and was unpopular with the army,air force and police. Nonetheless, the effort to depose the emperor had support among students and the educated classes.[87] The coup attempt has been characterized as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history, the point at which Ethiopians "for the first time questioned the power of the king to rule without the people's consent".[88] Student populations began to empathize with the peasantry and poor, and to advocate on their behalf.[88] The coup spurred Haile Selassie to accelerate reform, which was manifested in the form of land grants to military and police officials.
The emperor continued to be a staunch ally of the West, while pursuing a firm policy ofdecolonization in Africa, which was still largely under European colonial rule. The United Nations conducted a lengthy inquiry regarding the status of Eritrea, with the superpowers each vying for a stake in the state's future. Britain, the administrator at the time, suggested the partition of Eritrea between Sudan and Ethiopia, separating Christians and Muslims. A UN plebiscite voted 46 to 10 to have Eritrea befederated with Ethiopia, which was later stipulated on 2 December 1950 in resolution 390 (V). Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration and would be represented in what had been the Ethiopian parliament and would become the federal parliament.[89] However,Haile Selassie would have none of European attempts to draft a separate Constitution under which Eritrea would be governed, and wanted his own 1955 Constitution to apply in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 1961, tensions between independence-minded Eritreans and Ethiopian forces culminated in theEritrean War of Independence. The emperor declared Eritrea the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962.[90]
In 1963,Haile Selassie presided over the formation of theOrganisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the continent-wideAfrican Union (AU). The new organization would establish its headquarters inAddis Ababa. In May of that year, Haile Selassie was elected as the OAU's first official chairperson, a rotating seat. Along withModibo Keïta of Mali, the Ethiopian leader would later help successfully negotiate the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the border conflict betweenMorocco andAlgeria. In 1964, Haile Selassie would initiate the concept of theUnited States of Africa, a proposition later taken up byMuammar Gaddafi.[91]
Student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life in the 1960s and 1970s.Marxism took root in large segments of the Ethiopian intelligentsia, particularly among those who had studied abroad and had thus been exposed to radical and left-wing sentiments that were becoming popular in other parts of the globe.[87] Resistance by conservative elements at the Imperial Court and Parliament, and by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made Haile Selassie's land reform proposals difficult to implement, and also damaged the standing of the government, costing Haile Selassie much of the goodwill he had once enjoyed. This bred resentment among the peasant population. Efforts to weaken unions also hurt his image. As these issues began to pile up, Haile Selassie left much of domestic governance to his Prime Minister,Aklilu Habte Wold, and concentrated more on foreign affairs.
The government's failure to adequately respond to the 1973 Wollo famine, the growing discontent of urban interest groups, and high fuel prices due to the1973 oil crisis led to a revolt in February 1974 by the army and civilian populace. In June, a group of military officers formed theCoordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army also known as the Derg to maintain law and order due to the powerlessness of the civilian government following the widespreadmutiny.
In July, Emperor Haile Selassie gave the Derg key concessions to arrest military and government officials at every level. Soon both former Prime MinistersTsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habte-Wold andEndelkachew Makonnen, along with most of their cabinets, most regional governors, many senior military officers and officials of the Imperial court were imprisoned. In August, after a proposed constitution creating a constitutional monarchy was presented to the Emperor, the Derg began a program of dismantling the imperial government to forestall further developments in that direction. The Dergdeposed and imprisoned the Emperor on 12 September 1974 and chose Lieutenant GeneralAman Andom, a popular military leader and aSandhurst graduate, to be acting head of state. This was pending the return of Crown PrinceAsfaw Wossen from medical treatment in Europe when he would assume the throne as a constitutional monarch. However, General Aman Andom quarrelled with the radical elements in the Derg over the issue of a new military offensive inEritrea and their proposal to execute the high officials of Selassie's former government. After eliminating units loyal to him: the Engineers, theImperial Bodyguard and theAir Force, the Derg removed General Aman from power and executed him on 23 November 1974, along with some of his supporters and 60 officials of the previous Imperial government.[92]
Brigadier GeneralTafari Benti became the new chairman of the Derg and the head of state. The monarchy was formally abolished in March 1975, andMarxism-Leninism was proclaimed the new ideology of the state. Emperor Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances on 27 August 1975 while his personal physician was absent. It is commonly believed thatMengistu Haile Mariam killed him, either by ordering it done or by his own hand although the former is more likely.[93]
Society
According toBahrey,[94] there were ten social groups in the feudal Ethiopia of his time, i.e. at the end of the 16th century. These social groups consisted of the monks; thedebtera; lay officials (including judges); men at arms giving personal protection to the wives of dignitaries and to princesses; theshimaglle, who were the lords and hereditary landowners; their farm labourers or serfs; traders; artisans; wandering singers; and the soldiers, who were called chewa. According to modern thinking, some of these categories are not true classes. But at least theshimaglle, the serfs, the chewa, the artisans and the traders constitute definite classes. Power was vested in the Emperor and those aristocrats he appointed to execute his power, and the power enforcing instrument consisted of a class of soldiers, the chewa.[95]
From the reign ofAmde Tseyon,Chewa regiments, or legions, formed the backbone of the Empire military forces. The Ge'ez term for these regiments is ṣewa (ጼዋ) while the Amharic term is č̣äwa (ጨዋ). The normal size of a regiment was several thousand men.[96] Each regiment was allocated a fief (Gult), to ensure its upkeep ensured by the land revenue.[97]
In 1445, following theBattle of Gomit, the chronicles record that EmperorZara Yaqob started garrisoning the provinces with Chewa regiments.
Imperial Ethiopian Army: Summary of known deploymentsc. 15th century
Regiments at the court, under high court officials
Regiments in the provinces, under regional Rases or other officials
Regiments in border regions, or more autonomous provinces, such asHadiya,Bahir Negash,Bale, under azmač who were military officials appointed by the king.[99]
One of the Chewa regiments, known as theAbe Lahm in Geez, or theWeregenu, in Oromo, lasted, and participated to theBattle of Adwa, only to be phased out in the 1920s.[100]
The modern army was created under Ras Tafari Makonnen, in 1917, with the formation of theKebur Zabagna, the imperial guard.
The economy consisted of centuries oldbarter system with "primitive money" and currency of various kinds until the 20th century in the framework of feudal system.[101][102] Peasants worked to produce and fixated their activities to taxation, marketing infrastructure and agrarian production.[103][104] One form of currency was gold cubes. Excavations near Mount Yerer, byLanfranco Ricci andFattovich uncovered 5.5 mm gold cubes weighing 3.2 grams each, dated to medieval period. Lacking jewelry features, these cubes likely standardized gold value for trade, with some possibly bearing marks indicating official currency status. In 1699, gold wedges in Gondar, potentially over 10 grams were used as currency according to the French travelerCharles Poncet.[105]
In 1905, Menelik II established the first bank,Bank of Abyssinia following concession from British occupiedNational Bank of Egypt in December 1904, that used to monopolize all government public funds, loans, print banknotes, mint coins and other privileges.[106] It expanded branches toHarar,Dire Dawa,Gore andDembidolo and agencies inGambela and transit office inDjibouti.[107] In 1932, it was renamed as "Bank of Ethiopia" following paid compensation by Emperor Haile Selassie. To promote industrial and manufacturing expansion, Haile Selassie, with assistance of National Economic Council, embarked development plan encompassing three Five-Years Master Plan from 1957 to 1974.[108][109][110] Between 1960 and 1970, Ethiopia enjoyed an annual 4.4% growth rate in per capita and gross domestic product (GDP). There was an increase of manufacturing growth rate from 1.9% in 1960/61 to 4.4% in 1973/74, with wholesale, retail trade, transportation, and communication sectors increased from 9.5% to 15.6%.[111] Ethiopia exported around 800,000 bushels of wheat, mainly to theKingdom of Egypt, TheDutch East Indies, and Greece. The GDP of Ethiopia around 1934 was $1.3 billion, before dropping drastically due to theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War.
Currency
The most common currency of the earlier periods ofEthiopian history were essential items such as, "amole" (salt bars), pieces of cloth or iron and later cartridges. It's only in the 19th century that theMaria Theresa Thaler had become the medium of exchange for large transactions untilMenelik finally started minting local currency around the turn of the century.[112]
As feudalism became the central tenet in the Ethiopian Empire, it developed into an authoritarian system with institutionalized social inequality. As land became the prime commodity, its acquisition became the main driving force behind imperialism, especially from the reign of Menelik II onwards.[113]
As part of Emperor Haile Selassie's modernization efforts, the traditional monarchical regime was reformed through the introduction of the 1931 and 1955 constitutions, which introduced a unitary parliamentary system with two legislative bodies: the Chamber of Senate (Yeheggue Mewossegna Meker Beth) and Chamber of Deputies (Yeheggue Memeriya Meker Beth).[114][115] Under the 1956 constitution Article 56, no one can be simultaneously a member of both chambers, who meet at the beginning or ending of each session.[116]
In the parliamentary structure, the Chamber of Deputies consisted of 250 members elected every four years, whereas the Senate consisted of one-half of the Deputies (125) and were appointed by the Emperor in every six years.[117]
^The old tradition of the Ethiopian emperors was travelling around the country accompanied by their many courtiers and innumerable soldiers, living off the produce of peasants, and dwelling in fortified encampments known askatamas. Thesekatamas would serve as the headquarters of the empire.[1] Despite this several Ethiopian rulers had attempted to establish fixed capitals such asTegulet,Emfraz andDebre Birhan.[2]
^Pankhurst, Richard (1982).History Of Ethiopian Towns. Steiner. p. 41.ISBN978-3-515-03204-9.
^abThe Royal Chronicle of his reign is translated in part by Richard K. P. Pankhurst,The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles (Addis Ababa: Oxford University Press, 1967).
^Markessini, Joan (2012).Around the World of Orthodox Christianity – Five Hundred Million Strong: The Unifying Aesthetic Beauty. Dorrance Publishing.ISBN978-1-4349-1486-6.
^Morgan, Giles (2017).St George: The patron saint of England. Oldcastle Books.ISBN978-1-84344-967-6.
^Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2013, p.96
^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. 390[ISBN missing]
^Braukämper, Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays (Hamburg: Lit Verlag, 2002), p. 82
^"Gonder". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved30 July 2022.
^Caulk, Richard (1971). "The Occupation of Harar: January 1887".Journal of Ethiopian Studies.9 (2):1–20.JSTOR41967469.
^Edward C. Keefer (1973). "Great Britain and Ethiopia 1897–1910: Competition for Empire".International Journal of African Studies.6 (3): 470.doi:10.2307/216612.JSTOR216612.
^Ellis, Gene (1979). "Feudalism in Ethiopia: A Further Comment on Paradigms and Their Use".Northeast African Studies.1 (3):91–97.ISSN0740-9133.JSTOR43660024.
^Schaefer, Charles (1992). "The Politics of Banking: The Bank of Abyssinia, 1905–1931".The International Journal of African Historical Studies.25 (2):361–389.doi:10.2307/219391.ISSN0361-7882.JSTOR219391.
Antonicelli, Franco (1975).Trent'anni di storia italiana: dall'antifascismo alla Resistenza (1915–1945) lezioni con testimonianze [Thirty Years of Italian History: From Antifascism to the Resistance (1915–1945) Lessons with Testimonials]. Reprints Einaudi (in Italian). Torino: Giulio Einaudi Editore.OCLC878595757.
.svg)
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
