History of Ethiopia

The account of Ethiopia’s past, including ancient civilizations, regional kingdoms, imperial rule, foreign invasion, revolution, and the modern state.

Dʿmt: An ancient kingdom in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, flourishing during the first millennium BCE. Dʿmt is among the earliest known states in the region that became Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Empire: A monarchy that ruled much of present-day Ethiopia from the late thirteenth century until 1974. Its changing reach and institutions organize much of Ethiopia’s political past.
Haile Selassie: Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, except during the Italian occupation of 1936–1941. His rule encompassed occupation, restoration, international diplomacy, and the monarchy’s fall.
Ethiopian Civil War: The conflict from 1974 to 1991 between Ethiopia’s government and armed opposition groups. The war brought down the Derg and preceded the formation of a new state.
Italian colonialism: Italy’s imperial expansion and rule in Africa, including its occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. Ethiopia’s brief occupation differed from the longer colonial rule imposed on neighboring territories.
Kingdom of Aksum: An ancient kingdom centered in northern Ethiopia that became a major Red Sea power and adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Aksum linked Ethiopian state formation to long-distance trade and early Christianity.
Zemene Mesafint: A period of decentralized rule in Ethiopia, roughly from the mid-eighteenth century to 1855. Regional lords weakened imperial authority before the era of centralizing emperors.
Italian occupation of Ethiopia: The period when Fascist Italy occupied Ethiopia, from 1936 until the restoration of Ethiopian rule in 1941. The occupation disrupted imperial rule and became a defining episode of resistance.
Eritrean War of Independence: The armed struggle from 1961 to 1991 that ended with Eritrea’s separation from Ethiopia. Its outcome permanently altered Ethiopia’s borders and access to the Red Sea.
History of Eritrea: The history of the territory that became Eritrea, including its incorporation into Ethiopia and independence in 1993. Eritrea’s shared and separate past illuminates shifting borders and sovereignty.

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