Ethiopia – ancient kingdoms and a nation that resisted colonial rule
Ethiopia is among the oldest places of human history: fossils such as the famous "Lucy" were discovered in the Afar region. In antiquity the Kingdom of Aksum grew into a major trading power, and in the fourth century its rulers adopted Christianity, making it one of the earliest Christian states. Its legacy lives on in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Ge'ez script and monuments such as the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.
From the thirteenth century the Solomonic dynasty ruled the highlands, interacting and at times clashing with neighbouring Muslim sultanates. After a long period of fragmentation, emperors such as Tewodros II and Menelik II reunified and expanded the realm in the nineteenth century. In 1896 Ethiopian forces defeated Italy at the Battle of Adwa, and the country kept its independence during the colonial partition of Africa.
Emperor Haile Selassie modernised the state, but Fascist Italy occupied Ethiopia from 1936 until 1941. In 1974 the monarchy was overthrown by the military Derg regime, whose rule was marked by the "Red Terror", civil war and devastating famine. After its fall in 1991 Eritrea became independent, and a new constitution established a federal republic along ethnic-regional lines.
Today Ethiopia is shaped by its great diversity of peoples and languages, its ancient Christian and Islamic traditions and Addis Ababa's role as seat of the African Union.
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