The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, a country located in the Horn of Africa region, is one of the oldest homes of human civilizations in the world, and has been linked to many pivotal events in ancient history.

Its capital, Addis Ababa, became the permanent headquarters of the African Union.

In the modern era, it was ruled by an empire founded by Yeku Amlak, and it lasted for seven centuries from 1270 AD until its last ruler, Haile Selassie, was overthrown in a military coup in 1974. After about 17 years of rule, Tigray Front revolutionaries overthrew the rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, and the country moved to a federal system.

The revolution against the Mengistu regime succeeded in uniting most of the leaders of the militias and nationalities in creating a political coalition to rule the country, which enabled it to overcome decades of internal wars, but conflicts of an ethnic nature quickly returned again in the middle of the second decade of the third millennium, and then were renewed during the reign of President Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, who was described as carrying a different reform project.

The headquarters of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa (Getty Images)

basic information

Name:

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Abbreviated name:

Ethiopia.

Capital:

Addis Ababa.

Language:

Ethiopians speak several local languages, most notably Amharic and Oromo, in addition to English, which is considered the primary foreign language in schools.

Political system:

Federal Republic.

National Day:

May 28 (1991) commemorates the end of the regime of General Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Currency:

Birr.

Geography

Location:

Ethiopia is located in the east of the African continent, bordered by Somalia to the southeast, Djibouti to the east, Eritrea to the northeast, Sudan to the north, South Sudan to the northwest, and Kenya to the southwest.

Area:

1,104,300 square kilometers.

Natural resources:

gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydroelectric power.

the climate

Several factors intervene in shaping the climate in Ethiopia, including the tropical location, altitude, proximity to the Indian Ocean, and monsoon winds. The climate varies between tropical, cold, temperate, and dry desert.

A view of the town of Lalibela in Amraha Region, Ethiopia (Reuters)

Population:

Population:

123 million 379 thousand and 924 people, according to 2022 statistics.

Growth rate in 2022:

2.5%.

Ethnic distribution

34.5% Oromo, 26.9% Amhara, 6.2% Somali, 6.1% Tigray, 4% Sidama, 2.5% Guraji, 2.3% Layite, 1.7% Hadiya, 1.7% Afar, 1.5% Gamu, 1.3% Gedeo, and 11.3% other ethnicities.

Religion

Orthodox Christians: 43.5%, Muslims: 33.9%, Protestant Christians: 18.6%, local religions: 0.7%, Catholic Christians: 0.7%.

Economy

The plan of Abiy Ahmed Ali, who assumed the position of Prime Minister on March 27, 2018, opened the horizon towards a renaissance for the Ethiopian economy, which achieved an increase in gross output and growth rate with a decline in poverty rates.

But the indicators quickly began to decline after the Tigray war in November 2020, in addition to the repercussions of the Corona virus, which led to a slowdown in the economy and a decline in the value of the currency.

Starting in 2022, the gross domestic product returned to the rise and reached $126.78 billion, compared to $111.26 billion in 2021.

The annual per capita output also reached $1,027.60 compared to $925 in 2021, and the growth rate reached: 5.30%, but the consequences of the war remained present during 2022 and were embodied in inflation, which reached a rate of 33.90%, the unemployment rate: 4.02%, and the external debt: 28.61. billion dollars, and the Ethiopian government was unable to pay the debt payment due in December 2023.

The most important products that Ethiopia is famous for are: grains, legumes, coffee, cotton, sugarcane, khat, livestock, gold, textiles, leather, chemicals, and cement.

the date

The region of present-day Ethiopia is one of the oldest habitats of human civilizations in the world. The borders of some of the kingdoms that ruled included the entire region south of Egypt up to the far south of the Horn of Africa. They were mentioned in the Old Testament, Egyptian antiquities, and Greek history, and were known as Abyssinia, the land of Nabataeans, and Ethiopia.

The region witnessed the establishment of the Damut Kingdom between the tenth and fifth centuries BC, and its influence extended between northern Ethiopia and areas of present-day Eritrea, and historical accounts indicate that it was divided into small kingdoms starting in the fourth century BC.

On the ruins of this kingdom, the Kingdom of Aksum was established in the first century AD, and some legends say that the origin of the dynasty that ruled it goes back to the Prophet Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

During the fourth century AD, Christianity reached Axum through Egyptian and Syrian missionaries. Its connection with the Roman Empire was strengthened and the regions of Yemen located on the Red Sea were subjected to its influence. Then it expanded to other regions in depth, and spread Christianity in Yemen and the southern Arabian Peninsula, and it fought extensive wars with the Himyarites in The sixth century AD, within the conflicts of the Roman and Persian empires due to intense competition over trade lines.

Since the first decades of the establishment of the Islamic State in Medina, then in Damascus and Baghdad, Aksum’s influence on the Red Sea began to weaken, while the church and the kingdom continued until the tenth century AD, then the Zako dynasty appeared and ruled the region for about three centuries until the year 1270.

One of the main streets of the Ethiopian city of Jimma (Al Jazeera)

Suleiman dynasty

In 1270, the Empire of the Suleiman dynasty appeared and represented the return of the rule of the descendants of Solomon and the Kingdom of Sheba, according to local legends. It fought many wars with the Ottomans, as well as chapters of turmoil in relations and clashes with kingdoms in the region such as the Kingdom of Adal and others, in addition to local conflicts and tension in the relationship of the monks. And the rulers.

During the eighteenth century, the Ethiopian region returned to the forefront of cultural interest in the West after a report prepared by the explorer Bruce. In the nineteenth century, it was a destination for a group of Protestant and then Catholic scholarship.

However, the two groups faced official and religious rejection and were expelled, and beginning in the late nineteenth century, missionaries began to roam Ethiopia without danger during the reign of King Menelik II.

With the arrival of this king to the rule of the Ethiopian Empire in 1889 AD, the country entered a new phase in its history. He established his new capital, Addis Ababa, and paid great attention to education and modernizing the country. He also inflicted a resounding defeat on Italy, which tried to expand its control in the region despite a treaty agreement signed between them recognizing the sovereignty of the Ethiopian Empire. Ethiopia, and his rule continued until 1913.

After the death of Menelik II, his grandson, Lij Yasu, assumed power in 1913, but he was deposed in 1916 after being accused of converting to Islam. Menelik II’s daughter, Zodito, was installed as Empress of Ethiopia, while Haile Selassie, a descendant of the kings of Abyssinia, was chosen as regent and heir to the throne. He became a major political presence and visited Many countries of the world.

Selassie and the end of the empire

On November 2, 1930, Selassie was installed as Emperor of Ethiopia, after the death of Empress Zodetu.

Although Italy was able to occupy Ethiopia during his reign and he was forced to flee and settle in the Palestinian territories, the duration of the occupation did not exceed five years from 1936 to 1941. He returned with British support and formed an army that invaded Ethiopia from the side of Sudan, expelled the Italians and resumed his rule again.

Selassie is described as having been able to strengthen his powers and undermine the influence of traditional groups across Ethiopia. The 1955 Constitution enabled him to expand his already broad powers, and his rule suffered the first shock after returning to power with a failed coup attempt in 1960.

He also contributed to the establishment of the Organization of African Unity, whose first summit was hosted by Ethiopia in 1963 with the participation of 32 African countries. He assumed its rotating presidency twice, and was able to make Addis Ababa the permanent headquarters of the organization, which in 2002 turned into the African Union.

His expansionist ambitions led him to occupy Eritrea on November 16, 1962, turning it into an Ethiopian state, sparking a bloody conflict.

During his reign, the country faced famine and rebellion in the Tigray region, in addition to protests by students, workers, and soldiers, which paved the way for a military coup supported by the Soviet Union that ended on September 12, 1974, Selassie’s rule, which lasted for about 60 years, and was the end of an empire that lasted seven centuries.

To the federal system

After the overthrow of Selassie, the empire’s rule in Ethiopia ended and a phase of military rule began known as the Derg or the Interim Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia. The country was headed by Lieutenant General Aman Andum, but he was killed about two months later. Major Mengistu Haile Mariam took over after him for only 11 days in the first phase, then Brigadier General Tafari Binti He ruled until 1977, when the presidency was returned to Mengistu, who was then a lieutenant colonel in the army. He ruled with an iron fist, and one of his decisions was to change the country’s name to the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. He continued to rule until May 21, 1991, and was overthrown by a revolution led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Although Tesfaye Gebre Kidane assumed the acting presidency, his rule did not exceed a week, as he was also deposed and the leader of the Tigray Revolutionary Front, Meles Zenawi, assumed the presidency in late May 1991 for a transitional period. He then became the leader of the “Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front,” a coalition A politician who includes several fronts, most notably the “Tigray People’s Liberation Front,” the “Oromo People’s Democratic Front,” the “Amhara Democratic Movement,” and the “Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement,” and during his reign a new constitution was adopted for the country, according to which it was announced in August 1995. Establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

During the first years of Zenawi's rule, Eritrea separated from Ethiopia under a referendum insisted on by his personal friend Isaias Afwerki, who became President of Eritrea, but war broke out between the two countries in 1998 and continued until 2000.

After exciting elections following the new constitution, Zenawi became the first prime minister of the new republic with broad powers. He became closer to the United States and the West. In 2006, his country sent forces to Somalia to expel Islamic militant groups, then sent them again in late 2011 to fight the Somali “Al-Shabaab Mujahideen Movement.” .

On August 20, 2012, it was announced that Zenawi had died in a hospital in the Belgian capital, Brussels, while his deputy Hailemariam Desalegn became acting prime minister until he was sworn in on September 16 of the same year after gaining the approval of the leadership of the ruling front.

During his rule, the country witnessed a state of turmoil, so he announced his resignation and expressed his hope that it would lead to stability in the country. The ruling coalition (the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front) presented Abiy Ahmed Ali as head of the coalition in preparation for his election, and he became the first prime minister from the Oromo nationality (the largest nationality in Ethiopia). Since the Front came to power in 1991.

Source: Al Jazeera