Background Information on Ethiopia
Background Information on Ethiopia
Ethiopia has many diverse topographical, climatic, linguistic, and religious
features. Geographically, Ethiopia is located within the hot zone. Its southern tip is only
30 degrees north of the equator. However, due to its high altitude, the country has a
predominantly moderate climate with an average temperature in its vast central highland
plateaus no more than 20°C (68°F). The Great East African Rift Valley traverses the
central highland plateau into the north-west and south-east highlands. The majority of
the population lives in scattered villages in the highlands as farmers and pastoralists. The
three popular indigenous foodstuff plants, teff (Eragrostis teff), nug (Guizotia
abyssinica), and enset (Edulis edule) have been cultivated since at least the 5th
millennium BC (Pankhurst, 2005, p. 13).The highlands are surrounded by lowlands, the
largest part of which lies on the south-eastern side adjacent to Somalia. The Ethiopian
Rift Valley has about 22 lakes and rich species of fauna and flora, especially birds. The
north eastern side of the country has one of the world’s hottest places, the Dallol
Depression, at 130 meters below sea level. This can be contrasted to the cold peak of
Mount Ras Dashan in the central highlands at 4543 meters above sea level. The
significant variation in altitude has created three distinct types of climate in the country.
These include kolla (tropical zone), woyina dega (subtropical zone) and dega (cold
zone). These variations support diverse vegetation and wildlife.
Anthropological sources suggest that Ethiopia is the possible cradle of
humankind (Hilton-Barber & Berger, 2004). The Lower Omo Valley and the Awash
Valley of Ethiopia are World Heritage Sites registered by UNESCO for their
archaeological and paleontological sources. In 1974, fragments of bones believed to be
parts of the skeleton of Australopithecus Afarensis were found in the Hadar valley of the
Afar region. Archaeologists believe 3.2 million years ago, the Afar valley was inhabited
by the earliest hominids. This discovery created a sense of cradle which appears to
resonate with the country’s ancient civilized history.
Ancient Egyptians referred to Ethiopia as the land of Punt, a place of frequent
visits by the gods, and a source and destination of expeditions by the Pharaohs
(Pankhurst, 2005, p. 15). Queen Hatshepsut (1501-1479 BC), and successive Pharaohsmade expeditions to Ethiopia, and Ethiopians made similar expeditions to Egypt. Greek
authors had many stories to tell about Ethiopia. Homer described the people as the
“blameless Ethiopians”, who were loved by the gods, and the “high souled Ethiopians”
who were the children of the almighty son of Koronos (Snowden, 1983, p. 46).
Herodotus provided more detailed account about Ethiopia in the 5th century BC.
According to Herodotus, Ethiopians were people who lived by the streams of the Nile
worshipping the gods. They were “the tallest and handsomest men in the whole world”
and “longer lived than anywhere else” (Herodotus, 440 B.C.E.).
The above portrayal of Ethiopia as a place loved by the Greek gods resonates
with the country’s similar representation in the Judaic and Christian books of the Bible.
Biblical writings portray Ethiopia as a land surrounded by the river Giyon that watered
the Garden of Eden as described in Genesis 2, 2. According to Psalm, Chapter 68 verse
31, “Ethiopia stretches out her hands unto God”. In the Book of Amos, Chapter 9, Verse
7, Israelites were considered as God’s children as much as the Ethiopians were. Various
other sources depict Ethiopia as a place of significance in olden times. The visit of the
Queen of Sheba to King Solomon of Israel as stated in the first Book of Kings 10 led to
one of the most influential stories to describe the messianic destiny of Ethiopia. The
details of this story are elaborated in the Ethiopian book of the Kebra Nagast which is
one of the analytical sources of this study (Chapter Three). The history of ancient
Ethiopian civilisation that was mentioned in these and many other texts has been
targeted by supporters of the Eurocentric perspective of history that denied Africa a
share of its historical existence in the world (Hegel, 1856). However, few Ethiopian
scholars have shown the absurdity of the thesis of the alien origin of Ethiopian
civilisation based on historical and other evidences (Bekerie, 1997; Isaac, 2013; Kebede,
2003a).
In addition to the arguments of the scholars, physical evidence of ancient
civilisation abounds in Ethiopia where archaeological sources uncovered stone
inscriptions and ruined palaces that date back to the 10th century BC are still visible at
Yeha. The symbolic height of Ethiopia’s civilization was epitomised in the erection of
more than 140 obelisks at Axum and the surrounding area which are estimated to date as
far back as 1st millennium BC. Although the largest obelisk at the height of about 33 meters high has since collapsed, Richard Pankhurst (2005, p. 32) argues that it is “a
strong candidate as the largest single monolith which humans have ever proceeded to
erect”. In addition to stone inscriptions and obelisks, Ethiopia was one of the earliest
countries to mint coins from gold, silver and bronze for internal and external trade. From
King Endubis (270 AD) to King Armah (630 AD), twenty kings inscribed their names
and effigies into coins. They also inscribed important victories and mentioned religious
gratitude on stones using the Geez, Sabaean and Greek languages (Pankhurst, 2005, p.
36).
The introduction of Christianity is one of the most influential events in the
history of Ethiopia. It is believed that the Axumite King Ezana was converted into
Christianity around 330 AD. But the news of Christianity might have reached the
country much earlier than that time (Isaac, 2013, p. 17-18). The Ethiopian Orthodox
Church became the ideological and intellectual source of statehood in the country.
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Christianity developed with the arrival of nine monks in
480 AD who are said to have greatly assisted in the translation of numerous books
including the Bible into Geez (Isaac, 2013, p. 21). Islam was introduced in 615 AD
when the earliest disciples of the Prophet Mohammad escaped prosecution in Mecca and
took refuge in Axum.
With the expansion of Islam and Ottoman dominance in Arabia, Ethiopia’s
Axumite dynasty declined around the 10th Century AD, and was replaced by the Zagwe
Dynasty which was centred near the historic town of Lalibela. The Zagwe period was
the most peaceful and prosperous time of the country that left numerous yet untranslated
historical evidence behind despite modern historians referring to the Zagwe as the “Dark
Age” (Negash, 2003). It could also be that the rich intellectual resources of the period
were destroyed by the succeeding Solomonic Dynasty (Heldman, 1992). Negash (2003)
considers ideological motives for this neglect. King Lalibela, who epitomised the
European legendary persona of Prestor John, built monolithic churches from a single
rock to create a “New Jerusalem” in Ethiopia. The Zagwe architectural legacy witnesses
a continuous and refined stage of civilization in the country (Buxton, 1970). Zagwe
declined and was replaced by what is commonly known as the Restored Solomon
Dynasty in about 1270. The Restored Solomon Dynasty saw various upheavals such as the war of
Ahmed Gragn, the great Oromo movement, the establishment of Gondar as the new
Capital, the decline of Gondar and the rise and fall of Tewodros II, the battle of Adowa,
and the period of Haile Selassie. The European colonial policy towards Africans and the
dominance of Islamic power encircling the country made Ethiopia an isolated “Christian
island” in the region. The period starting from the rise of Tewodros IV to power in 1855
is considered to be the modern period in Ethiopia. During this time, the power of Europe
gained a significant political consideration in the minds of Ethiopian leaders (Tubiana,
1965). The British sent a successful expedition to free their citizens from Tewodros II in
1888, Menelik II fought Italians at the Battle of Adowa in 1896, the first western school
was opened in 1908, Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, and the Addis Ababa University
was founded in 1950. These and many other related historical events brought the
military and ideological power of Europe into the Ethiopian political matrix, and a
consciousness of a world dominated by European superiority gained momentum among
the leading intelligentsia of the country.
The beginning of this development is regarded
in this study as the birth of consciousness of power which was marked by the death of
Tewodros II on April 13, 1868 at Maqdella (Chapter Five). Western education started in
Ethiopia under the influence of this consciousness in the first quarter of the twentieth
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