The Sultanate of Aussa was a kingdom that existed in the Afar Region in southern Eritrea , eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti from the 18th to the 20th century. It was considered to be the leading monarchy of the Afar people , to whom the other Afar rulers nominally acknowledged primacy.
179-462: The Ethiopian Empire nominally laid claim to the region but were met with harsh resistance. Due to their skills in desert warfare, the Afars managed to remain independent, unlike other similar groups in the region. The Sultan Yayyo visited Rome along with countless other nobility from across East Africa to support the creation of Italian East Africa . This marked the end of the region's independence and it
358-500: A miraculous light that in the sky. Believing this was a sign from God showing his 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 to Saint Cyriacus . Zara Yaqob was succeeded by Baeda Maryam I . Emperor Baeda Maryam would give the title of the Queen Mother to Eleni of Ethiopia , one of his father's wives. She
537-419: A Voi il giuramento di fedelta mio della gente della mia razza. Ripotero al mio Paese la Vostra immagine e la Vostra parola. Dio benedica la Vostra opera e ci mantenga sulla giusta via della Vostra Volontà. Io Vi offro questo tappeto che fu gia del Negus Micael e che poi, Ligg Jasu dono mio padre: sono lieto che questo tappeto, fatto per i sovrani abissini, sia oggi proprieta del Fondatore dell'Impero Duce, from
716-506: A bayonet charge and half escaped. Italian casualties were 31 Italians and 370 Askari killed and five Italians taken prisoner; Ethiopian casualties were estimated by the Italians to be 500, which was probably greatly exaggerated. The news from the "northern front" was generally bad for Italy. However, foreign correspondents in Addis Ababa publicly took up knitting to mock their lack of access to
895-534: 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 in Debre Damo . The Emperor
1074-703: A golden age of peace and stability for the Ethiopian Empire. However, the remaining Walashma returned from their exile in 1415 and established the Adal Sultanate centred around the Harar region. The Muslims then began to harass Christian held territories in the east prompting Emperor Yeshaq 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
1253-532: A highly stable, prosperous commercial center. This period saw profound achievements in Ethiopian art , architecture , and innovations such as the construction of the royal complex Fasil Ghebbi , and 44 churches that were established around Lake Tana . In the arts, the Gondarine period saw the creation of diptychs and triptychs , murals and illuminated manuscripts , mostly with religious motifs. The reign of Iyasu
1432-747: A letter the Mamluke Sultan, Qalawun asking him to allow the patriarch of Alexandria to send an abuna or metropolitan for the Ethiopian 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. 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
1611-605: A long war in Ethiopia, that would probably lead to Britain pushing the League of Nations to impose sanctions on Italy, which the French would almost certainly not veto out of fear of destroying relations with Britain; that would cause a crisis in Anglo-Italian relations and allow Germany to offer its "good services" to Italy. In that way, Hitler hoped to win Mussolini as an ally and to destroy
1790-579: A member of the League of Nations . As fascist rule in Italy continued to radicalise, its colonial governors in the Horn of Africa began pushing outward the margins of their imperial foothold. The governor of Italian Eritrea, Jacopo Gasparini , focused on the exploitation of Teseney and an attempt to win over the leaders of the Tigre people against Ethiopia. The governor of Italian Somaliland, Cesare Maria de Vecchi , began
1969-687: A modest request for the Japanese government for an official statement of its support for Ethiopia during the coming conflict was denied. With war appearing inevitable, the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilisation of the Army of the Ethiopian Empire : All men and boys able to carry a spear go to Addis Ababa . Every married man will bring his wife to cook and wash for him. Every unmarried man will bring any unmarried woman he can find to cook and wash for him. Women with babies,
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#17328525787402148-579: A murderous defeat of the Mudaitos. Yusuf was slain after which the town was sacked and the garrison was put to the sword. The instability from this invasion had caused the Aussa state to suffer greatly. Aussa, once an important place had lost much of its political significance but had remained an extensive encampment frequented by innumerable Afars and Somalis as a place for perpetual fairs. Sultan Mahammad ibn Hanfadhe defeated and killed Werner Munzinger in 1875, who
2327-632: A period known as the Princes Era (in Amharic: Zemene Mesafint ). This was a period of Ethiopian history with numerous conflicts between the various Ras (equivalent to the English dukes ) and the Emperor, who had only limited power and only dominated the area around the contemporary capital of Gondar . Both the development of society and culture stagnated in this period. Religious conflict, both within
2506-453: A policy of repression that led to the occupation of the fertile Jubaland , and the cessation in 1928 of collaboration between the settlers and the traditional Somali chiefs. The Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 stated that the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was 21 leagues parallel to the Benadir coast (approximately 118.3 kilometres [73.5 miles]). In 1930, Italy built a fort at
2685-449: 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 Derg deposed and imprisoned the Emperor on 12 September 1974 and chose Lieutenant General Aman Andom , a popular military leader and a Sandhurst graduate, to be acting head of state. This
2864-477: A push towards Warieu Pass. Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu , the Minister of War, advanced from Dessie with approximately 80,000 men to take positions on and around Amba Aradam to the right of Ras Seyoum. Amba Aradam was a steep sided, flat topped mountain directly in the way of an Italian advance on Addis Ababa. The four commanders had approximately 190,000 men facing the Italians. Ras Imru and his Army of Shire were on
3043-577: A resounding victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, utilizing modern imported weaponry, Menelik ensured Ethiopia's independence and confined Italy to Eritrea . Later, after the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , Benito Mussolini's Italian Empire occupied Ethiopia and established Italian East Africa , merging it with neighboring Eritrea and the Italian Somaliland colonies to
3222-752: A result, in 1943 the reinstalled Ethiopian government sent a military expedition that captured Sultan Muhammad Yayyo and made one of his relatives Sultan. Upon a visit to Rome, Sultan Mohamed Yayyo met Benito Mussolini and declared a speech of his loyalty towards the Italian Empire in Palazzo Venezia. Duce, dal tempo più lontano, la mia famiglia e state nemica degli abissini, nemici della potenti Italia. Mio nonno e mio padre sono sempre stati amici dell'Italia ed io, con il cuore e con la spada, sono un soldato dell'Impero italiano. Per la mia fedelta ho chiesto il premio di vedervi Oggi Vi vedo ed ho la gioia di ripetere
3401-573: A rotating seat. Along with Modibo Keïta of Mali, the Ethiopian leader would later help successfully negotiate the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the border conflict between Morocco and Algeria . In 1964, Haile Selassie would initiate the concept of the United States of Africa , a proposition later taken up by Muammar Gaddafi . Student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life in
3580-545: A secondary theatre, whose primary need was to defend itself, but it could aid the main front with offensive thrusts if the enemy forces were not too large there. Most foreigners accompanied the Ethiopians, but Herbert Matthews , a reporter and historian who wrote Eyewitness in Abyssinia: With Marshal Bodoglio's forces to Addis Ababa (1937), and Pedro del Valle , an observer for US Marine Corps , accompanied
3759-804: A supposed direct descendant of Menelik I, was therefore claimed to have "restored" the Solomonic line. Throughout Yekuno Amlak 's reign he would enjoy friendly relations with the Muslims. He not only had established close ties with the neighboring Makhzumi dynasty but had also made contact with the Rasulids in Yemen and the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate . In a letter sent to the Mamluke Sultan Baybars , he would state his intention of friendly cooperation with
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#17328525787403938-510: Is known as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . The war lasted seven months before an Italian victory was declared. The Ethiopian Empire was occupied into the Italian colony of Italian East Africa . The invasion was condemned by the League of Nations , though not much was done to end the hostility. During the conflict, both Ethiopian and Italian troops committed war crimes. Ethiopian troops are known to have made use of Dum-Dum bullets (in violation of
4117-680: Is often referred to simply as the Italian Invasion ( Amharic : ጣልያን ወረራ , romanized : Ṭalyan warära ; Oromo : Weerara Xaaliyaanii), and in Italy as the Ethiopian War ( Italian : Guerra d'Etiopia ). It is seen as an example of the expansionist policy that characterized the Axis powers and the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations before the outbreak of the Second World War . On 3 October 1935, two hundred thousand soldiers of
4296-578: Is ṣewa (ጼዋ) while the Amharic term is č̣äwa (ጨዋ). The normal size of a regiment was several thousand men. Each regiment was allocated a fief (Gult), to ensure its upkeep ensured by the land revenue. Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War , also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War , was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia , which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it
4475-601: The Kebra Nagast , a 14th century text. According to this, the Queen of Sheba , who supposedly came from Aksum, visited Jerusalem 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
4654-528: The 1974 coup d'état by the Derg , which ended the reign of the final Emperor, Haile Selassie . In the late 19th century, under Emperor Menelik II , the empire expanded significantly to the south, and in 1952, Eritrea was federated under Selassie's rule. Despite being surrounded by hostile forces throughout much of its history, the empire maintained a kingdom centered on its ancient Christian heritage . Founded in 1270 by Yekuno Amlak , who claimed to descend from
4833-601: The Abyssinia Crisis at the League of Nations. On 4 September 1935, the League of Nations exonerated both parties for the incident. Britain and France, preferring Italy as an ally against Germany, did not take strong steps to discourage an Italian military buildup on the borders of Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland . Because of the German Question , Mussolini needed to deter Hitler from annexing Austria while much of
5012-644: The Battle of Chelenqo . In 1889 Menelik's general Gobana Dacche also defeated the Hadiya leader Hassan Enjamo and annexed Hadiya territory. The 1880s were marked by the Scramble for Africa . Italy, seeking a colonial presence in Africa, was awarded Eritrea by Britain which led to the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 and the scramble for Eritrea's coastal regions between King Yohannes IV of Tembien and Italy. After
5191-638: The Eritrean War of Independence . The emperor declared Eritrea the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962. In 1963, Haile Selassie presided over the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the continent-wide African Union (AU). The new organization would establish its headquarters in Addis Ababa . In May of that year, Haile Selassie was elected as the OAU's first official chairperson,
5370-520: The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and between them and the Muslims were often used as a pretext for mutual strife. The Princes Era ended with the reign of Emperor Tewodros II . In 1868, following the imprisonment of several missionaries and representatives of the British government, the British engaged in the punitive Expedition to Abyssinia against Emperor Tewodros. With the backing of most nobles in Ethiopia,
5549-589: The First Italo–Ethiopian War . Count Tornielli declared to the Marquis of Salisbury that Article 5 of the treaty concluded between the Italians and the Sultan Mahammad Hanfare. That in a case of any other power trying to occupy Aussa or any parts of his territory, the Sultan must oppose it and declare that his nation is an Italian protectorate and must raise the Italian flag. According to Article 3,
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5728-523: The Hague Conventions ) and mutilated captured soldiers (often with castration). Italian troops used sulfur mustard in chemical warfare , ignoring the Geneva 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. In
5907-593: The Red Cross were reported. By all estimates, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian civilians died as a result of the Italian invasion, which have been described by some historians as constituting genocide . Crimes by Ethiopian troops included the use of dumdum bullets (in violation of the Hague Conventions ), the killing of civilian workmen (including during the Gondrand massacre ) and the mutilation of captured Eritrean Ascari and Italians (often with castration), beginning in
6086-877: The Royal Italian Army ( Regio Esercito ) and the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) in East Africa ( Africa Orientale ) accelerated. Eight regular, mountain and blackshirt militia infantry divisions arrived in Eritrea, and four regular infantry divisions arrived in Italian Somaliland, about 685,000 soldiers and a great number of logistical and support units; the Italians included 200 journalists. The Italians had 6,000 machine guns, 2,000 pieces of artillery, 599 tanks and 390 aircraft. The Regia Marina (Royal Navy) carried tons of ammunition, food and other supplies, with
6265-623: The Semien Mountains . The Emperor did not hesitate to take the offensive and won a major victory at the Battle 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. In 1559 Gelawdewos
6444-719: The Stresa Front . A final possible foreign ally of Ethiopia was Japan , which had served as a model to some Ethiopian intellectuals. After the Welwel incident, several right-wing Japanese groups, including the Great Asianism Association and the Black Dragon Society , attempted to raise money for the Ethiopian cause. The Japanese ambassador to Italy, Dr. Sugimura Yotaro, on 16 July assured Mussolini that Japan held no political interests in Ethiopia and would stay neutral in
6623-623: The Sultan of Egypt . One step Newaya Krestos took was to imprison the Egyptian merchants in his kingdom, the Sultan was forced to back down. In 1382, Dawit I succeeded the son of Newaya Krestos, Newaya Maryam , as Emperor of Ethiopia. The tributary state of the Ifat Sultanate had begun to resist Ethiopian hegemony and assert their independence under Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II . Sultan Sa'ad as-Din would then raid
6802-498: The Treaty of Versailles . The first draft of the communique at Stresa Summit spoke of upholding stability all over the world, but British Foreign Secretary, Sir John Simon , insisted for the final draft to declare that Britain, France and Italy were committed to upholding stability "in Europe", which Mussolini took for British acceptance of an invasion of Ethiopia. In June, non-interference
6981-553: The Welwel oasis (also Walwal , Italian: Ual-Ual ) in the Ogaden and garrisoned it with Somali dubats (irregular frontier troops commanded by Italian officers). The fort at Welwel was well beyond the 21-league limit and inside Ethiopian territory. On 23 November 1934, an Anglo–Ethiopian boundary commission studying grazing grounds to find a definitive border between British Somaliland and Ethiopia arrived at Welwel. The party contained Ethiopian and British technicians and an escort of around 600 Ethiopian soldiers. Both sides knew that
7160-413: The "Falcon Feathers" ( Penne di Falco ) was one prestigious and colourful Eritrean cavalry unit. Other RCTC units during the invasion of Ethiopia were irregular Somali frontier troops ( dubats ), regular Arab-Somali infantry and artillery and infantry from Libya. The Italians had a variety of local semi-independent "allies" in the north, and the Azebu Galla were among several groups induced to fight for
7339-457: The 16th century. These social groups consisted of the monks; the debtera ; lay officials (including judges); men at arms giving personal protection to the wives of dignitaries and to princesses; the shimaglle, 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
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7518-466: The 1896 Battle of Adwa , in which Italy was decisively defeated by the numerically superior Ethiopians. As a result, the Treaty 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 when seeing that some Ethiopians had more advanced rifles than
7697-455: 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. 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
7876-424: The 1973 Wollo famine, the growing discontent of urban interest groups, and high fuel prices due to the 1973 oil crisis led to a revolt in February 1974 by the army and civilian populace. In June, a group of military officers formed the Coordinating 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
8055-478: The British, but the escort remained. For ten days both sides exchanged menaces, sometimes no more than 2 m apart. Reinforcements increased the Ethiopian contingent to about 1,500 men and the Italians to about 500, and on 5 December 1934, shots were fired. The Italians were supported by an armoured car and bomber aircraft. The bombs missed, but machine gunfire from the car caused about 110 Ethiopian casualties. 30 to 50 Italians and Somalis were killed. The incident led to
8234-443: The Czechoslovak writer Adolf Parlesak. Several Austrian Nazis, a team of Belgian fascists, and the Cuban mercenary Alejandro del Valle also fought for Haile Selassie. Many of the individuals were military advisers, pilots, doctors or supporters of the Ethiopian cause; 50 mercenaries fought in the Ethiopian army and another 50 people were active in the Ethiopian Red Cross or nonmilitary activities. The Italians later attributed most of
8413-409: The Egyptians and Mahdists before dying against the latter in 1889. Emperor Menelik II , now residing in Addis Ababa , subjugated many peoples and kingdoms in what is now western, southern, and eastern Ethiopia, like Kaffa , Welayta , Harar , and other kingdoms. Thus, by 1898 Ethiopia expanded into its modern territorial boundaries. In the northern region, he confronted Italy 's expansion. Through
8592-497: 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 to Afar lands that were difficult to control. Still, his reforms to end feudalism were slow and weakened by
8771-414: The Empire. A contemporary account was recorded by the monk Abba Bahrey , from the Gamo region. Subsequently, the empire organization changed progressively, with faraway provinces taking more independence. A remote province such as Bale is last recorded paying tribute to the imperial throne during Yaqob reign (1590–1607). In 1636, Emperor Fasilides founded Gondar as a permanent capital, which became
8950-411: The Engineers, the Imperial Bodyguard and the Air 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. Brigadier General Tafari Benti became the new chairman of the Derg and the head of state. The monarchy was formally abolished in March 1975, and Marxism-Leninism was proclaimed
9129-474: The Ethiopian Highlands would fall under the rule of the Zagwe Dynasty . The new rulers were Agaws that had come from the Lasta 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 in Lalibela ,
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#17328525787409308-408: The Ethiopian centre, crushing the Italian left with the Ethiopian right and to invade Eritrea with the Ethiopian left. Ras Seyum Mangasha held the area around Abiy Addi with about 30,000 men. Selassie with about 40,000 men advanced from Gojjam toward Mai Timket to the left of Ras Seyoum. Ras Kassa Haile Darge with around 40,000 men advanced from Dessie to support Ras Seyoum in the centre in
9487-427: The Ethiopian frontier at the Battle of Webi River . The Ottomans were checked by Emperor Sarsa Dengel's victory and sacking of Arqiqo in 1589, thus containing them on a narrow coastline strip. The Afar Sultanate maintained the remaining Ethiopian port on the Red Sea, at Baylul . Oromo migrations through the same period, occurred with the movement of a large pastoral population from the southeastern provinces of
9666-485: The Ethiopian frontier provinces capturing much loot and slaves, this resulted in Emperor Dawit I declaring all the Muslims of the surrounding region to be "enemies of the Lord" and invading the Ifat Sultanate , After a battle between Sa'ad ad-Din and the Emperor, in which the Ifat army was defeated and "no less 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 as Zeila on
9845-460: The Ethiopian left. Ras Seyoum and his Army of Tigre and Ras Kassa and his Army of Beghemder were the Ethiopian centre. Ras Mulugeta and his "Army of the Center" ( Mahel Sefari ) were on the Ethiopian right. A force of 1,000 Ethiopians crossed the Tekeze river and advanced toward the Dembeguina Pass (Inda Aba Guna or Indabaguna pass). The Italian commander, Major Criniti, commanded a force of 1,000 Eritrean infantry supported by L3 tanks . When
10024-407: The Ethiopians attacked, the Italian force fell back to the pass, only to discover that 2,000 Ethiopian soldiers were already there and Criniti's force was encircled. In the first Ethiopian attack, two Italian officers were killed and Criniti was wounded. The Italians tried to break out using their L3 tanks but the rough terrain immobilised the vehicles. The Ethiopians killed the infantry, then rushed
10203-422: The Ethiopians from taking advantage of their initial successes. The Ethiopians in general were very poorly armed, with few machine guns, their troops mainly armed with swords and spears. Having spent a decade accumulating poison gas in East Africa, Mussolini gave Badoglio authority to resort to Schrecklichkeit (frightfulness), which included destroying villages and using gas (OC 23/06, 28 December 1935). Mussolini
10382-421: The Ethiopians from taking advantage of their initial successes. The Italians resumed the offensive in early March. On 29 March 1936, Graziani bombed the city of Harar and two days later the Italians won a decisive victory in the Battle of Maychew , which nullified any possible organized resistance of the Ethiopians. Emperor Haile Selassie was forced to escape into exile on 2 May, and Badoglio's forces arrived in
10561-457: The Ethiopians had wiped out an entire legion of the 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" and that the Italians had lost at least 3,000 men. Rome denied these figures. The ambitious Ethiopian plan called for Ras Kassa and Ras Seyoum to split the Italian army in two and isolate the Italian I Corps and III Corps in Mekele. Ras Mulugeta would then descend from Amba Aradam and crush both corps. According to this plan, after Ras Imru retook Adwa, he
10740-439: The Ethiopians lost 6,000 killed and 12,000 wounded. From 27 to 29 February, the armies of Ras Kassa and Ras Seyoum were destroyed at the Second Battle of Tembien . Ethiopians again argued that poison gas played a role in the destruction of the withdrawing armies. In early March, the army of Ras Imru was attacked, bombed and defeated in what was known as the Battle of Shire . In the battles of Amba Aradam, Tembien and Shire,
10919-435: The German annexation of Austria , Germany sent three aeroplanes, 10,000 Mauser rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition to the Ethiopians. The serviceable portion of the Ethiopian Air Force was commanded by a Frenchman, André Maillet, and included three obsolete Potez 25 biplanes. A few transport aircraft had been acquired between 1934 and 1935 for ambulance work, but the Air Force had 13 aircraft and four pilots at
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#173285257874011098-430: The Great (1682-1706) was a major period of consolidation. It also saw the dispatching of embassies to Louis XIV's France and to Dutch India . The Early Modern period was one of intense cultural and artistic creation. Notable philosophers from that area are Zera Yacob and Walda 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
11277-446: The Italian III Corps and the Italian IV Corps in Eritrea during early 1936. On 20 January, the Italians resumed their northern offensive at the First Battle of Tembien (20 to 24 January) in the broken terrain between the Warieu Pass and Makale. The forces of Ras Kassa were defeated, the Italians using phosgene gas and suffering 1,082 casualties against 8,000 Ethiopian casualties according to an Ethiopian wireless message intercepted by
11456-502: The Italian Army commanded by Marshal Emilio De Bono attacked from Eritrea (then an Italian colonial possession) without prior declaration of war. At the same time a minor force under General Rodolfo Graziani attacked from Italian Somalia . On 6 October, Adwa was conquered, a symbolic place for the Italian army because of the defeat at the Battle of Adwa by the Ethiopian army during the First Italo-Ethiopian War . On 15 October, Italian troops seized Aksum , and an obelisk adorning
11635-457: The Italian Army was being deployed to the Horn of Africa , which led him to draw closer to France to provide the necessary deterrent. King Victor Emmanuel III shared the traditional Italian respect for British sea power and insisted to Mussolini that Italy must not antagonise Britain before he assented to the war. In that regard, British diplomacy in the first half of 1935 greatly assisted Mussolini's efforts to win Victor Emmanuel's support for
11814-450: The Italian I Corps took Adigrat , and by 6 October, Adwa (Adowa) was captured by the Italian II Corps. Haile Selassie had ordered Duke ( Ras ) Seyoum Mangasha , the Commander of the Ethiopian Army of Tigre , to withdraw a day's march away from the Mareb River. Later, the Emperor ordered his son-in-law and Commander of the Gate ( Dejazmach ) Haile Selassie Gugsa , also in the area, to move back 89 and 56 km (55 and 35 mi) from
11993-443: The Italian commander, Captain Roberto Cimmaruta, rebuffed the request. Fitorari Shiferra, the commander of the Ethiopian escort, took no notice of the 150 Italian and Somali troops and made camp. To avoid being caught in an Italian–Ethiopian incident, Clifford withdrew the British contingent to Ado, about 20 mi (32 km) to the north-east, and Italian aircraft began to fly over Welwel. The Ethiopian commissioners retired with
12172-413: The Italian forces. At 5:00 am on 3 October 1935, De Bono crossed the Mareb River and advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a declaration of war . Aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica scattered leaflets asking the population to rebel against Haile Selassie and support the "true Emperor Iyasu V ". Forty-year-old Iyasu had been deposed many years earlier but was still in custody. In response to
12351-459: The Italian invasion, Ethiopia declared war on Italy. At this point in the campaign, the lack of roads represented a serious hindrance for the Italians as they crossed into Ethiopia. On the Eritrean side, roads had been constructed right up to the border. On the Ethiopian side, these roads often transitioned into vaguely defined paths, and the Italian army used aerial photography to plan its advance, as well as mustard gas attacks. On 5 October
12530-410: The Italians and planned to spend £5000 on the Viceroy and the rest on three Gloster Gladiator fighters. There were 50 foreign mercenaries who joined the Ethiopian forces, including French pilots like Pierre Corriger, American pilot John Robinson (aviator) , the Trinidadian pilot Hubert Julian , an official Swedish military mission under Captain Viking Tamm , the White Russian Feodor Konovalov and
12709-414: The Italians captured Amba Aradam and destroyed Ras Mulugeta's army in the Battle of Amba Aradam (Battle of Enderta). The Ethiopians suffered massive losses and poison gas destroyed a small part of Ras Mulugeta's army, according to the Ethiopians. During the slaughter following the attempted withdrawal of his army, both Ras Mulugeta and his son were killed. The Italians lost 800 killed and wounded while
12888-452: The Italians had installed a military post at Welwel and were not surprised to see an Italian flag at the wells. The Ethiopian government had notified the Italian authorities in Italian Somaliland that the commission was active in the Ogaden and requested the Italians to co-operate. When the British commissioner Lieutenant-Colonel Esmond Clifford , asked the Italians for permission to camp nearby,
13067-448: The Italians suffered about 2,600 casualties and the Ethiopians about 15,000; Italian casualties at the Battle of Shire being 969 men. The Italian victories stripped the Ethiopian defences on the northern front, Tigré province had fallen most of the Ethiopian survivors returned home or took refuge in the countryside and only the army guarding Addis Ababa stood between the Italians and the rest of
13246-514: The Italians, initiating a trend of resistance that would transform into the Patriot / Arbegnoch movement. They were joined by local residents who operated independently near their own homes. Early activities included capturing war materials, rolling boulders off cliffs at passing convoys, kidnapping messengers, cutting telephone lines, setting fire to administrative offices and fuel and ammunition dumps , and killing collaborators. As disruption increased,
13425-430: The Italians. [It]...was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makale were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that
13604-499: The Italians. In the south, the Somali sultan Olol Dinle commanded a personal army, which advanced into the northern Ogaden with the forces of Colonel Luigi Frusci . The sultan was motivated by his desire to take back lands that the Ethiopians had taken from him. The Italian colonial forces even included men from Yemen , across the Gulf of Aden . The Italians were reinforced by volunteers from
13783-548: The Mudaito clan, seized power and established the Mudaito dynasty after overthrowing the Harla led Adal Sultanate which had occupied the region since the thirteenth century. This marked the start of a new and more sophisticated polity that would last into the colonial period. The primary symbol of the Sultan was a silver baton , which was considered to have magical properties. The influence of
13962-492: 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. During his first years on the throne, Zara Yaqob launched a strong campaign against survivals of pagan worship and "un-Christian practices" within
14141-477: 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." In 1285 Yekuno Amlak was succeeded by his son Yagbe'u Seyon , who wrote
14320-598: The National government in Britain, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin , won a general election on a platform of upholding collective security and support for the League of Nations, which at least implied that Britain would support Ethiopia. However, the British service chiefs, led by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Earle Chatfield, all advised against going to war with Italy for the sake of Ethiopia, which carried much weight with
14499-552: The Orthodox Church as he promised to make the church a semi independent institution, he had also enjoyed support from the neighboring Muslim Makhzumi dynasty . Yekuno Amlak then rebelled against the Zagwe king and defeated him at the Battle of Ansata . Taddesse Tamrat argued that this king was Yetbarak , but due to a local form of damnatio memoriae , his name was removed from the official records. A more recent chronicler of Wollo history, Getatchew Mekonnen Hasen, states that
14678-572: The Sultan had recognised the whole Danakil coast from Amphila Bay to Ras Doumeira as an Italian possession and had conceded the territories of Gambo Kona and Ablis as a part of Italian Eritrea. During the Second Italian-Ethiopian War , the Sultan Mahammad Yayyo agreed to cooperate with the Italian invaders. By 1 April 1936, Italian troops completed the occupation of the rich Sultanate of Aussa, bordering on French Somaliland. As
14857-539: The advance was methodical and on 8 November, the I Corps and the Eritrean Corps captured Makale . The Italian advance had added 56 mi (90 km) to the line of supply and De Bono wanted to build a road from Adigrat before continuing. On 16 November, De Bono was promoted to the rank of Marshal of Italy ( Maresciallo d'Italia ) and in December was replaced by Badoglio to speed up the invasion. On 14 November 1935,
15036-614: The aftermath of the war Italy annexed Ethiopia, uniting it with Italy's other colonies in eastern Africa to form the new colony of Italian East Africa, and Victor Emmanuel III of Italy adopted the title "Emperor of Abyssinia ". On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and France, as France was in the process of being conquered by Nazi Germany at the time and Benito Mussolini wished to expand Italy's colonial holdings. The Italian conquest of British Somaliland in August 1940
15215-422: The area and limited itself to administering the small possessions that it retained in the area: the colony of Italian Eritrea and the protectorate (later colony) of Italian Somaliland . For the next few decades, Italian-Ethiopian economic and diplomatic relations remained relatively stable. On 14 December 1925, Italy's fascist government signed a secret pact with Britain aimed at reinforcing Italian dominance in
15394-471: The average Italian Infantryman. Beginning in the 1890s, under the reign of the Emperor Menelik II , the empire's forces set off from the central province of Shewa to incorporate through conquest inhabited lands to the west, east and south of its realm. The territories that were annexed included those of the western Oromo (non-Shoan Oromo), Sidama, Gurage, Wolayta, and Dizi. Among the imperial troops
15573-400: The belligerents by France and Britain disproportionately affected Ethiopia, which lacked the manufacturing industry to produce its own weapons. The Ethiopian army had some 300 trucks , seven Ford A -based armoured cars and four World War I era Fiat 3000 tanks. The best Ethiopian units were the emperor's " Kebur Zabagna " (Imperial Guard), which were well-trained and better equipped than
15752-400: The blind, and those too aged and infirm to carry a spear are excused. Anyone found at home after receiving this order will be hanged. Selassie's army consisted of around 500,000 men, some of whom were armed with spears and bows. Other soldiers carried more modern weapons including rifles, but many of them were equipment from before 1900 and so were obsolete. According to Italian estimates, on
15931-415: The border. On 11 October, Gugsa surrendered with 1,200 followers at the Italian outpost at Adagamos. Italian propagandists lavishly publicised the surrender but fewer than a tenth of Gugsa's men defected with him. On 14 October, De Bono proclaimed the end of slavery in Ethiopia but this liberated the former slave owners from the obligation to feed their former slaves, in the unsettled conditions caused by
16110-459: The building of rock hewn churches first appeared in the late Aksumite era and reached its peak under the Zagwe. 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 young Amhara nobleman named Yekuno Amlak rose to power in Bete Amhara . He was strongly supported by
16289-499: The burdens were often passed by the landowners to the peasants. Despite his wishes, the tax burden remained primarily on the peasants. Between 1941 and 1959, Haile Selassie worked to establish the autocephaly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church . The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by the abuna , a bishop who answered to the Patriarchate in Egypt. Haile Selassie applied to Egypt's Holy Synod in 1942 and 1945 to establish
16468-471: The cabinet decided upon a plan to give most of Ethiopia to Italy, with the rest in the Italian sphere of influence , as the best way of ending the war. In early December 1935, the Hoare–Laval Pact was proposed by Britain and France. Italy would gain the best parts of Ogaden and Tigray and economic influence over all the south. Abyssinia would have a guaranteed corridor to the sea at the port of Assab ;
16647-495: The cabinet. During the 1935 election, Baldwin and the rest of the cabinet had repeatedly promised that Britain was committed to upholding collective security in the belief of that being the best way to neutralise the Labour Party, which also ran on a platform emphasising collective security and support for the League of Nations. To square the circle caused by its election promises and its desire to avoid offending Mussolini too much,
16826-704: The campaign was a success for Britain and the Ethiopian Emperor committed suicide rather than surrender. From 1874 to 1876, the Empire expanded into Eritrea , under Yohannes IV King of Tembien , whose forces led by Ras Alula won the Ethiopian-Egyptian War , decisively beating the Egyptian forces at the Battle of Gundet , in Hamasien . In 1887 Menelik king of Shewa invaded the Emirate of Harar after his victory at
17005-498: The capital Addis Ababa on 5 May. Italy announced the annexation of the territory of Ethiopia on 7 May and Italian King Victor Emmanuel III was proclaimed emperor on 9 May. The provinces of Eritrea, Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) were united to form the Italian province of East Africa . Fighting between Italian and Ethiopian troops persisted until 19 February 1937. On the same day, an attempted assassination of Graziani led to
17184-448: The centralising forces of Haile Selassie's government. In 1950 he withdrew from Asaita for two years in opposition, returning only two after following mediation by Fitawrari Yayyo. The Sultan sought to unite the Afar people under an autonomous Sultanate, while remaining part of Ethiopia; they had been divided amongst the provinces of Hararghe , Shewa , Tigray , and Wollo . In 1961, when it
17363-561: 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 in Tegulet . He then sent envoys to Egyptian Sultan, Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq strongly protesting against
17542-493: The city was torn from its site and sent to Rome to be placed symbolically in front of the building of the Ministry of Colonies . Exasperated by De Bono's slow and cautious progress, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini replaced him with General Pietro Badoglio . Ethiopian forces attacked the newly arrived invading army and launched a counterattack in December 1935, but their poorly armed forces could not resist for long against
17721-658: The coast of Somaliland . There, the Ethiopian army besieged Zeila, finally capturing the city and killing Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din, ending the Ifat Sultanate . After Sa'ad ad-Din's death "the strength of the Muslims was abated", as Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi states, and then the Amhara settled in the Muslim territories "and from the ravaged mosques and they made churches". The followers of Islam were said to have been harassed for over twenty years. Following this victory, Ethiopian power would reach its zenith and this era would become legendary as
17900-426: The coming war. His comments stirred up a furor inside Japan , where there had been popular affinity for the fellow nonwhite empire in Africa, which was reciprocated with similar anger in Italy towards Japan combined with praise for Mussolini and his firm stance against the "gialli di Tokyo" ("Tokyo Yellows"). Despite popular opinion, when the Ethiopians approached Japan for help on 2 August, they were refused, and even
18079-451: 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. On 13 December 1960, while Haile Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil , his Imperial Guard forces staged an unsuccessful coup , briefly proclaiming Haile Selassie's eldest son Asfa Wossen as emperor. The coup d'état
18258-462: The corridor was a poor one and known as a "corridor for camels". Mussolini was ready to play along with considering the Hoare-Laval Pact, rather than rejecting it outright, to avoid a complete break with Britain and France, but he kept demanding changes to the plan before he would accept it as a way to stall for more time to allow his army to conquer Ethiopia. Mussolini was not prepared to abandon
18437-513: 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. The warlike emperor of Amda Seyon I conducted many campaigns in Gojjam , Damot and Eritrea , 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
18616-414: The country. On 31 March 1936 at the Battle of Maychew , the Italians defeated an Ethiopian counter-offensive by the main Ethiopian army commanded by Selassie. The Ethiopians launched near non-stop attacks on the Italian and Eritrean defenders but could not overcome the well-prepared Italian defences. When the exhausted Ethiopians withdrew, the Italians counter-attacked. The Regia Aeronautica attacked
18795-477: The death of Emperor Yohannes IV, Italy signed a treaty with Shewa (an autonomous kingdom within the empire), creating the protectorate of Abyssinia. Due to significant differences between the Italian and Amharic translations of the treaty, Italy believed they had subsumed Ethiopia as a protectorate , while Menelik II of Shewa repudiated the protectorate status in 1893. Insulted, Italy declared war on Ethiopia in 1895. The First Italo-Ethiopian War resulted in
18974-615: The deaths of Emperor Iyasu II (1755) and Iyoas I (1769) the realm eventually entered a period of decentralization, known as the Zemene Mesafint where regional warlords fought for power, with the emperor being a mere puppet. Emperor Tewodros II (r. 1855–1868) put an end to the Zemene Mesafint , reunified the Empire and led it into the modern period before dying during the British Expedition to Abyssinia . His successor Yohannes IV engaged primarily in war and successfully fought
19153-532: The earliest times, my family has been an enemy of the Abyssinians, enemies of mighty Italy. My grandfather and my father have always been friends of Italy, and I with heart and sword, am a soldier of the Italian Empire. For my fidelity I have asked for the reward of seeing you Today I see you and I have the joy of repeating the oath to you of my allegiance of the people of my race. I will repeat your image and your word to my country. God bless your work and keep us on track way of your will. I offer you this carpet which
19332-502: The east. Most of the Muslims in the Horn would become tributaries to the Ethiopian Empire, among them being the Ifat Sultanate . Amda Seyon was succeeded by his son Newaya Krestos in 1344. Newaya Krestos would put down several Muslim revolts in Adal and Mora . Towards the end of his reign he aggressively helped the Patriarch of Alexandria Mark IV , who had been imprisoned by As-Salih Salih ,
19511-471: The effort came up empty-handed. Despite these encroachments and conflicts, the Sultan remained fundamentally loyal to the Emperor and Ethiopia; in turn, while he did not achieve the autonomous sultanate he desired, he enjoyed an appreciable level of autonomy in the areas of the Sultanate, almost unique amongst the many petty kingdoms incorporated into the Ethiopian state in the late 19th century. For example, while
19690-602: The empire by repeatedly attempting to invade it, finally succeeding under Imam Mahfuz . Mahfuz's ambush and defeat by Emperor Lebna Dengel brought about the early 16th-century jihad of the Ottoman-supported Adalite Imam Ahmed Gran , who was defeated in 1543 with the help of the Portuguese . Greatly weakened, much of the Empire's southern territory and vassals were lost due to the Oromo migrations . In
19869-716: The eve of hostilities, the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000–760,000 men. Only about 25% of the army had any military training, and the men were armed with a motley collection of 400,000 rifles of every type and in every condition. The Ethiopian Army had about 234 antiquated pieces of artillery mounted on rigid gun carriages as well as a dozen 3.7 cm PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns. The army had about 800 light Colt and Hotchkiss machine-guns and 250 heavy Vickers and Hotchkiss machine guns, about 100 .303-inch Vickers guns on AA mounts, 48 20 mm Oerlikon S anti-aircraft guns and some recently purchased Canon de 75 CA modèle 1917 Schneider 75 mm field guns. The arms embargo imposed on
20048-496: The first time questioned the power of the king to rule without the people's consent". Student populations began to empathize with the peasantry and poor, and to advocate on their behalf. 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 of decolonization in Africa, which
20227-535: The first weeks of war. The Kingdom of Italy began its attempts to establish colonies in the Horn of Africa in the 1880s. The first phase of the colonial expansion concluded with the disastrous First Italo-Ethiopian War and the defeat of the Italian forces in the Battle of Adwa , on 1 March 1896, inflicted by the Ethiopian Army of Negus Menelik II . In the following years, Italy abandoned its expansionist plans in
20406-430: The fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes, and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. To systematically kill all living creatures, to more surely poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare. From 10 to 19 February,
20585-519: The forces invading from Eritrea on the northern front. De Bono commanded nine divisions in the Italian I Corps, the Italian II Corps and the Eritrean Corps. General Rodolfo Graziani was commander-in-chief of forces invading from Italian Somaliland on the southern front. Initially, he had two divisions and a variety of smaller units under his command: a mixture of Italians, Somalis, Eritreans, Libyans and others. De Bono regarded Italian Somaliland as
20764-420: The front. There was no way for them to verify reports that 4,700 Italians had been captured. The correspondents were told by the Ethiopians that Italian tanks had been stranded and abandoned and that Italian native troops were mutinying. Later, a report was issued that Ethiopian warriors had captured eighteen tanks, thirty-three field guns, 175 machine guns, and 2,605 rifles. In addition, this report indicated that
20943-537: The goal of conquering Ethiopia, but the imposition of League of Nations sanctions on Italy caused much alarm in Rome. The war was wildly popular with the Italian people, who relished Mussolini's defiance of the League as an example of Italian greatness. Even if Mussolini had been willing to stop the war, the move would have been very unpopular in Italy. Kallis wrote, "Especially after the imposition of sanctions in November 1935,
21122-456: The government appointed a governor to the awrajja (district) of Aussa proper, the governor, rather than taking up residence in the capital of Asaita , instead sat in Bati , which was outside the district entirely. In 1975, Sultan Alimirah Hanfare was exiled to Saudi Arabia , but returned after the fall of the Derg regime in 1991. Upon Alimirah Hanfere's death in 2011, his son Hanfere Alimirah
21301-523: The highlands as a hero. In 1527 a young imam by the name of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi would rise to power in Adal after years of internal strife. The Adal Sultanate would stockpile on imported firearms, cannons and other advanced weaponry from Arabia and the Ottoman Empire . He invaded Ethiopia in 1529 and inflicted a heavy defeat on Emperor Dawit II , but later withdrew. He returned two years later to begin
21480-593: The independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with the See of St. Mark . Finally, in 1959, Pope Kyrillos VI elevated the Abuna to Patriarch-Catholicos. The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church. In addition to these efforts, Haile Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting
21659-540: The invasion. On 7 January 1935, a Franco-Italian Agreement was made that gave Italy essentially a free hand in Africa in return for Italian co-operation in Europe . Pierre Laval told Mussolini that he wanted a Franco-Italian alliance against Nazi Germany and that Italy had a "free hand" in Ethiopia. In April, Italy was further emboldened by participation in the Stresa Front , an agreement to curb further German violations of
21838-473: The last Aksumite king and ultimately King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba , it replaced the Agaw kingdom of the Zagwe . While initially a rather small and politically unstable entity, the Empire managed to expand significantly under the crusades of Amda Seyon I (1314–1344) and Dawit I (1382–1413), temporarily becoming the dominant force in the Horn of Africa . The Ethiopian Empire would reach its peak during
22017-420: The last Zagwe king deposed by Yekuno Amlak was Na'akueto La'ab . Yekuno Amlak would rise to the throne by 1270 AD. He was allegedly a descendant of the last king of Aksum , 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 king Solomon . The canonical form of the claim was set out in legends recorded in
22196-610: The legal basis of slavery throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including death, for slave trading. After World War II, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. In 1948, the Ogaden , a region disputed with Somalia , was granted to Ethiopia. On 2 December 1950, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 390 (V), establishing the federation of Eritrea (the former Italian colony) into Ethiopia. Eritrea
22375-484: The legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses. During the celebrations of his Silver Jubilee in November 1955, Haile Selassie introduced a revised constitution , 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
22554-408: The long reign of Emperor Zara 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. The neighboring Muslim Adal Sultanate began to threaten
22733-516: The message that Britain opposed an invasion and had a compromise plan for Italy to be given a corridor in Ethiopia to link the two Italian colonies in the Horn of Africa , which Mussolini rejected outright. As the Italians had broken the British naval codes, Mussolini knew of the problems in the British Mediterranean Fleet, which led him to believe that the British opposition to the invasion, which had come as an unwelcome surprise to him,
22912-442: The modern weapons of the Italians. Even the communications service of the Ethiopian forces depended on foot messengers, as they did not have radio. It was enough for the Italians to impose a narrow fence on Ethiopian detachments to leave them unaware of the movements of their own army. Nazi Germany sent arms and munitions to Ethiopia because it was frustrated over Italian objections to its attempts to integrate Austria. This prolonged
23091-572: 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 the Horn of Africa . A no less important work produced during his reign was the Fetha Nagast or "Law of the Kings," which served as
23270-537: The motor vehicles to move them, but the Ethiopians had only horse-drawn carts. The Italians placed considerable reliance on their Corps of Colonial Troops ( Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali , RCTC) of indigenous regiments recruited from the Italian colonies of Eritrea, Somalia and Libya . The most effective of the Italian commanded units were the Eritrean native infantry ( Ascari ), which was often used as advanced troops. The Eritreans also provided cavalry and artillery units;
23449-406: 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 that Mengistu Haile Mariam killed him, either by ordering it done or by his own hand although the former is more likely. According to Bahrey , there were ten social groups in the feudal Ethiopia of his time, i.e. at the end of
23628-632: 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 from Cairo . Amda Seyon responded by invading the Sultanate of Ifat , killing
23807-410: The nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well. Ethiopia was still "semi-feudal", 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. Where Haile Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes,
23986-562: The north, in what is now Eritrea, Ethiopia managed to repulse Ottoman invasion attempts, although losing its access to the Red Sea to them. Reacting to these challenges, in the 1630s Emperor Fasilides founded the new capital of Gondar , marking the start of a new golden age known as the Gondarine period . It saw relative peace, the successful integration of the Oromo and a flourishing of culture. With
24165-563: The other Ethiopian troops. The Imperial Guard wore a distinctive greenish-khaki uniform of the Belgian Army , which stood out from the white cotton cloak ( shamma ), which was worn by most Ethiopian fighters and proved to be an excellent target. The skills of the Rases , the Ethiopian generals armies, were reported to rate from relatively good to incompetent. After Italian objections to the Anschluss ,
24344-467: The outbreak of the war. Airspeed in England had a surplus Viceroy racing plane, and its director, Neville Shute , was delighted with a good offer for the " white elephant " in August 1935. The agent said that it was to fly cinema films around Europe. When the client wanted bomb racks to carry the (flammable) films, Shute agreed to fit lugs under the wings to which they could attach "anything they liked". He
24523-676: The persecution of Egyptian Copts and threaten to divert the flow of the Nile. The Sultan would then encourage the Adal Sultanate to invade the province of Dawaro to distract the Emperor, however this invasion was repulsed by the Emperor at the Battle of Gomit . The Egyptian sultan then had the Patraich of Alexandria severely beaten and threaten to execute him, Emperor Zara Yaqob decided to back down and did not move in to Adal territory. Zara Yaqob persecuted many idolaters who admitted to worshipping pagan gods, these idolators were decapitated in public. Zara Yaqob later founded Debre Berhan after seeing
24702-462: The popularity of the Fascist regime reached unprecedented heights". On 13 December, details of the pact were leaked by a French newspaper and denounced as a sellout of the Ethiopians. The British government disassociated itself from the pact and British Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare was forced to resign in disgrace. The Christmas Offensive was intended to split the Italian forces in the north with
24881-409: The region. London recognised that the area was of Italian interest and agreed to the Italian request to build a railway connecting Somalia and Eritrea. Although the signatories had wished to maintain the secrecy of the agreement, the plan soon leaked and caused indignation by the French and Ethiopian governments. The latter denounced it as a betrayal of a country that had been for all intents and purposes
25060-483: The relative success achieved by the Ethiopians to foreigners, or ferenghi . (The Italian propaganda machine magnified the number to thousands to explain away the Ethiopian Christmas Offensive in late 1935.) There were 400,000 Italian soldiers in Eritrea and 285,000 in Italian Somaliland with 3,300 machine guns, 275 artillery pieces, 200 tankettes and 205 aircraft. In April 1935, the reinforcement of
25239-478: The reprisal Yekatit 12 massacre in Addis Ababa, in which between 1,400 and 30,000 civilians were killed. Italian forces continued to suppress rebel activity until 1939. Italian troops used mustard gas in aerial bombardments (in violation of the Geneva Protocol and Geneva Conventions ) against combatants and civilians in an attempt to discourage the Ethiopian people from supporting the resistance. Deliberate Italian attacks against ambulances and hospitals of
25418-632: The rulers of the Emirate of Harar broke away to form their own polity. The Imamate of Awsa was later destroyed by the local Mudaito Afar in 1672. Following the Awsa Imamate's demise, the Mudaito Afars founded their own kingdom, the Sultanate of Aussa. At some point after 1672, Aussa declined in conjunction with Imam Umar Din bin Adam's recorded ascension to the throne. In 1734, the Afar leader Data Kadafo, head of
25597-416: The shimaglle, 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. From the reign of Amde Tseyon , Chewa regiments , or legions, formed the backbone of the Empire military forces. The Ge'ez term for these regiments
25776-460: The so-called Italiani all'estero , members of the Italian diaspora from Argentina , Uruguay and Brazil ; they formed the 221st Legion in the Divisione Tevere , which a special Legione Parini fought under Frusci near Dire Dawa. On 28 March 1935, General Emilio De Bono was named the commander-in-chief of all Italian armed forces in East Africa. De Bono was also the commander-in-chief of
25955-518: The south-east. During World 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 the United Nations . However, the 1973 Wollo famine and domestic discontent led to the fall of the Empire in 1974 and the rise of the Derg . After the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 10th century AD,
26134-413: 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
26313-525: The state. Aussa's prosperity was coveted by Afars from neighbouring lands and in particular the Debne-Wemas, the strongest of the southern Adoimara. In the last decade of the 18th century they wished to capture the capital therefore they enlisted in the support of a number of Yemen matchlockmen from Aden. According to Krapf and Isenberg, were no less than a few hundred strong and enjoyed a complete monopoly of firepower. William Cornwallis Harris had stated that
26492-469: The success of the Portuguese, Gragn would send a petition to the Ottoman Empire and would receive 2,900 musket armed reinforcements. Together with his Turkish allies Gragn would attack the Portuguese camp at Wofla killing 200 of their rank and file including their commander, Cristóvão da Gama . After the catastrophe at Wofla, the surviving Portuguese were able to meet up with Gelawdewos and his army in
26671-540: The sultan, sacking the capital and ravaging the Muslim territories, taking livestock, killing many inhabitants, destroying towns and mosques, and taking slaves. The Ifat sultan was succeeded by Sabr 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 as Adal , Dawaro and Bali in present day eastern Ethiopia. Amda Seyon's conquests significantly expanded
26850-493: The sultanate extended into the Danakil lowlands of what is now Eritrea . After 15 years of rule, Kadafo's son, Muhammäd Kadafo, succeeded him as Sultan. Muhammäd Kadafo three decades later bequeathed the throne to his own son, Aydahis, who in turn would reign for another twenty-two years. According to Richard Pankhurst , these relatively long periods of rule by modern standards pointed to a certain degree of political stability within
27029-472: The survivors at Lake Ashangi with mustard gas. The Italian troops had 400 casualties, the Eritreans 874 and the Ethiopians suffered 8,900 casualties from 31,000 men present according to an Italian estimate. On 4 April, Selassie looked with despair upon the horrific sight of the dead bodies of his army ringing the poisoned lake. Following the battle, Ethiopian soldiers began to employ guerrilla tactics against
27208-464: The tanks and killed their two-man crews. Italian forces organised a relief column made up of tanks and infantry to relieve Critini but it was ambushed en route. Ethiopians on the high ground rolled boulders in front of and behind several of the tanks, to immobilise them, picked off the Eritrean infantry and swarmed the tanks. The other tanks were immobilised by the terrain, unable to advance further and two were set on fire. Critini managed to break-out in
27387-429: 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." Following Amda Seyon's campaigns to
27566-442: The town's defence was organised by the ruler Yusuf ibn Idjahis, a brave and martial sultan, whose armoury boasted several cannons and matchlocks. He claimed that the defenders caught the would-be attackers off guard, while they were sleeping and cut all the throats of "all save one". The Debne-Wemas, according to this account were not intimidated by this reverse returned with fresh allies from the coast that they rallied and had achieved
27745-428: The war and sapped Italian resources. It would soon lead to Italy's greater economic dependence on Germany and less interventionist policy on Austria, clearing the path for Adolf Hitler 's Anschluss . The Ethiopian counteroffensive managed to stop the Italian advance for a few weeks, but the superiority of the Italians' weapons (particularly heavy artillery and airstrikes with bombs and chemical weapons ) prevented
27924-459: The war. Much of the livestock in the area had been moved to the south to feed the Ethiopian army and many of the emancipated people had no choice but to appeal to the Italian authorities for food. By 15 October, De Bono's forces had advanced from Adwa and occupied the holy capital of Axum . De Bono entered the city riding on a white horse and then looted the Obelisk of Axum . To Mussolini's dismay,
28103-455: The widespread mutiny . In July, Emperor Haile Selassie gave the Derg key concessions to arrest military and government officials at every level. Soon both former Prime Ministers Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habte-Wold and Endelkachew 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
28282-545: Was Ras 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. Delegations from the United Kingdom and France – 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, commanded by Marshal Emilio De Bono , invaded Ethiopia in what
28461-608: Was already by the Negus Mikael and which later, Lij Iyasu gifted to my father: I am delighted that this rug, made for the Abyssinian sovereigns, is today property of the Founder of the Empire. Sultan Alimirah often came into conflict with the central government over its encroachment on the authority of the Sultanate. Aussa, which had been more-or-less self-governing until the Sultan's ascension in 1944, had been greatly weakened in power by
28640-470: Was clear the Eritrean federal arrangement was headed towards its demise, 55 Afar chieftains in Eritrea met and endorsed the idea of an Ethiopian Afar autonomy. Following the dissolution of Eritrea's federal government and its transformation into a centrally-administered province, Afar leaders met again in Assab in 1963 and supported the creation of an autonomous region. In 1964, Afar leaders went to Addis Ababa to present Haile Selassie with their proposal, but
28819-421: Was crushed by the regular army and police forces. The coup attempt lacked broad popular support, was denounced by the Ethiopian 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. The coup attempt has been characterized as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history, the point at which Ethiopians "for
28998-433: Was disestablished and incorporated into Italian East Africa as a part of the Eritrean Governorate and the Harar Governorate . Afar society has traditionally been divided into petty kingdoms, each ruled by its own Sultan . The Imamate of Aussa was carved out of the Adal Sultanate in 1577, when Muhammed Jasa moved his capital from Harar to Aussa (Asaita) with the split of the Adal Sultanate into Aussa. In 1647,
29177-472: Was even prepared to resort to bacteriological warfare as long as these methods could be kept quiet. Some Italians objected when they found out but the practices were kept secret, the government issuing denials or spurious stories blaming the Ethiopians. As the progress of the Christmas Offensive slowed, Italian plans to renew the advance on the northern front began as Mussolini had given permission to use poison gas (but not mustard gas ) and Badoglio received
29356-406: Was further assured by a political rift, which had developed between the United Kingdom and France, because of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement . As 300,000 Italian soldiers were transferred to Eritrea and Italian Somaliland over the spring and the summer of 1935, the world's media was abuzz with speculation that Italy would soon be invading Ethiopia. In June 1935, Anthony Eden arrived in Rome with
29535-489: Was killed attempting to invade Adal Sultanate at the Battle of Fatagar , and his severed head was paraded in Adal's capital Harar . The Ottoman Empire occupied parts of Ethiopia, from 1557, establishing Habesh Eyalet , the province of Abyssinia, by conquering Massawa , the Empire's main port and seizing Suakin from the allied Funj Sultanate in what is now Sudan . In 1573 the Adal Sultanate attempted to invade Ethiopia again however Sarsa Dengel successfully defended
29714-530: 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. 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
29893-408: Was leading an Egyptian army into Ethiopia. In 1869, the newly unified Italy bought Assab from a local Sultan (which became the colony of Eritrea in 1890), and led Sultan Mahammad to sign several treaties with that country. As a result, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II stationed an army near Aussa to "make sure the Sultan of Awsa would not honor his promise of full cooperation with Italy" during
30072-423: Was named his successor as sultan. The religious elites of Aussa commonly carried the honorific title Kabir. Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire , historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia , was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea . It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak around 1270 until
30251-411: Was not serious and that Britain would never go to war over Ethiopia. The prospect that an Italian invasion of Ethiopia would cause a crisis in Anglo-Italian relations was seen as an opportunity in Berlin . Although Hitler did not want to see Haile Selassie win, Germany provided some weapons to Ethiopia out of fear of quick victory for Italy. The German perspective was that if Italy was bogged down in
30430-418: Was of age, he invaded Adal and sacked its capital, Dakkar but was killed in an ambush returning home. His successor, Emperor Na'od was eventually killed defending Ethiopian territory from Adalite raids. In 1517 Mahfuz invaded the Ethiopian province of Fatager , but was killed and ambushed by Emperor Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). His chronicles state that the Muslim threat was finished and the Emperor return to
30609-400: Was pending the return of Crown Prince Asfaw 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 in Eritrea and their proposal to execute the high officials of Selassie's former government. After eliminating units loyal to him:
30788-457: Was proved to be an effective member of the royal family, and 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 son Eskender , to whom Eleni would serve as his regent. She would attempt to establish peace with the Adal Sultan Muhammad , but could not prevent the Emir of Harar , Mahfuz from making raids into Ethiopian territory. When Eskender
30967-415: 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 be federated with Ethiopia, which
31146-526: 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 of Shewa . However, in 1541 four hundred well armed Portuguese musketeers had arrived in Massawa where they were reinforced by small contingents of Ethiopian warriors, this modest force made their way across Tigray where they would defeat much larger contingents of Adalite men. Alarmed by
31325-411: Was succeeded by his sons in 1294 but this agreement immediately broke down, by 1299 one of his sons Wedem Arad seized the throne. Wedem Arad seems to have been in conflict with the neighbouring Sultanate of Ifat who were trying to expand in eastern Shewa . Wedem Arad was succeeded by his son, Amda Seyon I , whose reign witnessed the composition of a very detailed and seemingly accurate account of
31504-404: Was successful, but the war turned against Italy afterward. Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia from England to help rally the resistance. The British began their own invasion in January 1941 with the help of Ethiopian freedom fighters, and the last organized Italian resistance in Italian East Africa surrendered in November 1941, ending Italian rule. On 27 August 1942, Haile Selassie abolished
31683-434: 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. 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
31862-505: Was to invade Eritrea. In November, the League of Nations condemned Italy's aggression and imposed economic sanctions. This excluded oil, however, an indispensable raw material for the conduct of any modern military campaign, and this favoured Italy. The Ethiopian counteroffensive managed to stop the Italian advance for a few weeks, but the superiority of the Italian's weaponry (artillery and machine guns) as well as aerial bombardment with chemical weapons , at first with mustard gas prevented
32041-432: Was told that the plane was to be used to bomb the Italian oil storage tanks at Massawa, and when the CID enquired about the alien (ex-German) pilot practices in it Shute got the impression that the Foreign Office did not object. However, fuel, bombs and bomb racks from Finland could not reach Ethiopia in time, and the paid-for Viceroy stayed at its works. The emperor of Ethiopia had £16,000 to spend on modern aircraft to resist
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