The History of Ethiopia

What is now Ethiopia emerged from obscurity in the 10th Century BCE, in the form of the Kingdom of D’mt. This was followed by Aksum around 100 CE, which went on to forge an empire stretching from Nubia to Arabia. Following the collapse of Aksum, Ethiopia was split into many small states, chief among them the Zagwe Dynasty. This dynasty flourished until 1270, when it was overthrown by the Solomonic Dynasty, which went on to unite almost all of Ethiopia in the 14th Century under king Amda Seyon I. From the 15th century onwards it declined under constant pressure from various Somali sultanates to the east, before fracturing into several lordships in the 18th Century. Finally in 1852, Tewodros II began to reunite the country. Ethiopia began expanding outwards thereafter, giving it the necessary strength to ward of the Italian Empire in 1896. The 20th Century was comparatively worse; following Italian occupation in 1936-41, the country faced famine, uprisings and revolution in the coming decades. Ethiopia has somewhat recovered since, having liberalised its economy and government in the 1990s. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support me on Patreon: Follow me on DeviantArt: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Map: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music: Håkan Eriksson - Desert Wind