Talk:History of Ethiopia

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It is very odd that there isn't anything here that talks about the famine in the mid 1980's?

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[edit] Ethiopia

Hello! What year did Ethiopia gain its independence and from who? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.33.159.84 (talk • contribs) 11:25, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Ethiopia has been independent for more than 2000 years. SCHZMO ✍ 19:07, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Axsum

This article once stated that the founders of Axsum were from Southern Arabia, there is no evidence to support the founders of Axsum were not simple the native Ethiopians. this kind of anti-African scholarship needs to be removed because everytime it suggest that native African people cannot found civilization. This is very old thinking and needs revision, most modern thinking scholars understand this myth of the "non African" origins of Axsum was founded at a time when it was impossible to believe Africans had anything to do with civilization.--Halaqah 19:10, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Abyssinia

No mention of Ethiopia beinng previously named Abyssinia up until after WWII? --Nazikiwe 17:42, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I wondered about the name change myself. But note that in the film Casablanca (1942), they make reference to Rick's involvement with "Ethiopians." -- Gyrofrog (talk) 07:32, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
My 13th-edition Enc Brit (1926) has entries for both "Abyssinia" and "Ethiopia". The former begins "ABYSSINIA (officially ETHIOPIA)", and is the main article on the geography, history, and culture of the country; the latter describes the use of the term "Ethiopia" in classical Greece and Rome (which was a larger area of which modern Ethiopia is a subset), and also discusses Ethiopic law and literature. So it would appear that the term Ethiopia has always been used, and it's just that Abyssinia was also used at one time to distinguish the modern entity from the ancient. — Haeleth Talk 10:52, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Except for rule by Italians in the 1930s and 1940s, Ethiopia stands out (with Liberia) as one of the two places in Africa which were never colonized. This fact should be mentioned if it isnt already.

[edit] Map from 1908

The historical map is a neat addition. For what it's worth, I have one that is apparently older than that (which should place it in the public domain) but it might be too detailed to provide a useful online image. The map is actually titled "Upper Nubia and Habesh (Abyssinia)." Pretty interesting, as it doesn't actually say "Ethiopia" anywhere, and the southern part of Abyssinia barely stretches past the present locations of Addis Ababa and Adama (neither of which even appear on the map). I think the actual information on the map must precede its publication by quite a few years. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:28, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

I've uploaded the 1891 map. See Image:UpperNubiaAndAbyssinia1891map.jpg, and two excerpts that focus on Abyssinia, Image:Abyssinia1891map-excerpt1.jpg and Image:Abyssinia1891map excerpt2.jpg. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 07:28, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Copyvio

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2892&Itemid=35

Archer7 22:57, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, that was written 10 Jan 2006 and copied from various editors words that have been up here for quite some time. Check the article history. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 23:11, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
It appears they also copied some text from the Ethiopian calendar article. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 00:23, 24 January 2006 (UTC)
Sorry about that, things like that look a lot more suspicious on the Simple English Wikipedia! Archer7 21:51, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup

A couple of sections that this article badly needs help with:

  1. We need a narrative for the first centuries of the Solomonid dynasty, viz. 1270-1510. This is an embarassing omission, since some authorities consider this a peak of Ethiopian civilization.
  2. Also need text for the Gondarine period, 1630-1750.
  3. The "Age of the Princes" section either needs to be severly pruned down -- or excised into its own article (which would still need a lot of work).
  4. More contemporary events; this narrative ends in the early 1990s with the end of the Derg & the beginning of the new regime.

I'd work on fixing all of this, but I'm not sure when I can find a large enough block of time to accomplish this rewrite. -- llywrch 21:29, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

I can add significant text to the Solomonid dynasty (why not -ic?) in the 1270-1527 period using Taddesse Tamrat's authoritative work, but the other sections (especially the Zemene Mesafint) I can't really help much with. I'll try and add the text tonight, but I may not get to it for a few days.
Yom 21:36, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
The "Earliest history" and "The Aksumite Kingdom" sections seemed to be a bit lacking in some areas, so I made some additions there. I'll try to find time to add to the Solominid dynasty, but it may take me a while. The Zemene Mesafint should be its own article, with much less information here (it's not nearly as important pr interesting as other eras, despite the size of the text presented). With regards to modern events, I'll add some information regarding the first few years of EPRDF rule, the border war (from the well cited, if not diversely, article on wikipedia), and a few notes about the recent elections.
Yom 20:47, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup

Well, to start cleanup, we could center the picture in the infobox.--Simfan34 15:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I see you centered it. That's weird that it wasn't already centered though. It was for me at least. Thanks for that, though. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 18:59, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Abuse that can't be edited?

Someone abused the very first line, which now reads, "Link to your mom" , but I'm not allowed to edit it out for some reason. I am not a new user, and yes, I'm logged in. Neil the Cellist 17:57, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Fixed it. Someone was mucking with the Template, which is why it couldn't be edited on this page. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 18:05, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Modern History of Ethiopia's Empire

Does anybody have the knowledge/background to write a section on Ethiopia's expansion in the late 19th/early 20th century? In order for outsiders to understand "what is Ethiopia", the article needs to explain clearly how modern Ethiopia was built up from a tiny core in Gondor in 1855, to a united Abyssinia in the late 19th century and finally expanding beyond its historical borders into neighbouring Oromo, Ogaden and other regions. 82.133.110.226 05:21, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I think Pankrust is wildly inaccurate in amny areas and it is disgusting for an Ethiopian like me to buy this idea. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by 193.157.108.133 (talk • contribs) 16:53, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dark Ages???

I am surprised by the use "Dark Ages" This is colloqial term that often is used to describe the Middle Ages. But has no scholarly credibility any more. So if it is not used in European history, why in African history??? The Middle Ages is also problematic, but at least is not pejorative. The title aside, the Lalibela Era is given rather short shrift.71.126.249.67 14:20, 11 November 2007 (UTC)Brosi 14:21, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

This term is used to describe the period between the 8th and 11th centuries, where there is a dearth of information, and when the infamous (although not necessarily so horrible in actuality) Gudit came to power (in the early/mid 10th century). It's not exactly a parallel usage with the European one, although the periods do end up falling at the same time. The European usage implies a low-level of civilization and quality of achievements, while the Ethiopian usage is much more like the Greek one, in that it refers to a lack of information, as well as the decline in the Aksumite Empire's strength, although there wasn't such a fall in civilization as in Europe (most of the hundreds of rock-hewn churches of Tigray were made during this period, e.g.). Note, that this isn't an independent decision by Wikipedians to use the term, but a commonly-used one by Ethiopisants/Ethiopicists. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 18:00, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] public domain content to incorporate

The Library of Congress Country Studies have a really detailed public domain history of Ethiopia that could be pasted in here, but I'm not sure I have the expertise to integrate it with the existing content. Check it out at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ettoc.html . Mangostar (talk) 02:23, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Account of Ethiopia by Herodotus

Herodotus stated in his Histories a story of the Persian King Cambyses sending messengers to Ethiopia bearing gifts of wine, a purple linen, and a gold-braided bracelet. The messengers wer in fact, spies sent to determine the strength of the Ethiopians, and to find the legendaryTable of the Sun. The Ethiopian king (who remained unamed by Herodotus, understood the ploy of teh Persians, and rebuked the messengers. Cambyses learning this upon the return of his messengers, started out with his army to invade Ethiopia, though he was ill-prepared for such an endeavor, and ultimately had to turn back do to lack of supplies. Herosotus further mentions that the Ethiopians were the most beautiful people on earth, and the longest lived. Though the last statements are POV by Herodotus himself, I think these points should be introduced into the article, which I will be more than happy to do, citing the Histories as a reference, with sub-references to the Book numbers and chapters. Anyone else concur?Nathraq (talk) 02:58, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi, (sorry for my english) I have made some research in french about the "Table of the Sun", here is an extract from a book available on Google books here:
Chapter 2
(French)"Les Éthiopiens, pères des Égyptiens, placés sous un climat brûlant, n’en adoraient pas moins la divinité du soleil, et surtout celle de la lune, qui présidait aux nuits, dont la douce fraîcheur faisait oublier les ardeurs du jour. Tous les africains sacrifiaient à ces deux grandes divinités. C’est en Éthiopie que l’on trouvait la fameuse table du soleil. Ceux des Éthiopiens qui habitaient au dessus de Méroë, admettaient des dieux éternels et d’une nature incorruptible, nous dit Diodore, tels que le soleil, la lune, et tout l’Univers ou le Monde. Semblables aux Incas du Pérou, ils se disaient enfants du soleil, qu’ils regardaient comme leur premier père ; Persina était prêtresse de la lune, et le roi son époux, prêtre du Soleil.
(English) (translation) "The ethiopians, fathers of the egyptians, living on a hot climate, nevertheless adorated the god of the Sun,and the god of the moon, commanding the nights (...). All africans adorated these two gods. It's in Ethiopia that the Table of the Sun can be found. The ethiopians that live above Meroe Méroë, adorated eternal gods, said Diodore, as the Sun, the Moon, and the Universe or the World. Like the Inca in Peru, they said they were the children of teh Sun, they considered Him as their father; Persina was the female priest of the Moon, and the king, the priest of the Sun."
"Abrégé de l’Origine de tous les Cultes", Charles-François Dupuis, Ch. 2, Lebigre frères, 1836 [1]
By the way I find it interesting to note that before the christian era, you INDEED find the symbol of the Sun with the moon crescent on all the coins of Aksum
Zheim (talk) 18:25, 30 May 2008 (UTC)