History

From prehistory to the Aksumite kingdom

The Hadar remains show that people have been living in Ethiopia for a very long time. They are
a group of old bones found in the lower Awash River valley. The bone pieces are from a creature
called Australopithecus afarensis, which is like an ape and might be related to humans. They are
believed to be 3. 4 to 29 million years old.

Between 8000 and 6000 BCE, people in North Africa and Southwest Asia started raising animals
and farming. As more people lived there, the language they spoke split into different languages
that are still spoken today in the Afro-Asiatic family. This family has the Cushitic, Semitic, and
Omotic languages that are currently used in Ethiopia. In the 2000s BCE, people in Ethiopia
started growing cereal grains and using a plow. They may have learned these things from people
in Sudan. The people in the northern part of Ethiopia, Tigray, started speaking Geʿez, which is
a type of Semitic language. There, in the 7th century before Christ, they started the kingdom of
Dʾmt (Daʾamat). This kingdom ruled over lands to the west and got ivory, tortoiseshell,
rhinoceros horn, gold, silver, and slaves. They traded these things to merchants from South
Arabia.

After 300 BCE, D'mt got worse as trade routes went east to reach coastal ports more easily.
Smaller city-states took its place. Later wars to gain more land, led to the joining together of
different regions under the control of the Aksum state. They were able to control the trade of
ivory going to Sudan, as well as other trade routes going further south, and the port of Adulis on
the Gulf of Zula. Aksum had a culture that included a language called Ge'ez, which was written
using a modified South Arabian alphabet. They also had sculptures and buildings that were
inspired by South Arabian designs, and they worshipped a mix of local and Middle Eastern gods.
So, there is proof that Aksum and the Arabian Peninsula had a strong cultural connection.
However, the belief that people from South Arabia settled and built the early northern Ethiopia is
being questioned more and more by scholars. However, a long time ago, the sharing of culture
between Ethiopia and countries across the Red Sea became part of Ethiopian stories about Queen
of Sheba and the Israelite king Solomon. It was believed that their special connection led to the
birth of Menilek I, who started Ethiopia's royal family.
By the 5th century CE, Aksum was the most important trading country in the Red Sea. Business
was based on good money practices, proven by the making of coins with the pictures of
Aksumite rulers. The Greek travel book Periplus Maris Erythraei, written in the 1st century CE,
describes Adulis as a harbor where Greek and Roman merchants lived. The Christianity from the
eastern Mediterranean reached Ethiopia during Emperor Ezanas' reign through trade
communities. 303-c 303-c means the letter "c" in position 303. "350" In the middle of the 5th
century, monks were teaching the Cushitic-speaking Agau people in the east and south. The
Ethiopian Church chose to be led by the Coptic Church in Egypt and did not agree with the ideas
about Christ that were decided at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. They stopped having contact
with the bishops of Rome and Constantinople until the 20th century.

At its largest, Aksum had power over the kingdom of Meroe to the west, the Omo River to the
south, and the spice coasts on the Gulf of Aden to the east. The Himyarites, a kingdom in
Yemen, were controlled by Aksum. In the early 6th century, Emperor Caleb, also known as Ella-
Asbeha, ruled from around this time. A leader from 500-534 was powerful enough to help his
fellow religious people in Yemen when they were being mistreated by a Jewish prince. But, the
strength of Christians in South Arabia stopped in 572 when the Persians came and messed up
trade. The Arabs came 30 years later and their power in the 7th and 8th centuries stopped Aksum
from trading with the Mediterranean world.

The Zagwe and Solomonic dynasties

"Because Christian ships stopped coming to the Red Sea, the towns in Aksum became less lively.
" The Aksumite state started to move towards the south and took over the nearby highlands that
were good for growing grain. Monastic buildings went even further south; like a big church was
started near Lake Hayk in the 9th century. As time passed, the Agau people learned Ge'ez and
became Christian. They mixed with the Aksumite rulers and eventually moved the empire's
headquarters to their own area in Lasta. So, the Zagwe dynasty started in Ethiopia. Later
religious writings said this dynasty wasn't truly descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
But they still made a name for themselves in the religious world. At the capital of Zagwe, called
Roha (now called Lalibela), there was a ruler named Emperor Lalibela who reigned around the
year. Between 1185 and 1225, someone made 11 churches out of rock as a big monument to
Christianity. They also helped spread Christianity in Ethiopia and made the countryside more
Ethiopian.

However, the rule of the Zagwe leaders was not accepted by everyone. Some people in the
Tigray region and the Amhara people in the south did not support them. The other party started
to pay more attention to whether the decisions were fair and legitimate. In 1270, a powerful
nobleman from the province of Shewa, Yekuno Amlak, started a rebellion. A group of powerful
church leaders approved of his killing of Emperor Yitbarek and said it was okay because he was
related to Solomon. The family history of the new king's family was written down in the 1300s
in a book called Kebra nagast ("Glory of the Kings"). This book told stories about the first king,
Menilek I, connected Ethiopia to the Jewish and Christian traditions, and helped bring the
country together as a nation through the king's family, the language, and the culture. The
Ethiopian government was ready to fight in the east and south where Christianity was facing
challenges from Islam.

Islamic teaching had convinced a lot of people who lived on the edges of Ethiopian control to
follow its beliefs. In the late 1200s, some Muslim sultanates in Ethiopia's south became
controlled by Ifat, which was located in the eastern part of the Shewan Plateau and in the Awash
valley. The Ethiopian emperor Amda Tseyon was a strong leader and fought many battles. He
attacked the Red Sea in the north, areas that were not part of Ethiopia in the south, and the
Muslim state of Ifat in the east. He set up military bases in the new areas he had taken over to
make them stronger. He also created a system of fiefs where the owners were paid by the people
who lived there. He put high taxes on things being sent out of Ifat, like gold, ivory, and slaves
going to Arabia. People didn't like this and fought against it. Amda Tseyon and the rulers after
him used violent campaigns to bring their rule to the Awash valley and even to Seylac (Zeila) on
the Gulf of Aden.

Expansion into areas that are not Christian was followed by making changes within the Christian
state to make it stronger and more united. The Solomonic kings were leaders of the church and
they helped make the religion stronger by building and decorating churches, stopping non-
Christian practices, and encouraging the writing of religious books. However, the relationship
between the church and the government had both disagreements and working together. The
Shewan Solomonics became powerful after monks in the Amhara areas started living like they
did in ancient times. The monks did not get along well with the new dynasty. The brave people
criticized the dynasty for having multiple wives, and the conflict was not resolved until the late
14th century, when the royal court gave the monks lots of land. Other fights also happened. The
monk Ewostatewos (c. 1273-1352) lived a long time ago. 1273 to 1352, a person preached to
stay away from bad government influences and go back to following the teachings of the Bible.
This included keeping the Sabbath on Saturday, as well as on Sunday, which was already a
common belief in Ethiopia. The powerful emperor Zara Yaqob agreed with the church's decision
in 1450 and made big changes to stop bad behavior in the church. He punished people who led
groups that didn't follow the church's beliefs. Zara Yaqob tried to fight against the Beta Israel, a
group of Agau-speaking Jews who practiced a different kind of Judaism, but he wasn't
successful.

Zara Yaqob cared a lot about keeping the country together and was worried about being
surrounded by Muslim forces. In 1445, he won a big battle against Ifat, so the sultans of Adal
near Harer became the most powerful Muslim rulers. Around 1520, Aḥmad ibn Ibrā
hīm al-
Ghā
zī took over as leader of Adal. He was a Muslim who wanted to make changes, and was
called Sahib al-Fath (“the Conquerorâ)€ by Muslims, and Aḥmad GrÄñ
 (⠀œAhmad the Left-
Handedâ)€ by Christians. Ahmad trained his soldiers in modern Ottoman strategies and led them
in a holy war against Ethiopia, quickly capturing areas on the edge of Ethiopian control. In 1528,
Emperor Lebna Denegel lost a battle at Shimbra Kure, and the Muslims moved further north into
the hilly area, ruining villages, churches, and monasteries. In 1541, the Portuguese sent 400
soldiers to help the Ethiopian army learn how to fight using European methods because they
were worried about Muslim enemies getting too powerful in the Red Sea. King Galawdewos
(ruled from 1540-1559) decided to use a sneak attack strategy. On February 21, 1543, he
ambushed Aḥmad near Lake Tana and killed him in a fight. The Muslim army ran away, and the
Christians won the battle in north-central Ethiopia.

Challenge, revival, and decline (16th–19th century)

At the same time, there were more and more Oromo people living in the upper part of the
Genalē (Jubba) River in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. The Oromo society had a
system called gada, where all boys born in the same eight year period went through all the stages
of life together. The warrior groups stole and raided to show how strong they were. In the 16th
century, they started to go on long trips because the defenses of Christian and Muslim states
were weak. By 1600, the Oromo people had spread across Ethiopia. The Emperor at that time,
Sarsa Dengel, only controlled certain areas, like Eritrea, Tigray, Gonder, Gojam, Shewa, and
Welo. These areas were mostly inhabited by Christian farmers who spoke the Semitic language.
At the same time, the church was just starting to recover from the damage and many people
leaving during the jihad era, when it had to deal with a new threat from Roman Catholicism.

The Portuguese musketeers were followed by missionaries sent by the founder of the Jesuit
order, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius of Loyola wanted to make Ethiopia follow the Western
church. The most successful person was a Jesuit named Pedro Páez. He convinced Emperor
Susenyos to believe in the dual nature of Christ and to tell the pope about his decision. Many
people in the royal court left their religion, but the provincial nobles, the church, and the people
at large strongly opposed it and became violent. Susenyos had to give up his position as king so
that his son Fasilides could take over.

Fasilides built a new city called Gonder, which was a place where people could trade. It was
located north of Lake Tana and connected the inside of the country to the coast. In 1700, the city
had many artists, schools, religious places, and social organizations. There were also Beta Israel
craftspeople, Muslim traders, and a lot of farmers, workers, students, and soldiers living there.
Fasilides was followed by his son, Yohannes, and then his grandson, Iyasu the Great. The court
funded building, writing, and art projects, including religious ones. In the middle of the 18th
century, there was another period of lots of cultural activity. Empress Mentewwab, who ruled
with her son and grandson, supported this productivity. However, different groups based on
ethnicity, region, and religion weakened the kingdom and caused it to fall apart in 1769. The
time known as the "Age of the Princes" started. It was a time when there was a lot of chaos and
fighting between feudal lords. This time period lasted from 1769 to 1855.

For many people in Ethiopia, life was hard during the Age of the Princes. The central court had
less power while the regional princes' courts had more power, and they fought with each other.
The way things were in society didn't change much, but the farmers were treated even worse as
armies passed through the land, destroying farms and stealing crops. However, important things
were happening in the southern area.
Farming in the Gībē River area caused the Oromo and Gonga people to create their own
states, while a group claiming to be related to King Solomon set up a strong kingdom in northern
Shewa. Shewa did well in the business of trading in the GÄ “bē states. Their king, Sahle Selassie,
and his descendants moved further south. By 1840, they ruled most of Shewa up to the Awash
River and had power over Gurage.

In the north, Kassa Hailu was getting rid of the Age of the Princes. After working as a soldier for
hire in Gojam, Kassa went back to his hometown Qwara on the far edge of the western
highlands. There, he did well as a thief on the roads and formed a small but strong army. By
1847, he had taken control of the lowlands' money from trading and illegal activities, and made
the important leaders of Gonder include him in their group. Finally, in April 1853, Kassa won
against Prince Ali at Takusa. Prince Ali was the last of several Oromo lords who had been
important during the Age of the Princes. After winning against the leader of northern Ethiopia,
Kassa became Emperor Tewodros II on February 11, 1855. Later in that year, he walked down to
the south and made Shewa give in. He gained control over the different states and made the
modern country of Ethiopia.

Emergence of modern Ethiopia (1855–1916)

Tewodros II (1855–68)

Tewodros tried to make some changes at first, but when he tried to put soldiers all over the
country, it made the poor people who were already paying a lot of taxes angry. He also made the
church leaders upset by taking some of their land and using it for military or other purposes.
These actions encouraged the local rulers, who started a rebellion again. The emperor controlled
Ethiopia by force. In 1861, he came up with a strong plan to help his country and make
improvements. In 1862, Tewodros asked Queen Victoria from Britain to team up with him to
fight against Islam. The British didn't pay attention to the plan, so Tewodros arrested the British
messenger and other European people when they didn't reply. This argument between countries
caused the British and Indian armies to go on a military mission in 1868. Sir Robert Napier, the
leader, gave money and weapons to Kassa, a leader of Tigray, to be able to go through the land.
On April 10, British soldiers beat a small imperial force on the plains near Amba Maryam. To
escape from being caught, Tewodros killed himself just two days after.
Yohannes IV (1872–89)

After some fighting, Kassa from Tigray became the new ruler, Yohannes IV, on January 21,
1872, taking over from Tekle Giorgis. After kicking out two Egyptian armies from the mountains
of Eritrea in 1875-76, Yohannes went to the south and made Shewa's king Sahle Mariam
surrender and give up his plans to become an emperor. Yohannes became the first Ethiopian
emperor in 300 years to have power from Tigray to GuragÄ “. He tried to remove the Egyptians
from coastal Eritrea, but couldn't stop Italy from landing soldiers there in February 1885. Rome
tried to give Sahle Mariam many guns to make the emperor weaker. The Shewan king stayed
loyal to Yohannes but in January 1887, he made Harer part of his kingdom. At the same time,
Yohannes fought off Italian attacks on land, and in 1889 he led a military campaign to Sudan to
retaliate against the Mahdist attacks on Gonder. On March 9, 1889, as he was about to win, he
was shot and killed at Metema.

Menilek II (1889–1913)

Sahle Mariam became the emperor of Ethiopia on March 25 and called himself Menilek II. In
May, he signed a treaty with Italy giving them control over Eritrea. The Italian and Amharic
versions of Article XVII of the Treaty of Wichale had different meanings about Ethiopia's
foreign relations. The Italian version said Rome would handle Ethiopia's foreign relations, while
the Amharic version was not clear about it. Both texts agreed that the Amharic text would be the
most important if there were any disagreements. Menilek found out that Rome used a wrong
translation to say they were in charge of Ethiopia. He tried to fix the problem by talking with
them first. At the same time, he also sent people to get valuable things like gold, ivory, musk,
coffee, hides, and slaves. He wanted to trade these things for better weapons and ammunition. In
December 1895, Menilek moved his army into Tigray after two years of successful harvests in
Ethiopia.

Rome thought they only needed 35,000 soldiers to control Ethiopia, but they were wrong. On
March 1, 1896, at the Battle of Adwa, they were proved wrong. Oreste Baratieri took 14,500
Italian soldiers and attacked Menilek's army, which had about 100,000 well-equipped fighters.
The Italian soldiers broke apart, and they were told to retreat at noon. The emperor went to
Ethiopia and waited for talks. On October 26, 1896, he signed a new agreement that cancelled
the old one.
Menilek then led the Solomonic state to new territories it had never controlled before. From 1896
to 1906, Ethiopia got bigger and now includes the highlands, important rivers, and some lower
land around the middle of the country. Money from the areas around the capital city was used to
make the new capital Addis Ababa better, to start schools and hospitals, and to make
communication networks. Menilek made a deal with a French company to build a train track
from Addis Ababa to Djibouti. This made it easier for foreign merchants to use Ethiopia's
resources, with the help of the country's leaders.

Iyasu (1913–16)

As Menilek got older, he chose a group of people to help his grandson, Iyasu, who would
become the next leader. Iyasu's father was a Muslim leader from the Wallo region. When the
emperor died in 1913, Iyasu became the new ruler. He wanted a society without differences
based on religion or culture. So, he got rid of a lot of Menilek's leaders and involved Muslims in
the government. This made Ethiopia's Christian leaders very angry. During World War I, Iyasu
played with Islam and tried to make friends with the Central Powers to get Eritrea back and to
become less controlled by the Shewan aristocrats. After the Allied countries complained, the
Shewan aristocrats accused Iyasu of going against their religion and trying to overthrow their
government. They removed him from power on September 27, 1916.

The rise and reign of Haile Selassie I (1916–74)

Regent and heir apparent

Iyasu was removed from power and Zauditu, who was Menilek's daughter, became the new ruler.
Because it was not seen as appropriate for a woman to rule, Ras Tafari, the son of Ras Makonnen
and a cousin of Menilek, served as Zauditu's deputy and next in line to rule. The prince started to
create a modern government system by hiring educated people to work for the government. He
also helped Ethiopia join the League of Nations in 1923 because he believed that being part of
the group would keep his country safe from attacks. To improve how people see Ethiopia in
other countries, he brought in experts from other countries to help with important government
jobs. He also started to get rid of slavery, which might have been easier because Ethiopia was
starting to have a market economy.
In 1928, when Zauditu made Tafari king, the economy was doing very well because a lot of
coffee was being sold to other countries. In the rural areas, leaders made roads better and
communication easier. This made it easier for traders and business owners to go to those areas.
The Ethiopians controlled the economy because Tafari made foreigners work with local partners
and kept a close eye on business deals.

Emperor

On April 1st, 1930, Zauditu passed away and Tafari claimed to be the new emperor. He was
given the title Haile Selassie I (which means "Power of the Trinity" and was his baptismal name)
on November 2nd. In July 1931, the emperor made a new law that allowed him to give power to
an appointed and indirectly elected bicameral parliament. Between 1931 and 1934, Haile
Selassie started projects to build roads, schools, hospitals, and other important public services.
The projects together made the country more connected to the world economy. In 1932, a lot of
money was coming into Addis Ababa from taxes on 25,000 tons of coffee that were exported
every year.

Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I in ceremonial uniform, c. 1930.

Conflict with Italy

Haile Selassie’s success made Italy’s leader Benito Mussolini attack Ethiopia before it got too
powerful to stop Italy’s plans in the Horn of Africa. After Ethiopian soldiers fought with Italian
soldiers at the Welwel oasis in November-December 1934, Italy started getting ready for war.
Haile Selassie believed that the League of Nations would keep everyone safe. He didn't order
mobilization until October 2, 1935, when he found out that Italian forces had entered the country.
In the next seven months, the Italian leaders used planes and poison gas to attack and defeat
Haile Selassie's weak armies. The king went to live in another country on May 2, 1936.

For five years, from 1936 to 1941, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland were together as
Italian East Africa. During this time, Italy built roads and worked on making farms and factories
better. The fight against the occupation kept going. The Italians were in control of the cities,
towns, and main caravan routes, while Ethiopian fighters attacked the occupiers and sometimes
fought against the larger garrison towns. When Italy started fighting in Europe in June 1940, the
United Kingdom decided to support Haile Selassie. The emperor went to Khartoum, Sudan to
help train an army led by the British to fight for Ethiopia. This group of soldiers went into Gojam
on January 20, 1941, and met an enemy that quickly gave up. On May 5, the emperor came back
to Addis Ababa in a happy way. Against the British rulers, he made his own government fast.

Return to power

In February 1945, in a meeting with the United States. The President Roosevelt was the 32nd
President of the United States. He led the country during the Great Depression and World War II.
He was known for his New Deal programs to help the economy and his leadership during the
war. Roosevelt and Haile Selassie wrote documents emphasizing the need to get back Eritrea and
have access to the sea. In 1948 and 1949, two groups set up by Allied Powers and the United
Nations said that Eritrea didn't have a strong sense of being a nation and its economy wasn't able
to support independence. Washington wanted to have a place to communicate in Asmara and
navy base in Massawa. They also wanted to stop any trouble in the area, so they agreed for
Eritrea to join with Ethiopia. The union happened in September 1952.

In the 1950s, Ethiopia's coffee was popular in the world. The money was used to make the
government stronger, to make it easier for people to communicate, to make schools like the ones
in the west, and to make cities more modern. In November 1955, the emperor made a new set of
rules that allowed the parliament to control money and taxes, ask ministers questions, and say no
to the emperor's decisions. The constitution made a few important changes: it set up a lower
house of parliament that was chosen by the people, created a legal system that was supposed to
be fair and separate from the government, divided the government's powers, listed some rights
for people, and made the government responsible to the public. At that time, the emperor still
had the power to make decisions and to choose the government. He secretly created rival groups
within his government, which ended up making it harder for the government to work efficiently
and become more modern.

Internal conflicts and the fall of the monarchy

Some people thought that the country could only progress if the ruling empire was removed. In
December 1960, when the emperor was away, some security and military forces tried to take
over the government. The coup fell apart quickly, but not before the country's big social and
economic problems had been talked about in extreme ways. Despite the importance of the coup,
the emperor chose to ignore it. In February 1961, he started to appoint a new government that
kept things the way they were before, relying on the military, aristocracy, and wealthy people for
power. Haile Selassie could not make big changes to the land ownership system, and this made
the progressive people and students against the government. The monarchy started to lose trust,
especially when it got involved in difficult conflicts in Eritrea and Somalia.

Somalia became independent in 1960 and this encouraged Somali rebels in Ethiopia's Ogaden to
start a rebellion in February 1963. Somalia joined the fight, and the Ethiopian army and air force
defeated their enemy. Somalia teaming up with the Soviet Union in the military made other
countries in the region worried. This made Ethiopia spend more on weapons and made the U. S
get involved more. Help At the same time, a rebellion started in Eritrea in 1960. It was mainly
led by Muslim herders in the western lowlands. Later, it also attracted highland Christians who
were unhappy with the government's actions in 1962 and the making of Amharic the main
language in schools. At the same time, more and more students in Addis Ababa started to see
Haile Selassie as working for the United States. Imperialism and the rich landowners are the
enemy of the people. The students wanted to give land to farmers and limit the size of properties.
They also wanted to talk about the issue of ethnicity, which the ruler, Haile Selassie, had
ignored. Some students believed in Lenin's idea that different groups of people should be able to
break away from a country if they want to. This idea supported the Eritrean rebellion.

In the early 1970s, about one-third of Ethiopia's 45,000 soldiers were in Eritrea. The rest were
dealing with rebellions in Balē, Sīdamo, and Gojam. In January 1974, some junior officers and
senior noncommissioned officers started a series of mutinies. They were angry at the wealthy
people in charge for making them poor and causing problems in the country's economy and
society. The government was in a difficult situation because there was a severe lack of rain and
food in the north. They didn't admit to this, and it caused a lot of trouble internationally. In June,
the mutineers formed the Coordinating Committee (Derg) of the Armed Forces, Police, and
Territorial Army. Major Mengistu Haile Mariam, from Harer’s 3rd Division, was chosen as the
leader. The Derg took apart the king's government and arrested Haile Selassie's friends and
advisors. It worked to remove the old and senile emperor from power, and he was taken off the
throne on September 12, 1974. The PMAC was created. The PMAC was run by the Derg and
took over the government's tasks, with Lieut. being involved "Gen" could be rewritten as
"General" or "Generation". Aman Andom is the leader and Mengistu is the second in charge.
Fights in the Derg caused a power struggle and lead to Bloody Saturday (November 23, 1974),
when around 60 leaders, including Andom, were killed. Andom was changed with Brig. General
Teferi Banti is a person. The government made a statement about believing in socialism on
December 20, 1974.

Socialist Ethiopia (1974–91)

The Derg got its ideas from other Marxist groups that came from the student movement. One of
the groups, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), strongly believed in civilian rule.
They fought against the military leaders in the city and it caused chaos in the years that followed.

In February 1977, Mengistu (who is now a lieutenant colonel) didn't get hurt in a fight between
his followers and the followers of his enemies in the PMAC. Andom and several others were
killed, then Mengistu took control as the leader of the country. A group called EPRP attacked
Derg members and their supporters. In response, Mengistu led a violent campaign called the Red
Terror to fight back, which killed many EPRP members and civilians. The campaign that lasted
until 1978 led to the deaths or exile of many well-educated and idealistic young people in
Ethiopia. About 100,000 people were killed, and many more were tortured or put in prison.
At the same time, in May and June 1977, Somalia's army moved into the Ogaden region. The
Soviet Union Somalia was accused of starting a fight and weapons were sent to Ethiopia. Soviet
and allied soldiers trained and armed a People's Militia, provided soldiers to fight, and gave new
equipment to the army. Somalia pulled out of the fight in early 1978 because it couldn't get the
United States to send more supplies to its troops. Ethiopia was also fighting harder, so Somalia
gave up. Mengistu moved soldiers to Eritrea and by the end of the year, the Eritrean rebels were
forced into the mountains around Nak'fa.

Land reform and famine

Mengistu wanted to make Ethiopia into a country where a strong and loyal party controlled
everything. In 1975, a new law gave all the land to the government and gave small pieces of land
to farmers to work on. Each farmer got no more than 25 acres of land. The government took over
many industries, banks, insurance companies, and large businesses. They also took control of
urban land and extra homes. These changes got rid of the old ruling class's economic power. To
make changes, settle arguments, and manage community matters, groups of farmers were formed
in the countryside and local organizations were set up in the towns. In 1984, a party called the
Workers' Party of Ethiopia was created, and Mengistu became its leader. Then, in 1987, a new
government called the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was started, and Mengistu
became its president.

Despite thinking it would happen, farmers didn't produce as much as people thought they would
after the land reform. This was because they didn't have a good reason to work harder.
Furthermore, their land areas were small, so the legal limit of 25 acres didn't matter. The amount
of land people owned differed in different parts of the country, but on average it was probably
not much more than 3. 7 acres (15 To give food to the cities and the army, the government made
the farmers' groups sell grain for less money than usual. This made the farmers unhappy and
didn't help them grow more food. Meanwhile, the lack of rain got worse each year starting from
1980, and it got really bad in 1984 when there was hardly any rain at all. A famine happened,
and the government limited the peasants' ability to move around like they did during previous
food shortages. The West didn't take the Ethiopian government's warnings about a famine
seriously in 1984 because of their political beliefs. The Ethiopian government also ignored the
famine because they were busy celebrating their anniversary and didn't want people to know
about it. One out of every six people in Ethiopia is in danger of going hungry. Western countries
gave extra grain to help stop the crisis by the middle of 1985. Donors did not give much money
for a big program that wanted to move a lot of people from the dry and crowded north to the west
and south, where there was supposed to be extra land. The Mengistu government did not care
enough and did not have enough resources to give housing, tools, medical care, or food to the
600,000 farming families it moved. There wasn't enough resources for a program that aimed to
move people from scattered areas to villages where they could get modern services. Even in
1990, most villages did not have the things that were promised to them. This was because there
was fighting in the north that used up a lot of resources.

Challenges to the regime

By 1985-86, the government was having a lot of problems in Eritrea and Tigray, but Mengistu
just increased the number of people joining the military and asked for help from the U. SSR "for
additional weapons. " In December 1987, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) fought
and won against the Ethiopian soldiers near Nakfa, using weapons they took from the defeated
government troops. In the beginning of 1988, the EPLF started working together with the TPLF
to plan their attacks. The TPLF had been fighting for Tigray's independence and for Ethiopia to
be divided into separate regions based on ethnicity. The Soviets didn't send more weapons, and
because of that, the government had to leave Tigray in February 1989 because they were losing
battles and didn't have enough weapons. The TPLF formed the Amhara Ethiopian People's
Democratic Movement. Together, these two groups joined to make the Ethiopian People's
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and their armies moved easily into Gonder and Welo
provinces. The next year, EPLF took over Massawa. This allowed supplies to enter the country
without being controlled by Ethiopia. It also showed that the government did not have control
over Tigray and Eritrea. Soon after, when the TPLF blocked the road from Addis Ababa to
Gonder and put Gojam in danger, Mengistu said that he was ending a lot of the unpopular
socialist rules of the government.
The farmers left their new villages, took apart their cooperatives, and shared out the land and
tools again. They kicked out or didn't pay attention to people who worked for the party and
government. In some cases, they even killed officials who didn't listen to them. The government
became less powerful in the rural areas, especially in southern Ethiopia where the Oromo
Liberation Front became active. In May 1991, the rebels had taken control of several regions in
Ethiopia, and it was clear that the government's army didn't have enough manpower, weapons, or
leadership to stop them from advancing towards the capital, Addis Ababa. Mengistu ran away to
Zimbabwe, and on May 28 the EPRDF became the new leaders.

Transition (1991–95)

The new leader, who is Tigrayan, said he wants to make Ethiopia more democratic by
acknowledging the different ethnic groups in the country. Ethiopia would no longer be controlled
by force. Instead, it would be a union of its different peoples who choose to be part of it. To
achieve this, the EPRDF and other political groups, like the OLF, agreed to make a temporary
government that would create a new set of rules and hold elections. They also agreed to allow
different ethnic groups to have power and to give them the right to break away from Ethiopia.
This allowed Eritrea to become legally independent on May 24, 1993.

The new government started to create the first federal administrative system in Ethiopia. It was
made up of regions that were supposed to be made up of people from the same ethnic group. The
regional governments didn't have much freedom because they were closely connected politically
and ideologically with the ruling party. Many important people in the country were worried that
the government was making the country less united. The Amhara people were upset because the
government called them colonizers. They didn't like that the country was divided into different
ethnic groups. The government criticized Amhara leaders and passed a new law to control the
press. This law was meant to stop censorship, but it also set rules for media and punishments. In
the rural areas, the government didn't even pretend to allow freedom. They were openly targeting
anti-EPRDF groups, like the OLF, which was obvious to an international team sent to watch
regional elections in June 1992. The OLF left the government because of how the elections were
handled, and they have been fighting against the government with weapons since then.

During 1992-93, the temporary government worked with countries who give money and the
World Bank to create a program to make big changes. This program made the money in Ethiopia
worth less, and also made it so that the government was less involved in the economy. It also
made it so that some people lost their jobs in the government, and made it easier for foreign
companies to invest in Ethiopia and take their profits back to their own country. But the
government didn't want to sell their land, and not many foreign investors wanted to invest in the
country. The economy grew a little, but there were no major changes in how it works. Another
famine happened in 1994 because the country was not working together and there were too many
rules for business. There was also a drought at the same time. Many people in Ethiopia were in
danger, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. The government asked other
countries for help, but Ethiopia still couldn't grow enough food to support itself and help its
people. At the same time, more people were living in Ethiopia and the average farm size
decreased to less than 2. 5 acres (1 hectare).

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Political and economic reforms

In 1994, the EPRDF made a new set of rules for Ethiopia, which became the country's third
constitution in 40 years. It was officially put into effect in 1995 and formed the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This constitution included rules for regional areas to have
more power and for different ethnic groups to have their own self-rule. Many of the regional
areas were made up of smaller ethnic groups working together. It also made it a rule in the
constitution that the country owns the land. In 1995, the first elections with multiple parties took
place in the country. However, most opposition groups refused to participate because they were
upset about the government's harassment, arrests, and other actions. The EPRDF-led government
was responsible for these actions. Therefore, the multiethnic EPRDF was able to keep control of
the national government and most of the state governments without much trouble. Negasso
Gidada, who is a Christian from the Oromo ethnicity, has been the minister of information in the
transitional government. He became the president and Meles became the prime minister. The
Council of Ministers carefully chose members from different ethnic groups to make sure the
country's diversity was represented.

The changes made to the economy in 1991 helped it get better in the mid-1990s. However, some
changes in the system, like selling state-owned businesses, happened slowly. The government's
careful way of making the economy more open caused problems for foreign investors. Also, the
issue of government-owned property still worried people.

War with Eritrea

In 1998, the growing tensions at the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia led to a war breaking
out. The problem started over about 250 square miles of land near Badme, but then it became a
fight over two other places, Zela Ambesa and the Eritrean port city of Assab. In June 2000, a
cease-fire agreement was signed. It allowed a UN group to watch over the cease-fire and send
soldiers to a space between Eritrea and Ethiopia while they figured out the border. A peace deal
was signed in Algeria in December to stop fighting. Even though Ethiopia and Eritrea still had
problems, UNMEE troops stayed to make sure both sides followed the peace deal. The Ethiopian
government wasn't happy with the border decision in 2002 because they didn't want to give the
town of Badme to Eritrea. Meles, the leader of Ethiopia at the time, complained about this.
Conversations kept going for the next few years. UNMEE soldiers stayed until July 2008 but left
without resolving the border issue.

Dissent, protests, and increasing oppression

At that time, the EPRDF was still in charge until the 2000s, but it became weaker in 2001
because some members disagreed with the government's anti-corruption and economic policies.
The TPLF members who disagreed with Meles were removed from the party and kept at home
without being allowed to leave. President Negasso supported a group that split from the TPLF,
so he was removed from leading his own party, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization
(OPDO). He stayed as the federal president until September 2001. Girma Wolde-Giorgis took
over after him. He was also Oromo, like Negasso, but he was not part of the OPDO. Political
fighting and lack of rain made 2003 a difficult year for the country. There were even more
problems because many people got sick from dirty water and there was a lot of malaria.
The opposition parties did really well in the May 2005 elections and now they have more seats in
the government. The EPRDF stayed in control, but with fewer votes and under suspicious
conditions. The elections were good at first, but then there were problems like scaring voters and
other issues. Also, many areas said the elections weren't fair, so it took eight weeks to know who
won. Allegations of cheating and the election results caused big protests in Addis Ababa. There
were fights between protesters and police, and many people got hurt, over 30 people died, and
3,000 were arrested. In November, there were more riots and many more people died. Some of
the opposition candidates who won did not want to take their elected positions. They were
against the way the elections were done and what happened afterwards. Some of them were even
arrested for trying to cause trouble. The problems continued into the next year, and many
Ethiopians, including activists, journalists, and other government officials, were taken into
custody all over the country. Many people who were kept in custody were let go at different
times in 2006, even though they were not charged with anything. In May 2006, the EPRDF made
a deal with the two main opposing political parties. They agreed to join the government.

More than ten years after he was removed from power, the past leader Mengistu and his
influence are still very important in the minds of Ethiopians. Many people were upset that
Mengistu continued to live in exile in Zimbabwe, even though the Ethiopian government tried
many times to bring him back to Ethiopia starting in the 1990s. However, he was put on trial for
genocide even though he wasn't there, because of his involvement in the Red Terror campaign.
In December 2006, he was found guilty, and the following year he was sentenced to life in
prison. He was found guilty and given the death penalty in May 2008 after the prosecution won
their case.

In 2006, Ethiopia sent soldiers to help Somalia's government fight against rebel forces. They also
started a war using airplanes and soldiers in December. Ethiopian soldiers left the country by
January 2009, but they stayed near the border in case they needed to come back to help later.
Getting involved in the Somali crisis made the problems with Eritrea worse because Eritrea
helped the rebels in Somalia.

A vote for leaders in Ethiopia happened in May 2010. Many Ethiopians still remembered the
protests, violence, and deaths that happened after the 2005 elections. So, the political atmosphere
before the 2010 elections was calmer, but still had some problems. Opposition groups said they
didn't get as much attention from the media as the ruling EPRDF, and they also said the
government was bothering some opposition leaders. Some international observers agreed with
those claims. They said that not all political groups had an equal chance to campaign in the
elections. Some people from other countries saw signs that voters were being scared and hurt,
but they didn't think it affected the end result of the May 23 elections. The EPRDF won most of
the seats in the legislature, so Meles could continue being the prime minister. International
observers said that the election process was well-organized and mostly calm, but some also
thought it didn't completely follow international rules.

People started talking about Meles's health in 2012 because he was not seen in public for a while.
After many people talking about it, the government finally said in July that Meles was getting
better after being sick, but they didn't say what he was sick with. Meles passed away on August
20, 2012, while he was receiving medical treatment in another country. The deputy prime
minister and minister of foreign affairs, Hailemariam Desalegn, replaced him.

Next year, Girma's second term as president ended as planned. On October 7, 2013, the
parliament chose Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, an experienced diplomat, to take his place. Before
becoming president, Mulatu was the ambassador to Turkey from 2006. He had also worked as an
ambassador and in government positions.

Even though the economy in Ethiopia was growing quickly under EPRDF rule, the country's
human rights record was getting worse. In 2009, a strict law against terrorism was made. In the
years that followed, the EPRDF-led government used this law to stop people from speaking out
against them. Many reporters and people who disagree with the government were taken by the
police. Some were accused of breaking the law, while others left the country to escape. In 2011,
the government said 2 opposition groups and a movement called Ginbot 7 were terrorists and
banned them. This caused many people to be arrested and charged with terrorism for talking to
members of these banned groups. One of the people accused under the antiterrorism law was
journalist Eskinder Nega. He was arrested in 2011 and later given an 18-year prison sentence.

As the May 2015 national elections got closer, groups that didn't support the government said
they were being bothered. People were upset with the government for controlling the media and
stopping open discussions about politics before the election. The EPRDF and its friends won all
the seats in the election on May 24th. On October 5th, Hailemariam was chosen as prime
minister by the lower legislative house.

In 2015, the government wanted to make Addis Ababa bigger by connecting it to nearby areas.
But this made the Oromo people very upset, and they protested for many months. The
government decided to stop the plan in January 2016. In 2016, there were a lot of protests in
Ethiopia, mostly in the Oromia and Amhara regions. Some protests also happened in the
Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' region, but not as much. The protests were because
people were unhappy with the government detaining activists and journalists, feeling like they
didn't have a say in politics, and not being happy with how the government was doing things.
The police were very tough on the people protesting, sometimes hurting or even killing them.
They also arrested a lot of protestors for no good reason. This made human rights groups very
upset. The government said there was a big problem in October 2016 and it was over in August
2017.

Winds of change

In the beginning of 2018, the government let go of a lot of prisoners, including Eskinder and
other famous people who were in jail for speaking against the current government. The
government said it was shutting down a well-known jail. The actions were meant to make things
calmer and let the government and the opposition talk to each other. Those things happened and
then Hailemariam resigned, which he said on February 15, 2018. He promised to stay until a new
prime minister was chosen. Haile mariam said that he wants to quit his job to bring in some
changes in the government. The government said there was another emergency. It was going to
last for six months and was meant to stop the ongoing problems. On March 25, Eskinder and
some other journalists and activists who had just been let out of prison were arrested again. They
were accused of breaking the rules during the state of emergency and having an old version of
the country's flag.
The EPRDF chose a new leader to replace Hailemariam in the end of March. Abiy Ahmed, who
is from the Oromo group, was chosen as the leader of the ruling group on March 27. After that,
he was chosen as the prime minister by the lower house of the government on April 2, and he
officially started his job on that same day. Abiy was the first Oromo to become prime minister. It
was hoped that this would help ease the tensions between the Oromo people and the government.
In his first speech as leader, Abiy said he will make the country better by making the government
more fair, stopping corrupt behavior, and making the economy stronger. He promised to try to
solve the ongoing problem with Eritrea.

Abiy Ahmed
Abiy Ahmed, 2018.

After becoming the leader, Abiy worked quickly to keep his promises. In the country, many
more people who were put in jail for political reasons were forgiven and set free. This included
Eskinder and well-known opposition leader Andargachew Tsige. The government ended the state
of emergency earlier than expected, on June 5th. The government took Ginbot 7, the Ogaden
National Liberation Front (ONLF), and the OLF off its list of terrorist groups. In August, the
ONLF said they would stop fighting, and in October the government and the group signed a
peace agreement to stop the fighting in the Ogaden region after 30 years. Abiy said the
government will let some state-owned businesses, like the national airlines and the
communications company, be owned by private companies. This will encourage both local and
foreign investment and help the economy grow. The new things that happened and how quickly
they were shown surprised both Ethiopians and people from other countries.
Maybe the most impressive thing was how hard Abiy and the EPRDF-led government worked to
make peace with Eritrea, and how quickly they did it. On June 5, Abiy said that Ethiopia will
follow the 2000 peace agreement with Eritrea. This agreement includes accepting the 2002 ruling
on where the border between the two countries should be. That news caused a lot of diplomatic
talks, and in early July, Abiy and the President of Eritrea talked to each other. Isaias Afwerki met
in the country of Eritrea. The two countries agreed to open their borders again and start working
together in diplomacy, trade, communications, and transportation. Abiy and Isaias said on July 9
that the war between their two countries was over after 20 years.

Abiy put together a new group of people to help him lead the country in October 2018. It was
important because it was smaller and more women were appointed to important positions. Abiy
made the cabinet smaller and half of the positions were given to women, which was a first for the
country. The President Mulatu resigned early, making way for a new president to be chosen by
lawmakers. On October 25, the government chose Sahle-Work Zewde to replace the previous
president. She took the oath of office the same day and became the first female president of
Ethiopia. Sahle-Work was a successful diplomat. She represented Ethiopia as an ambassador and
worked for the United Nations in different roles.

In October 2019, Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee praised him for
peacefully resolving a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

In November 2019, the Sidamo people voted to see if there was enough support to make their
own region based on their ethnicity. This is allowed for all ethnic groups in the country's
constitution. The vote passed, and over 98% of the people in Sidamo supported it.

Challenges, ethnic tensions, and the Tigrayan conflict

Abiy made changes in Ethiopia that many people liked, but some thought they happened too
quickly and were too big. When the rules were relaxed, old problems between different ethnic
groups got worse. Some people got scared and started being violent. Soon after Abiy became the
leader, a bomb exploded near him at a gathering in June 2018. He didn't get hurt, but two people
died and many others got injured. A year later, many important government officials were killed
in what the government said was a failed attempt to take over power in the Amhara region. In
June 2020, a well-known Oromo activist and songwriter named Hachalu Hundessa was killed.
Many people think it was because of his political activities. The protests and fights between
different ethnic groups caused more than 280 people to die.

Abiy's changes made the TPLF less important, even though Tigrayans make up less than 10% of
the country's population. This made the TPLF upset. Also, a lot of Tigrayan government officials
and military leaders were arrested for being involved in corruption during Abiy's time as leader.

In late 2019, Abiy led the breaking up of the EPRDF. The TPLF protested against this and didn't
want to be involved. Instead of the EPRDF, Abiy created the Prosperity Party with three of the
four original parties. The TPLF did not join, but some smaller regional ethnic-based parties did.

The upcoming general elections, set for 2020, were postponed for a year because of the COVID-
19 pandemic. The TPLF and some other opposition leaders think that delaying the elections was
a way for Abiy to stay in power longer than he was supposed to. Despite the officially postponed
elections, leaders in the Tigray area still held their own elections in September 2020, making the
already strained relationship between regional and national leaders even worse. Next month, the
government started keeping some money from the local leaders.

The fighting between Tigray and the national government started in early November.
Communication in the area was cut off so it was hard to know what was happening. TPLF forces
were said to have attacked and stolen from federal military bases. In response, federal troops
attacked and invaded Tigray. Right away, Tigrayan forces said Eritrean soldiers were attacking
them. But officials from Ethiopia and Eritrea said this was not true. In March 2021, Abiy said
that Eritrean soldiers were part of the fighting. While Abiy said he won in Tigray when federal
troops took over Mekele in November 2020, there was still fighting for months. This made about
two million Tigrayans leave their homes and led to a shortage of food. All groups were said to
have done bad things to people during the fighting.

2021 elections, Tigrayan rebel advance, and expansion of fighting

The federal elections were held on June 21, 2021, but not everywhere in the country because of
the ongoing conflict. Elections were not held in Tigray, Somali, and Harari regions due to safety
and transportation issues. The elections in these areas were supposed to happen in September. In
Oromia, there was an election, but the opposition parties in the area chose not to participate. In
July, the results showed that the Prosperity Party won most of the seats in the parliament
election.

During the election week, the fighting got worse and Tigrayan forces started attacking towards
Mekele. On June 28, soldiers and temporary government leaders suddenly left the main city and
the larger Tigray area. The Tigrayan forces quickly chased after them and took back the capital
and other places in the region. On the same day, the government decided to stop fighting by
themselves, saying it was to help people in need. The fighting kept going, and by July it was
clear that more groups had joined the conflict and it had spread to other places. In August, two
rebel groups, the TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), said they had joined together to
work as a team.