In March, 1896, Ethiopian forces under the leadership of Emperor Menelik II surprised the world by defeating an Italian Army sent to conquer the Empire. In the following article Raymond Jonas, the Giovanni and Amne Costigan Professor of History at the University of Washington, explores … Read More … Read MoreBattle of Adwa (Adowa), 1896
Addisu Messele, the first person of sub-Saharan African ancestry elected to the Israeli Parliament, was born on June 16, 1961, in the Gondar region of Ethiopia to a Beta Israel (Jewish) family. As a student in the late 1970s, he became an active member of … Read More … Read MoreAddisu Messele (1961- )
In three covert military operations, called Moses, Joshua, and Solomon, over twenty thousand Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel to escape hardship. This ancient community, called Beta Israel (House of Israel in English), lived in relative isolation from the rest of the Jewish world for … Read More … Read MoreOperations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon (1984-1991)
Yewubdar Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou was an Ethiopian nun and musician. Her music reflected a life that experienced several unexpected moves as well as a devotional commitment to Christian orthodoxy. Yewubdar was born in Addis Ababa on December 12, 1923, to Kessaye Yelemtu, a relative of … Read More … Read MoreEmahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou (1923-2023)
Mengistu Haile Mariam, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Ethiopian Army, led a coup which ousted Emperor Haile Selassie from power in 1974. Mengistu took control of the government and served as its Communist head of state in Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He formally … Read More … Read MoreMengistu Haile Mariam (1937- )
Isais Afwerki, a former freedom fighter, has been President of Eritrea since its independence in 1993. Afwerki was born in the Abu Shi’aul district of Asmara, Eritrea on February 2, 1946. At that time Eritrea was ruled by Great Britain. Afwerki attended primary schools in … Read More … Read MoreIsaias Afwerki
(1946- )
The current Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, was born on August 15, 1976, in Beshasha, Ethiopia. His father, Ahmed Ali, was a Muslim, and his mother, Tezeta Wolde, a Christian. As a child, he attended primary school in Beshasha and secondary school in nearby … Read More … Read MoreAbiy Ahmed (1976- )
Abyssinian Baptist church, currently located in Harlem, New York, was founded in 1808 when a group of black parishioners left First Baptist Church of New York due to the imposition of racially-segregated seating. Reverend Thomas Paul, an African American minister from Boston, Massachusetts, assisted the … Read More … Read MoreAbyssinian Baptist Church, New York City, New York (1808- )
The Beta Israel, meaning House of Israel, are a sect of Ethiopians who practice Judaism. They have also long been referred to as the Falasha, an Amharic word for exile, which has fallen out of favor because of its derogatory connotation. Located in the Northern region … Read More … Read MoreBeta Israel
Located in the northeast region of contemporary Ethiopia, the city of Axum sits on a high plateau next to the Red Sea. With the city’s ascendance centuries before the birth of Christ and its position next to the Red Sea, Axum became a major center … Read More … Read MoreAxum (ca. 100 B.C.E.-ca. 650 A.D.)
