Ethiopia city: Ancient to Modern, Essential 11 points

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Addis Ababa is the most known Ethiopia city. There are, however, several Ethiopian cities in the country that have their own cultural and economic character. Ethiopia is in east-central Africa, is one of a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, on the west by Sudan, the east by Somalia and Djibouti, the south by Kenya, and the northeast by Eritrea. Ethiopia becomes landlocked after the separation of Eritrea 1993.

Ethiopia is the largest and most populated country in the Horn of Africa. The country lies completely within the tropical latitudes and is relatively compact, with similar north-south and east-west dimensions. The capital city of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, which located almost at the center of the country. In the country, there are around more than 80 nations and nationalities.

After the Eritrea referendum, these two countries were enemies of one another. Even there is no communication between the two country peoples but recently these two countries make peace and people can move Eritrea to Ethiopia and Vis versa.

  1. A Rough Guide to Lalibella Ethiopia and Churches
  2. Rough Guide for Bahir Dar City Ethiopia
  3. A Rough Guide to Tigray Ethiopia
  4. Rough Guide for Gondar Ethiopia

It has several high mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashan at 15,158 ft (4,620 m). The Blue Nile, or Abbai, rises in the northwest and flows in a great semicircle before entering Sudan. Its chief reservoir, Lake Tana, lies in the northwest.

History of Ethiopia city

Ethiopia is one of the oldest cites which said to be the origin of human beings. As evidence the remaining of   Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba (c. 5.8–5.2 million years old) and Australopithecus anamensis (c. 4.2 million years old).

Ethiopian is the oldest and most colorful history of any African kingdom. In prehistory, it absolutely was the home of the earliest hominids on this earth. Its traditional history stretches back to the time of King Solomon. Few know much of the mighty Aksum Empire that grew up within the north of the country after the birth of Christ and which was a significant trading center for a few seven hundred years. Neither have many of us heard of the awe-inspiring rock-hewn churches that were constructed during the Middle Ages in Lalibela high on the Ethiopian plateau.

Since that point, the country has had very varied fortunes all told forms of ways.

With frequent incursions from neighboring lands and particularly from the influences of Islam, social and political development was somewhat piecemeal for an extended time, with notable periods of relative peace and stability like that provided by the rule of the king Fasiledes within the 17th c. in Gondar.

It was the Emperor Tewodros who was to create real progress along with his vision of a united Ethiopia within the 19th century until his unfortunate demise following the arrival of British troops under Robert Napier in 1868.

Ethiopia’s history within the 20th c. is de facto fascinating, with great leaders like Emperor Menilik and Emperor Haile Selassie, with dramatic events like Italian occupation before the second world war, and political turmoil provided by seventeen years of communist government and also the following decade of uneasy movement towards democracy.

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Prehistory Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

Ethiopia is located in the north end of the great African Rift valley and has been the site of some amazing archaeological finds in recent years.

In 1974, the archaeologist Donald Johansen was working near Hadar in the north-east of Ethiopia and discovered the human skeleton of a female dating back 3.2 million years, member of the group Australopithecus afarensis. This female was named ‘Lucy’ by the digging team as the Beatles hit “Lucy in the sky with diamonds “was playing in the camp at the time. To the Ethiopians, however, she is known as “dinkenesh’ or ‘birkenesh’ meaning ‘wonderful’. The skeleton is now on the view on the National Museum just above Arat kilo in Addis Ababa.

Other more recent findings near Hadar have served to confirm this part of the Rift valley as the major site of the early man’s development.

We know that the Ancient Egyptians traded in the Land of Punt for such commodities like gold, myrrh, and ivory, and this is thought to have been situated in the Horn of Africa of which Ethiopia is part.

Local tradition has the Queen of Sheba as an Ethiopian queen who traveled to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Their child, Menelik was to be the first in the Solomonic line of the Ethiopian emperor. Eventually culminating with Emperor Haile Selassie in the 20th c. Tradition also says that Menelik brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia and that it still exists under close guard in the St Mary Zion chapel in Aksum.

Before the birth of the Christ was developed the language of Geez, a kind of Latin and forerunner of today’s lingua franca Amharic. Ge’ez is still spoken by priests today.

Prehistory Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

Axumite Empire Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

The north of Ethiopia was to be of world importance as an influential trading center during the first seven centuries after the birth of Christ.

Centering on the Ethiopia city of Axum, today a crucial Ethiopia city on the Historic Route, and strategically situated near to the bottom of the Red Sea, it absolutely was a significant commercial crossroads between Egypt and also the Mediterranean and also the eastern countries of India and Ceylon. Exotic trade flourished during this richly fertile and agricultural area.

Exports from Axum included ivory, animal skins, rhino horn, and frankincense. Imports came from India, Arabia, and Egypt and included wine, olive oil, iron, and glassware. During the great years of the Axumite Empire, coinage in bronze, silver, and gold was produced, immense stone monuments were erected and Christianity was too introduced to Ethiopia.

-Axumite Empire Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

gondar ethiopia outside

Middle ages Ethiopia and Ethiopia City

By the early 12th c, the importance of the Aksum had declined and the capital of Ethiopia had shifted to near present-day Lalibela, high up on the central plateau. Of this period we know comparatively little, and yet it is from this time that dates one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world, the rock-hewn church of the Lalibela.

Legend has it that the king Lalibela himself traveled to Jerusalem and so wondered at the building he saw there that determined to create an Ethiopian Jerusalem high in the Lasta Mountain.

These amazing churches attest to an epoch in Ethiopian history which must have known immense technical skill and competence and yet of which we have almost no written record. Tradition tells us that the world’s greatest craftsmen toiled during the day to create these monuments while bands of angels took over to continue the work by night.

It was also during this middle age in Europe that the name Prister John came to be associated with Ethiopia at the royal courts. This legendary priest apparently ruled over a land full of riches and luxury where precious gems and all manner of exotic items were plentiful. It is thought that the first Portuguese expeditions to Ethiopia in the 16th c and the even earlier travels of the Knights Templar might well have been inspired by the ideas of the discovering Prister John’s Kingdom.

Middle ages Ethiopia and Ethiopia City

17th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia City

The year leading up to the 17th c were to see all manner of the religious challenges from outside the country, notable from the Muslims under Mohammed Geragn the left-handed in the 1530s and, more peaceable, from the Jesuits in the early 1600s. At the same time, the Oromo’s from Kenya and the south of the country were making a strong incursion into the Ethiopian empire.

Ethiopia was true of the strong emperor and found one in Emperor Fasiledes who took over from his father Susenyos in 1632 and, in 1636, founded his new capital in Gondar near Lake Tana. The Ethiopia city of Gondar was the first permanent capital and was to flourish until the early 19th c.

Emperor Fasiledes was to bring a period of stability to Ethiopia and Gondar was to become a sophisticated and artistic city its Royal Enclosure of magnificent castles started by fasiledes and continued by ensuing monarchs.

-17th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia City

19th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

In 1855 emperor Tewodros, an unusual character who had once lived as a bandit had himself crowned. And try to set out to unify the cities in the country. He showed himself to be a very capable and creative monarch and he chose the mountain of Maqdala as his royal base.

He planes a system of roads across the country, encouraged landform, established a national army and promoted Amharic as his country’s Lingus Franca. He was a reforming who took great pride in his country, his people, and himself.

bahir dar city

-19th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

20th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

The 20thc was to be a period of great positive development as well as great trauma and anguish for Ethiopia city.

In the late 1800s, there were to be threats and incursions from Italians and the dervishes from Sudan with both ended with the victory of Ethiopia.

It was to be Emperor Menelik II who was to take Ethiopia into the modern world of the 20th c. He chose the site for his new capital of Addis Ababa- his ’new flower’- and set to creating a modern country with electricity, telephones, school, hospitals, and railway. 

-20th century Ethiopia and Ethiopia city

Demographic Trends of Ethiopia City

The population growth of Ethiopia is highly increasing. And Ethiopia is among the highest growth rate in Africa. And also the birth, death rate for the country are above those for the word. Life expectancy is about 50 years of age which is less than of other countries. Different scholars give different reasons for the low life expectancy in the country one of the reasons is the low quality of health and welfare systems.

Addis Ababa is first in the population next are Mekelle, Gondar, Adama, and Hawassa consequently according to the last census in 2007.

Ethiopian is one of the countries that host refugees from several neighboring countries. The majority of the refugees are from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan. Most of the refugees left the home county because of conflicts and civil war in the country.

Is There a Clash Between Ethiopia City?

There has been a conflict in the different Ethiopia cities because of ethnicity and other different factors like blocking the roads, protests in many cities. These led the county to not be stable and different organization works were disturbed schools were closed. And these also affect the economy of the country. Due to these and other, inflation and unemployment increased in the country.

Ethiopia is building the Abay dam which is the symbol of the unity of the country. Which makes it different from the other project is it is that the only finical support of the project is the county itself. And it is a mega project which was first estimated to cost 8 billion birr but due to different reason like delay in the project and others the project is still and finished and the first estimated cost of the project is not enough to complete the project.

Not only the insufficient cost but also the Egypt and Somalia disagreement with Ethiopian on the volume of the water to be accumulated in the reservoir. And the USA interference in handling the disagreement between the countries and taking the side of Egypt.   

In this year Ethiopia will hold an election on which parties will govern the country and it is announced that the day of the election if push back.

facts about Ethiopia -

Plant and Animal Life in Ethiopia

Like other countries, the plant and animal life in the country is affected by the location of the country and the weather condition of the country. Ethiopia is the home of different plants and animal. Ethiopia has had a rich variety of wildlife that in some cases has been reduced to a few endangered remnants. Lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and wild buffalo are rarities, especially in northern Ethiopia.

The Rift Valley, the Omo River valley, and the Western Lowlands contain remnants of big-game varieties. Smaller game varieties such as foxes, jackals, wild dogs, and hyenas are found abundantly throughout the country. Uniquely Ethiopian and among the most endangered species are the walia ibex of the Simien Mountains, the mountain nyala (a kind of antelope), the Simien jackal, and the gelada monkey.

They are found in the Western and Eastern highlands in numbers ranging from a few hundred for the walia ibex to a few thousand for the others. More-abundant varieties found in the lowlands include such antelopes as the oryx, the greater kudu, and the waterbuck, various types of monkeys including the black-and-white colobus (known as guereza in Ethiopia and hunted for its beautiful long-haired pelt), and varieties of wild pig.

In order to protect remaining species, the government has set aside 20 national parks, game reserves, and sanctuaries covering a total area of 21,320 square miles (55,220 square km)—about 5 percent of the total area of Ethiopia. 

Ethnic Groups and Languages and Ethiopia City

Ethiopia city is ethnically diverse, with the most important differences on the basis of linguistic categorization and cultural differences. Ethiopia has around 100 languages that can be classified into four groups. The vast majority of languages belong to the Semitic, Cushitic, or Omotic groups, all part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. A small number of languages belong to a fourth group, Nilotic, which is part of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

Under the constitution, all Ethiopian languages enjoy official state recognition. However, Amharic is the “working language” of the federal government; together with Oromo, it is one of the two most widely spoken languages in the country. In the 1990s ethnolinguistic differences were used as the basis for restructuring Ethiopia’s administrative divisions.  These are some of the many reasons that there is conflict in the country.

Finance of Ethiopian Cities

The National Bank of Ethiopia is the country’s central bank. It issues the national currency, the birr, and is also responsible for regulatory functions. There are many commercial banks all in Ethiopia but of which are located in Addis Ababa. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is the largest commercial bank, with branches throughout the country.  Most of the employee payment, condominium payments are done through the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa Ethiopia City, The Capital of Ethiopia

Addis Ababa also known as Finfinnee, is the capital and largest Ethiopia city. According to the 2007 census, this Ethiopia city has a population of 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa lies at an elevation of 2,355 meters and is a grassland biome, located at 9°1′48″N 38°44′24″E. The Ethiopia city lies at the foot of Mount Entoto and forms part of the watershed for the Awash. From its lowest point, around Bole International Airport, at 2,326 meters above sea level in the southern periphery, Addis Ababa rises to over 3,000 meters in the Entoto Mountains to the north.

As a chartered city, Addis Ababa also serves as the capital city of Oromia. It is where the African Union is headquartered and where its predecessor the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was based. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), as well as various other continental and international organizations. Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as “the political capital of Africa” for its historical, diplomatic, and political significance for the continent. The Ethiopia city lies a few miles west of the East African Rift which splits Ethiopia into two, through the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.

Ethiopia city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia. It is home to Addis Ababa University.

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