Eritrea

History

• Pre-history

  Archaeological evidence of pre-humans has been discovered in the Buya region of Eritrea, near Adi Keyh. The discovery may be one of the oldest ever found and is similar to the famous “Lucy” find. Evidence of human presence begins in the 8th millennium B.C., beginning with Pygmoid, Nilotic, Cushitic (the Afar) and Semitic (Tigrinya) peoples. In the sixth century B.C., Arabs spread to the coast of present-day Eritrea, in search of ivory and slaves for trade with Persia and India. Their language evolved into Ge’ez, related to today’s Amhara, still spoken by Christian priests in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

  During the 3rd and 4th century AD, Eritrea was part of the kingdom of Axum which spread from Meroe in Sudan right across the Red Sea to Yemen. The capital of Axum was in the highlands of Tigray (now a province in Ethiopia), and the main port was at Adulis which is now called Zula in Eritrea. This Kingdom was based upon trade across the Red Sea and was founded by Semitic people originally from Arabia. Christianity was the predominant faith of Axum introduced through contact with traders throughout the region.

  By the 6th century AD, the Persian Empire expanded and with it went the expansion of Islam. In 710 AD Muslims destroyed Adulis and the ancient kingdom of Axum declined until it was reduced to a small Christian Enclave. For the next few centuries, the region settled into being a remote, isolated community only re-emerging by the early 16th century as Abyssinia. The Abyssinian Kingdom covered the Ethiopian highlands ruled by kings and peopled by Christian Tigrinyans and remaining fairly isolated. The community had little or no contact with the lowlands of the region which was home to predominantly Muslim communities.

  This period in Eritrea’s history is highly contentious. Ethiopians claimed Eritrea had been an integral part of historic Ethiopia but though there are some common practices and religious beliefs between Eritreans and Ethiopia, these ties do not extend throughout Ethiopia. In fact, large parts of Eritrea, it would seem, were linked to other empires. The Ottoman Empire and Egypt had relations with the northern and eastern part of the country, and various Sudan Empires to the west and north-west have had their influence.

• The Land of Punt

  The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet or Pwene by the ancient Egyptians, was an ancient kingdom. A trading partner of Egypt, it was known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, black wood, ebony, ivory, and wild animals. The region is known from ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to it. It is possible that it corresponds to Opone as later known by the ancient Greeks, while some biblical scholars have identified it with the biblical land of Put.

  At times Punt is referred to as Ta netjer, the “Land of the God”. The exact location of Punt is still debated by historians. Most scholars today believe Punt was situated to the southeast of Egypt, most likely in the coastal region of modern Djibouti, Eritrea, northeast Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Red Sea littoral of Sudan. It is also possible that the territory covered both the Horn of Africa and Southern Arabia. Punt land, the Somali administrative region situated at the extremity of the Horn of Africa, is named in reference to the Land of Punt.

  The majority opinion places Punt in Northeastern Africa, based on the fact that the products of Punt, were abundantly found in the Horn of Africa but were less common or sometimes absent in Arabia. These products included gold and aromatic resins such as myrrh, frankincense, and ebony; the wild animals depicted in Punt included giraffes, baboons, hippopotamuses, and leopards.

  Although Egyptians record voyaging to it until the end of the New Kingdom, 3,000 years ago, scholars do not know where Punt was. Ancient texts refer only to vague allusions to its location. Till now no Puntite civilization has been discovered. Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen and even Mozambique are all possible countries. Because of science, the search for Punt appears to be coming to an end. New research will be presented at an Egyptology conference, proving that it was located in Eritrea/East Ethiopia.

  In 2010, a genetic study was conducted on the mummified remains of baboons that were brought back from Punt by the ancient Egyptians. Led by a research team from the Egyptian Museum and the University of California, Santa Cruz, the scientists used oxygen isotope analysis to examine hairs from two baboon mummies that had been preserved in the British Museum. The researchers at first found that the mummies most closely matched modern specimens seen in Eritrea and Ethiopia as opposed to those in neighboring Somalia, with the Ethiopian specimens “basically due west from Eritrea”.

  In 2015, the scientists conducted a follow-up study to confirm their initial findings and concluded that “our results reveal a high likelihood match with eastern Somalia and the Eritrea-Ethiopia corridor, suggesting that this region was the source of Papio hamadryas exported to Ancient Egypt. Due to that fact, Punt is a sort of circumscribed region that includes eastern Ethiopia and all of Eritrea.

• The Kingdom of Aksum

  The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. It existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD. The Aksumites established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Axum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time.

  According to the medieval Liber Axumae (Book of Aksum), Aksum’s first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush. Munro-Hay cites the Muslim historian Abu Ja’far al-Khwarazmi/Kharazmi as stating that the capital of “the kingdom of Habash” was Jarma (hypothetically from Ge’ez Girma, “remarkable, revered”). The capital was later moved to Aksum in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name “Ethiopia” as early as the 4th century.

  The Aksumites erected a number of large stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. One of these granite columns is the largest such structure in the world, standing at 90 feet. Under Ezana (fl. 320–360), Aksum later adopted Christianity. In 615, during the lifetime of Muhammad, the Aksumite King Sahama provided asylum to early Muslims from Mecca fleeing persecution. This journey is known in Islamic history as the First Hijra. The area is also the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purported home of the Queen of Sheba.

  The state also established its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of Kush and regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian peninsula, eventually extending its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom. Inscriptions have been found in Southern Arabia celebrating victories over one GDRT, described as “nagashi of Habashat [i.e. Abyssinia] and of Axum.” Other dated inscriptions are used to determine a floruit for GDRT (interpreted as representing a Ge’ez name such as Gadarat, Gedur, or Gedara) around the beginning of the 3rd century. A bronze scepter or wand has been discovered at Atsbi Dera within inscription mentioning “GDR of Axum”. Coins showing the royal portrait began to be minted under King Endubis toward the end of the 3rd century.

  The degree of Aksum’s control over Yemen is uncertain. Though there is little evidence supporting Aksumite control of the region at that time, his title, which includes king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan (all in modern-day Yemen), along with gold Aksumite coins with the inscriptions, “king of the Habshat” or “Habashite,” indicate that Aksum might have retained some legal or actual footing in the area.

• Medri Bahri (ምድሪ ባሕሪ)

  The 15th century saw the rise of a new kingdom, Medri Bahri. Previously, this area has been known as Ma’ikele Bahr (“between the seas/rivers,” i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mereb river), but during the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob it was rebranded as the domain of the Bahr Negash, the Medri Bahri (“Sea-land” in Tigrinya, although it included some areas like Shire on the other side of the Mereb, today in Ethiopia). With its capital at Debarwa, the state’s main provinces were Hamasien, Serae and Akele Guzai. In 1879, Medri Bahri was annexed by Ras Alula, who defended the area against the Italians until they finally occupied it in 1889.

  Medri Bahri (ምድሪ ባሕሪ) was a medieval semi-unified political entity in the Horn of Africa. Also known as Marab(Merab) Melash was situated in modern-day Eritrea, it was ruled at times by the Bahri Negus (also called the Bahri Negasi or Bahr Negash) and lasted from the 15th century to the Ethiopian occupation in 1879. It survived several threats like the invasion of Imam Gran and the Ottoman Red Sea expansion, albeit Medri Bahri irretrievably lost its access to the Red Sea due to the latter. The relation to the Ethiopian empire in the south varied from time to time, ranging from virtual autonomy to tributary status to de facto annexation.

  The current Bahr Negash bore the name Dori and resided in Debarwa, a town on the very northern edge of the highlands. Dori was an uncle of Emperor Lebna Dengel, to whom he paid tribute. These tributes were traditionally paid with horses and imported cloth and carpets. Dori was said to wield considerable power and influence, with his kingdom reaching almost as far north as Suakin, plus he was also a promoter of Christianity, gifting the churches everything they needed. By the time of Alvares’ visit, Dori was engaged in warfare against some Nubians after the Nubians had killed his son.

  The Bahre-Nagassi (“Kings of the Sea”) alternately fought with or against the Abyssinians and the neighboring Muslim Adal Sultanate depending on the geopolitical circumstances. Medri Bahri was thus part of the Christian resistance against Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of Adal’s forces, but later joined the Adalite states and the Ottoman Empire front against Abyssinia in 1572. The Ottoman Empire tried to cross the Mareb, but while doing so they got ambushed by a local chief named Aquba Michael, whom Sarsa Dengel then awarded with the office of Bahr Negash. The imperial army eventually reconquered Debarwa and killed the current Turkish Pasha, while Aquba Michael killed Wäd Ezum, who had been appointed as Bahr Negash by the Ottomans. Afterward, the Ottomans abandoned their ambitions to conquer the highlands for good.

   

• Colonial Italy

  In 1889, the Italians signed the Treaty of Wuchale with then Negus Menelik of Shewa. The treaty ceded territories previously part of Ethiopia, namely the provinces of Bogos, Hamasien, Akkele Guzay, Serae, and parts of Tigray and Eritrea. In return, Italy promised Menelik the second’s rule, financial assistance, and military supplies. A dispute later arose over the interpretation of the two versions of the document. The Italian-language version of the disputed Article 17 of the treaty stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities. This would in effect make Ethiopia a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Amharic version of the article, however, stated that the Emperor could use the good offices of the Kingdom of Italy in his relations with foreign nations if he wished. However, the Italian diplomats claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and that Menelik II knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty.

  The Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. As a result, Italy and Ethiopia faced off in what was later to be known as the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In December 1894, Bahta Hagos led a rebellion against the Italians in Akkele Guzay, in what was then Italian controlled Eritrea. Units of General Oreste Baratieri’s army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta. The Italian army then occupied the Tigrayan capital, Adwa. In January 1895, Baratieri’s army went on to defeat Ras Mengesha Yohannes in the Battle of Coatit, forcing Mengesha to retreat further south.

  By late 1895, Italian forces had advanced deep into Ethiopian territory. On 7 December 1895, Ras Makonnen, Ras Welle Betul and Ras Mengesha Yohannes commanding a larger Ethiopian group of Menelik’s vanguard annihilated a small but well equipped Italian invading force at what famously known ‘THE BATTLE OF ADWA.” Which become a symbol for the “Pan African Movement”.  The Italians were then forced to withdraw to more defensible positions in Tigray, where the two main armies faced each other. The Italians suffered about 7,000 killed and 1,500 wounded in the battle and subsequent retreat back into Eritrea, with 3,000 taken prisoner.

  Emperor Menelik decided not to follow up on his victory by attempting to drive the routed Italians out of their colony. The victorious Emperor limited his demands too little more than the abrogation of the Treaty of Wuchale. In the context of the prevailing balance of power, the emperor’s crucial goal was to preserve Ethiopian independence. In addition, Ethiopia had just begun to emerge from a long and brutal famine; Harold Marcus reminds us that the army was restive over its long service in the field, short of rations, and the short rains which would bring all travel to a crawl would soon start to fall. At the time, Menelik claimed a shortage of cavalry horses with which to harry the fleeing soldiers. Chris Prouty Ethio-Eritrea Historian observes that “a failure of nerve on the part of Menelik has been alleged by both Italian and Ethiopian sources, why Ethiopia lost control of Eritrea to Colonial Italy.”

• Fascist Italy 

  As a direct result of the battle, Italy signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa, recognizing Ethiopia as an independent state, and Eritrea to became the colony of Italy. Almost forty years later, on 3 October 1935, after the League of Nations’s weak response to the Abyssinia Crisis, the Italians launched a new military campaign endorsed by Benito Mussolini, the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This time the Italians employed vastly superior military technology such as tanks and aircraft, as well as chemical warfare, and the Ethiopian forces were defeated by May 1936. Following the war, Italy occupied Ethiopia for five years (1936–41), before eventually being driven out during World War II by British Empire and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (patriot) forces.

  Benito Mussolini’s rise to power in Italy in 1922 brought profound changes to the colonial government in Eritrea. After il Duce declared the birth of Italian Empire in May 1936, Italian Eritrea (enlarged with northern Ethiopia’s regions) and Italian Somaliland were merged with the just conquered Ethiopia in the new Italian East Africa.

  Mussolini’s government considered the colony as a strategic base for future aggrandizement and ruled accordingly, using Eritrea as a base to launch its 1935–1936 campaign to conquer and colonize Ethiopia. Even in World War II, the Italians used Eritrea to attack Sudan and occupy the Kassala area. Indeed, the best Italian colonial troops were the Eritrean Ascari, as stated by Italian Marshall Rodolfo Graziani and legendary officer Amedeo Guillet. Furthermore, after World War I, serving with the Ascari become the main source of paid employment for the indigenous male population of Italian Eritrea. During the expansion required by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, 40% of eligible Eritreans were enrolled in these colonial troops.

  Britain and France recognized Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia by the Anglo-Italian Agreements of 1938. The army of occupation had 150,000 men but was spread thinly; by 1941 the garrison had been increased to 250,000 soldiers, including 75,000 Italian civilians. The former police chief of Addis Ababa, Abebe Aregai, was the most successful leader of the Ethiopian guerrilla movement after 1937, using units of fifty men. On 11 December, the League of Nations voted to condemn Italy and Mussolini withdrew from the League.

  While in exile in England, Haile Selassie had sought the support of the Western democracies for his cause but had little success until the Second World War began. On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on France and Britain and attacked British and Commonwealth forces in Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and British Somaliland. In August 1940, the Italian conquest of British Somaliland was completed. The British and Selassie incited Ethiopian and other local forces to join a campaign to dislodge the Italians from Ethiopia. Selassie went to Khartoum to establish closer liaison with the British and resistance forces within Ethiopia. On 18 January 1941, Selassie crossed the border into Ethiopia near the village of Um Iddla and two days later rendezvoused with Gideon Force. on 5 May, Selassie and an army of Ethiopian Free Forces entered Addis Ababa.

   

• Eritrea, The New Country on the Block

  In 1950 the United Nations (UN), under the prompting of the United States, resolved to join Eritrea to Ethiopia within two years. The proposed federation would provide Eritrea with autonomy under its own constitution and elected government. Elections to a new Eritrean Assembly in 1952 gave the Unionist Party the largest number of seats but not a majority; the party thus formed a government in coalition with a Muslim faction. The Eritrean constitution, prepared by the UN in consultation with Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, was adopted by the Eritrean Assembly on July 10, 1952, and ratified by Haile Selassie on August 11. The act of federation was ratified by the emperor on September 11, and British authorities officially relinquished control on September 15.

  Militant opposition to the incorporation of Eritrea into Ethiopia had begun in 1958 with the founding of the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM), an organization made up mainly of students, intellectuals, and urban wage laborers. The ELM, under the leadership of Hamid Idris Awate, a former Eritrean Ascari, engaged in clandestine political activities intended to cultivate resistance to the centralizing policies of the imperial Ethiopian state. By 1962, however, the ELM had been discovered and destroyed by imperial authorities.

  Between 1978 and 1986 the Derg launched several unsuccessful major offensives against the EPLF and TPLF(Tigrai libration Front formed On 14 September 1974). Around 1983, the core cadres of TPLF founded the Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray in the line of the Party of Labour of Albania. They also incorporated the name Woyane in the title of their organization as an intentional reference to the Woyane rebellion, a revolt in Tigray that arose and was crushed in 1943.

  In 1988 the EPLF captured Afabet, headquarters of the Derg(Ethiopian Military Junta) in northeastern Eritrea, putting approximately a third of the Ethiopian Army out of action and promoting the Derg Army to withdraw from its garrisons in Eritrea’s western lowlands. EPLF fighters then moved into position around Keren, Eritrea’s second-largest city. Following the stoppage of military assistance from Russia(former USSR), and the TPLF and EPLF gaining control of Ethiopia and its Capital Addis Ababa, Eritrean fighting for Independence for a half-century became reality in 1991.

  The Eritrean authorities declared Eritrea an independent state on 27 April. The government was reorganized and the National Assembly was expanded to include both EPLF and other political members of the country. The assembly chose Isaias Afewerki as President. The EPLF reorganized itself as a political party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/er.html

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