69 Ancient Ethiopia Facts: What Was It Especially Known For And More!

How much do you know about this fascinating country in Africa with beautiful landscapes, abundant wildlife, a rapidly developing economy, and friendly people?

Having been established at least 2,000 years ago, Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country. It is also the second most populated nations in Africa, following Nigeria, with a population of about 106 million people.

In Ethiopia, archaeologists discovered the oldest known human ancestors. This country is one of the most intriguing places in the world due to its extraordinary blend of cultures, rich heritage, and breathtaking views.

The country was previously referred to as Abyssinia. According to some historians, the current name is derived from the Greek word Aethiopia, which once referred to the territory south of Egypt.

In the late 1800s, a large number of Greek sailors and merchants began immigrating to Ethiopia. Some were most likely refugees from the Greek genocide, civil war, and military dictatorship.

The Greek population here apparently numbered between 5,000-6,000 people. The country is divided in half by the Great Rift Valley and sits halfway on a high altitude with a central mountain range. Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, is one of Africa's largest capital cities.

At an altitude of 7,726 ft (2,335 m) above sea level, Addis Ababa is the highest capital city in Africa. It is also the fourth highest capital city in the world.

Addis Ababa, home to the African Union, means 'a fresh bloom' in Amharic. The African Union and also the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa have their headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Italians halted colonization in 1935 and were successful in militarily engaging the country for a long period, but Ethiopian forces pursued military opposition the entire time, and the entire nation was never brought under control.

Ethiopia is presently a federal republic with self-governing states that are separated by culture and religion. Ethiopia is also Africa's economic and political capital. Ethiopia did not change its calendar when the Roman church replaced its previous calendar in 525 AD.

It is seven years behind the Gregorian calendar. While many civilizations prefer their calendars over the Western Gregorian calendar, the vast majority of them genuinely preserve a year to a year, but not Ethiopia. The Ethiopian calendar is 13 months long.

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Ethiopia's Economy

According to the IMF, Ethiopia's economy was one of the fastest developing economies on the planet, enrolling more than 10% financial growth from 2004-2009.

It is a mixed and developing economy with a large public sector. The Ethiopian government is currently privatizing a significant number of state-owned enterprises and moving towards a market economy.

Between 2008-2011, Ethiopia's development performance and remarkable accomplishments were put to the test by rapid growth and a problematic cash flow. Growth skyrocketed to 40% in August 2011 as a result of careful financial management, a significant rise in general assistance pay in mid-2011, and high food and gas prices.

Unlike most Sub-Saharan African nations, Ethiopia's assets have enabled the country to maintain connections with the rest of the world for a long time. Ethiopian merchants have long sold gold, ivory, musk, and wild animal skins in exchange for salt and luxury goods like silk and velvet for years now.

Ethiopia is one of just two African countries that the Europeans never fully colonized. Italy invaded the country between 1936 and 1941, but the Ethiopians continued to resist, and the country was never totally under Italian authority.

When the Italians left Ethiopia in 1941, they left behind a country whose financial structure had remained mostly unchanged for a long time.

By the late 19th century, coffee was one of Ethiopia's most important cash crops. Around that time, most trades flowed over two major trade routes, both of which stopped in the extreme southwest in the Kefa Jima region.

From there, one route led north to Mitsiwa through Gonder and Adwa, while the other followed the Awash River valley to Harar and then on to Berbera or Zeila on the Red Sea.

There had been a few changes in crossing points, particularly in road development, and efforts had been made to set up a couple of small businesses and offer market opportunities, particularly in Eritrea, which Italy had been active in since approximately 1890.

Nevertheless, their progressions were restricted. With just a small portion of the public engaging in the cash economy, trading mostly consisted of bartering. Wage labor was limited, financial groups were mostly self-sufficient, foreign trade was minimal, and the market for manufactured goods was modest.

A huge portion of the economy remained unchanged throughout the late '40s and early '50s. Irrespective of its great wealth, Ethiopia has never been a great trading empire.

Most Ethiopians disliked traders, instead preferring to follow the country's leaders and politicians. After gaining a foothold in the country, Greek, Armenian, and Arab traders became the links to the financial markets connecting Ethiopia and the rest of the world.

Nomads were comfortable on the inside as well, eventually dominating any trade activity aside from little trade. The government body focused its reform efforts on the extension of the policy system and subordinate bureaucracies.

Ethiopian Airlines is the largest African airline. Ethiopia's major cities are Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Mek'ele, Gondar, and Bahir Dar.

Ethiopia became the first African nation and the second on the planet to claim and operate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The jet was named 'Africa One' and was owned by Ethiopian Airlines. Asegedech Assefa, an Ethiopian female pilot, is the first African female or woman to fly a plane.

The majority of Ethiopian farmers occupied small pieces of land or raised dairy cattle. Traditional and simple farming methods allowed people to live a resource-based way of life.

Similarly, several nomadic e groups bred domesticated animals and followed a life of irregular progress in drier regions.

The agricultural sector grew slowly, and the industrial area handled just a small fraction of the whole economy. In Ethiopia, wood and charcoal are used as fossil fuels, but hydroelectric power plants are also being installed, which threatens the residences and traditional lifestyle of the rural people.

Ethiopia's Natural Resources And Animals

Ethiopia is home to the mountain Nyala and the Simien jackal and groups of black and white colobus monkeys and gelada baboons.

Ethiopia is rich in diversity and houses various rare and endangered flora and fauna. This is why most Ethiopians follow a type of Orthodox Christianity that forbids the consumption of any animal products on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Geez language, sometimes written Geez, is the liturgical language of the Ethiopian church. Geez is a Semitic language of the Southern Peripheral group, which includes South Arabic dialects and Amharic, one of Ethiopia's native languages.

The richness and of Ethiopian wildlife is driven by the exceptional range of territory with large differences in climate, soils, plenty of greenery and vegetation, and habitation forms.

Ethiopia has lots of countryside consisting of mountains and is separated by the Great Rift Valley, which runs typically from southwest to higher east and is surrounded by marshes, steppes, or semi-desert.

Ethiopia is a naturally diverse country, ranging from deserts in the east to tropical deciduous forests in the south to Afromontane in the north and southwest. The Blue Nile flows from the north of Lake Tana.

It also includes many endemic animals and plants, including 31 warm-blooded animal species, including the gelada, walia ibex, and Ethiopian wolf, also known as the Simien fox.

Several warm-blooded animal species found here have been classified as Critically Endangered, while there are also others classified as Endangered and Vulnerable. The wide range in terrain has provided the nation with ecologically varied places, which has assisted in the protection of endemic species under natural confinement.

Ethiopia was the first-ever African country to defeat a European power militarily. Ethiopia is the fifth largest exporter of coffee and Africa's leading manufacturer.

Ethiopian cuisine is made up of some of the most delicious, healthiest, and diverse food on the planet, and it's a haven for vegans. Some popular Ethiopian dishes include vegetable and spicy meat stews, sauces, and injera. Ethiopian cuisine includes lentils, chickpeas, beans, and corn.

Ethiopia's most important crops are coffee beans, oilseeds, sugarcane, and oats. Ancestors of today's Oromo people in Ethiopia's Oromia region were the first to cultivate coffee plants and recognize the energizing effect of coffee. Roasted beans were swiftly raked off the embers, crushed, and dissolved in hot water, providing the world's first cup of coffee.

Some common Ethiopian food and meals include injera, a large sourdough flatbread prepared with teff flour, as well as beef, sheep, and fish. Pork is not consumed in Ethiopia for religious reasons. The base of almost every Ethiopian meal is a hotcake-like bread called injera, which is mounded with scrumptious stews and soups.

Ethiopian Emperor And Ethiopian Citizens

The Amharic religion and its origins can be traced back to Africa, but the movement was formed and developed in Jamaica.

The term Rastafarian is derived from 'ras', meaning 'chief' in Ethiopia's official language, that is Amharic and 'tafari', the first name of former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. He was also the respected spiritual leader of Rastafarians and was believed to be the 'son of God'.

They started the belief that he was a messiah. The fact that the colors on the Ethiopian flag resemble the Rastafarian movement shows how influential he was and how much power he had over the Ethiopian people.

African nations, for example, Ghana, have adopted their flags with the same colors as Ethiopia, green, red, and yellow, in recognition that the nation had defeated a European nation. Ethiopia as a kingdom was governed by monarchs who claimed to be descendants of King Solomon of the Bible and Makeda, the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba.

Candace, pronounced 'kan-dah-ke,' was the title of Ancient Ethiopian queens. Ethiopia has a long and storied history of monarchs, including kings, queens, and sovereign governments.

Ethiopian Queen Zewditu, who governed Ethiopia from 1916 until 1930, was widely regarded as the world's greatest female African constitutional monarch. Ethiopia also briefly had a Jewish queen, Queen Gudit (Judith), who ruled over parts of the kingdom in the 10th century.

Ethiopia is the most developed kingdom in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its Solomonic ancestry can be traced all the way back to King Menelik I, who is widely assumed to be the child of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.

In ancient times, Hamitic nomadic tribes moved to Ethiopia from Asia. In the seventh century, Arabian and Jewish merchants arrived in Ethiopia, and the Roman and Byzantine Empires thrived on its Red Sea ports. Religion has always had a considerable impact on Ethiopian life and continues to do so today. 

Ethiopia is a country that is multi-cultural and multi-ethnic. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is home to over half of the people, although there is also a considerable Muslim population in the country. Others observe an ancient form of Judaism.

The 1973 Wollo famine, domestic unrest, and Eritrea's independence struggle all contributed to the Empire's downfall in 1974. Many Ethiopians today lack basic needs such as food, affordable healthcare, shelter, education, and a safe and healthy environment. Ethiopia's rapid population increase also poses great challenges for a country that is seeking to be self-sufficient in food.

Ethiopia's Government And Politics

In a full-fledged battle, Italian forces from Italian Eritrea got a good start until Ethiopian soldiers counterattacked their positions and stormed the Italian outpost of Mekele, forcing them to withdraw.

The Italian forces were defeated in the Battle of Adwa when the Ethiopian army restricted their retreat back into Eritrea. This battle ended with the Treaty of Addis Ababa and became a symbol of modern Africanism. Ethiopia now is a government republic with self-governing states distinguished by culture and ethnicity.

Ethiopia was the first African nation to become a member of the League of Nations.

It is also Africa's discretionary capital. The main conference of Ethiopia's 547-member constituent assembly took place in June 1994.

In December 1994, this conference approved Ethiopia's Federal Democratic Republic's constitution. In May and June 1995, elections for Ethiopia's first prominently selected public parliament and provincial governing bodies were organized. Ethiopia's central government was established in August 1995 under the new constitution.

Ethiopia now has 10 semi-independent administrative sites that can earn and invest their finances. Ethiopia's national language is Amharic. However, the nation is home to more than 82 dialects and 200 languages. Ethiopia is divided into 10 culturally diverse and politically independent states and regions, as well as two contracted urban regions.

Tourist Attractions In Ethiopia

Ethiopia, the African continent's second-most populous country, is a country that can be called landlocked as it is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the east, Somalia to the south, Kenya to the south, and South Sudan to the southwest.

Addis Ababa is Africa's most famous capital city, and it is located between the excellent countries that line the Great Rift Valley.

The landscape is vast and unexpectedly green, with many remarkable geological formations like the Dallol Depression (one of the world's lowest depressions), the Erta Ale Active Volcano, the Sof Omar Cave, the Great East African Rift Valley, and the Blue Nile Gorge.

Ethiopia has eight UNESCO world heritage sites, with Simien National Park and the sandstone monasteries of Lalibela some of the country's oldest.

Blue Nile Simien Mountain National Park in northern Ethiopia provides spectacular vistas of the highland scenery. The plateau, with mountain peaks reaching 11,800 ft (3,600 m), stands in stark contrast to the much lower escarpment, which has sheer cliffs and canyon-like gorges.

The Danakil Depression, the lowest point on the African continent, is located in Ethiopia. The depression is located in the Horn of Africa, at the rendezvous point of three tectonic plates and is roughly 509 ft (155 m) below sea level. This desert is also home to nearly 25% of Africa's volcanoes!

Due to its long history and distinctive diversity of cultures, the country has been referred to as a museum of people. With such a diverse population, Ethiopia is home to an exquisite tapestry of ethnic groups and linguistic communities. Since there is no official language in Ethiopia, Amharic is the primary functional language.

One of the most popular activities of the Surma people of southwest Ethiopia is stick fighting.

Buhe is the Ethiopian version of Halloween, and it takes place every year on August 19 (20 when it is a leap year). On this night, groups of young men sing songs as they move from door to door until they have been handed bread to eat, and even money.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning about Ancient Ethiopia, then why not take a look at Ancient Pompeii facts or Ancient Persia facts?