I

NTRODUCTI
ON

The di verse hi stori

es ofEt hi
opia and t he Hor n and t he ext entt o whi ch
i
nt eractionsbet weensoci etiest hroughoutt her egionhav eshapedhumanhi stor y.
Hist or
yi sasy stemat i
cst udyandor ganizedknowl edgeoft hepast .Thepur poseof
historicalst udyi snotsi mplyt opr oduceamer el i
stofchr onologicalev entsaboutt he
deedsoft hedeadbutt ofindpat ternsandest abli
shmeani ngt hr ought her i
gorous
studyandi nterpretationofsur v i
vingr ecords.Hi stori
ogr aphy ,ont heot herhand, refers
tot hehi storyofhi story; i
texpl oreschangesi nhi storicalinterpretat i
onst hrought i
me.
Accor dingly ,theuni tconsi derspopul arandacademi cconcept ionsofhi story,thewhy
andhowofst udyi
nghi storyandt rendsi nhistor i
calwr iti
ngi nEt hi opiaandt heHor n
focusi ngonEt hiopia.Fi nall
y,t heuni tdiscussest her oleofgeogr aphyi nt her egion’s
humanhi story .Inthisr egard, i
tshowst hatdespi tether egion’sdiv erseenv ironment s,
peopl esofEt hiopi
aandt heHor nwer enev erisolatedbutt heyi nter actedt hroughout
history.Asar esult,thesoci al,economi c,culturalandpol iti
calhist oryofEt hiopiaand
theHor nishi ghl yintertwined.

0
1.
Expl
ainhowgeogr
aphi
calset
ti
ngofEt
hiopi
aandt
heHor
nshapedhumanhi
stor
yoft
her
egi
on

 TheLandof Et hiopiaandt heHor n r egionconsi stschiefl

yofmount ainsupl i
ftedt hrought he
format ionoft heGr eatRi f
tVal l
ey.TheRi f
tVal leyisaf i
ssureint heEarth’scr ustr unni ngdownf rom
Sy r
iat oMozambi queandmar kingt hesepar at i
onoft heAf r
icanandAr abiant ect oni cpl ates.The
maj orphy siogr aphicf eat
uresoft her egionar eamassi vehi ghlandcompl exofmount ainsand
plateausdi v i
dedbyt heGr eatRi ftVal leyandsur r
oundedbyl owlands,semi -deser t,deser t
sand
tropicalf orestsal ongt heper i
pher y
.Thedi versit
yoft heterr
ainledt or egionalv ariationsi nclimat e,
natur alv egetation,soi lcomposi tion,andset t
lementpat t
erns.Aswi ththephy sicalf eat ures,peopl e
acrosst her egionar eremar kabl
ydi verse:t heyspeakav astnumberofdi ff
er entlanguages, professt o
manydi sti
nctr eligions,liveinav ari
etyt ypesofdwel li
ngs,andengagei nawi der angeofeconomi c
activiti
es.Att hesamet i
me,howev er,peopl esoft heregionwer enev eri solated;t heyi nteracted
throughouthi stor yf r
om v ari
ouslocat ions.Thus, asmuchast herear emanyt hi
ngst hatmakepeopl e
ofacer t ai
nar eauni quef rom theot her,t herear ealsomanyar easi nwhi chpeopl esofEt hiopiaand
theHor nshar ecommonpast .

 Thehi stor
yofEt hi
opiaandt heHor nhasbeenshapedbycont actswi thot hersthroughcommer ce,
migrati
ons,wars, sl
avery
,colonial
ism, andthewaxi ngandwani ngofst atesy stems.Yet ,t
heev olution
ofhuman hi story owed much t o geographi calfactors notablyl ocat i
on,l andforms,r esour ce
endowment ,cli
mat eanddr ainagesy stemswhi chcontinuetoi mpact ,asi ncentivesanddet errent s,
themov ementofpeopl eandgoodsi nther egion.Know,wewi l
lstudyt hei mpactt hatther egion’s
geographyhasont hewaypeopl eli
veandor ganizethemsel vesint osoci eti
es.Spat i
allocationi n
rel
ati
onshiptoot herspacesandl ocati
onsint hewor l
disonegeogr aphicalf actorthathassignificant
beari
ngont heway sinwhichhi st
or yunfol
ds.Et hiopiaandt heHor nliesbet weent heRedSea, Gul fof
AdenandI ndianOceanont heonehand, andt hepr esent-dayeasternf r
ontiersofSudanandKeny aon
theother.Si
nceear l
yti
mes,t heRedSeaandt heGul fofAdenl i
nkedNor t
heastAf ri
catotheEast ern
Mediterr
anean,t heNearandMi ddleEast,Indi a,andt heFarEast .Likewi se,theI ndi
anOceanhas
l
inkedEastAfr i
cat otheNearandMi ddleEast, I
ndi aandtheFarEast .

 Anot herelementofgeogr aphyfact orthathadpr ofoundi mpactonhumanhi st

oryi sdrainagesy stem.
Ethiopiaandt heHor nhasf iveprincipaldrainagesy stems.Thesear et heNi l
eRiv er,Gi
be/ Omo–Goj eb,
Genal e/Jubba-Shebel e,theAwashRi ver,
andt heEt hiopi
anRi ftVal leyLakesy stems.Fl owingf rom
Ugandai nthesout ht otheSudani nthenor th,theWhi teNil
emeet stheBl ueNi le(Abayi nEthi opia
thatst art
sfrom t heenv i
ronsofTanaLake)i nKhartoum andev entual l
y,drai
nsint otheMedi terr
anean
Seat hroughEgy pt.
TheAwashRi v erSy stem isanent i
rel
yEt hiopiansy stem andl i
nkst hecoolr ich
highlandsofCent r
alEthi
opi awi t
ht hehot ,drylowlandsoft heDanaki lDepression.TheEt hi
opianRi f
t
ValleyLakesSy stem isasel f-
cont aineddr ai
nagebasi n,andincl udesast ri
ngofl akesst r
etchingf rom
LakeZi wayint henor thtoLakeTur kana( f
ormerlyknownasRudol f)ont heEthioKeny anbor der .The
Gibe/ Omo–Goj ebRi verSy stem l i
nkssout hernEt hiopiatot hesemideser tl owlandsofnor ther n
Keny a.TheShebel eandGenal eriversor i
ginateint heEast ernhi ghl andsandf low sout heasttowar d
Somal i
aandt heI ndianOcean.Onl yt heGenal e(knownast heJubbai nSomal ia)makesi ttot he
Indi
anOcean; t
heShebel edi sappear sinsandj ustinsi dethecoast l
ine.Theabov ewat ershedsar ev ery
i
mpor tantinthel i
feandhi storyoft hepeopl esinhabitingtheregi on.

 Studyingthedr ainagesyst
emsofEt hiopiaandtheHor niscrucialf
orproperunder standi
ngoft he
rel
ationshi
psoft hepeopl
eslivi
ngwithintheriv
erbasinsmentionedprevi
ously.
EthiopiaandtheHor n
canbedi v
idedi ntothr
eemaj ordist
inctenvir
onmentalzones.Thev astEaster
nl owlandcov er
st he
narrow coastalst r
ipofnort
heasternEr i
tr
ea,widensgradual
l
yanddescendssout hwar dstoinclude
1
 muchoflowlandErit
rea,theSahel
,theDanakilDepressi
on,thelowerAwashv al
l
ey,andtheari
dt er
rai
n
i
nnortheastoftheRepubl i
cofDjibouti
.Itthenextendstot heOgaden,thelowerpartsofHararghe,
Bal
e,Borana,Si
damoandt hewholeterr
itoryoftheRepubli
cofSomal i
a.Themajordiv
idebetweenthe
west
ernandeast er
npartsofthiszoneist heRif
tVall
ey.Themaj orphy
siogr
aphicfeat
uresofthezone
ar
ecompl exofmount ai
ns,deepvall
eys,andextensi
veplateaus.

2.Di
scusst
heProcessofHumanEvol
uti
on;ev
aluat
epiecesofevidencest
hatrev
ealEthi
opi
aand
theHornastheCradleofmanki
nd.Di
scussthesali
entfeat
uresoft het
hreespeci
esofHomo
famil
y

 Human ev oluti
on i
st hepr ocessbywhi ch human bei ngsdev eloped on Earthf rom now- extinct
primates. I
tsaccount sonlyaf ractionofhi storyoft hegl obet hathadbeenf or
medt hroughgr adual
naturalpr ocesssinceabout4.5bi l
liony earsbef orepr esent.Theearli
estli
fecamei ntobeingbet ween
3and1bi l
l
iony ear
sB.P.Bl uegr eenal gae,smal lTheear li
estli
fecamei nt
obei ngbet ween3and1
bi
lli
ony earsB.P.Bl uegr eenal gae,smal lpl ants,fishes,bi r
dsandot hersmallbei ngsemer gedatc.
800mi lliony earsB.P.Pri
mat esbr anchedofpl acent almammalst r
eam asof200- 170mi ll
iony earsB.
P.andt hensomepr imatesdev elopedi ntoPongi dae( suchasgor i
ll
a,chimpanzee,or angut an,gibbon
etc)whi leot hersevolvedint oHomi ni
dae( humanancest ors).
Archeologi
calevidencessuggestt hat
EastAf r i
canRi ftVall
eyi sacr adleofhumani ty.Ev i
dencesr el
atedt obothbi ologicalandcul tur al
evoluti
onhav ebeendiscov eredint heLowerOmoandMi ddleAwashRi vervall
ey sbot hbyEt hi
opi an
andf oreignschol ar
s.

 Af ossilnamedChor orapithecusdat ed10mi l

li
onB.P.wasunear thedinAnchar( inWestHar ar
ghe)i n
2007.Ar dipithicusrami duskadabba( dated5.8-5.2mi l
li
ony ear
sBP)wasdi scover
edi nMiddleAwash.
Ardipit
hicusr amidus( dated 4.2 mi l
l
ion B.P.)wasdi scovered atAr ami sin Afarin 1994.Other
Australopithecineswer euncov eredatBel ohdeli
e( datedback3. 6mi l
li
ony earsB.P.)inMiddleAwash.
At hreey earsol dchild’sfossiltermedasAust ralopit
hecusafarensis,
Selam, datedto3.3mi l
li
ony ears
B.P was al so di scov ered atDi kika,Mi l
l
e,Af ari n 2000.Anot herAust r
alopit
hecus afarnesis
(Lucy /
Dinkinesh, datedc.3. 18mi l
li
ony earsB.P. )with40%compl etebodypar ts,weight30kg,height
1.07met ersandpel vislooksl i
kebi pedalfemal ewasdi scoveredatHadari nAfarin1974A.D. Fossil
namedAust ralopi
thecusanamensi swasdi scov eredaroundLakeTur kana.

i
.Homo Habi
li
s:
-der
ived f
rom Lat
in "Homo"( human being)and "Habi
l
is"(
ski
l
lfuluse ofhands)
.
-
dat
ed1.
9mil
li
onyear
sB.P.andhaasbeenfoundi
nt heLowerOmoVall
ey

i
i
.Homoer
ect
us:
-wal
ki
ngupr
ightanddat
ed1.
6mi
l
li
ony
ear
sB.P.

✓i
nvent
edf
ir
eandst
art
edbur
ial
pract
ice.

✓-
discov
eredatMel
kaKunt
ure,
Konso,
Gar
dul
aandGadeb.

✓-or
igi
nat
edi
nAf
ri
ca;
thenspr
eadoutt
other
estoft
hewor
ld.

i
i
i.Homosapi
ens-knowl
edgeabl
ehumanbei
ngandAr
chai
cHomoSapi
ensdat
ed400,
000y
ear

✓ Homosapi
ensi
dal
tu-160,
000y
ear
sB.
P

✓ HomoSapi
ensSapi
ens-100,
000y
ear
sB.
P.

✓LowerOmoandMi
ddl
eAwashv
all
eysar
ethemaj
orcent
ersofhumanev
olut
ioni
nEt
hiopi
a.

2
✓Manyf
ossi
l
swer
edi
scov
eredt
her
e.

3.From anci
entt i
mest ot heendoft hethi
rt
eenthcentury,soci
eti
esinEt hi
opi
aandt heHorn
underwentpol
it
ical,economic,soci
alandcul
turalchanges.Expl
ainsoci
o-economicandcul
tur
al
achi
evementsoftheper i
od.

From anci
entti
metotheendoft hethir
teent
hcent
ury
,ther
ear
emanysoci
o-economi
candcul
tur
al
achi
evementi
nEthi
opi
aandhor
n,f
orexample

I.
EconomicFor mat i
ons.Agr icul
tur
eandLandTenur eSyst
emThemai nst ayofancientstates'economyi n
highl
andareaswaspl oughagr i
cul
ture.Themast er
yofthetechnol
ogyofi r
ri
gati
onalsocont ributedtothe
growthofagricult
ur alproducti
on.Smal lvall
eyheadwetl
andswer edr
ainedf ordr
yseasoncul ti
vati
onthat
provi
dedani mpor tanthungr yseasongr ainsbefor
emainupslopeharvesthasbeenav ail
able.Thepeople
useddiver
sesoi lferti
li
tyenhancementst r
ategi
esli
kemanuri
ng,compostandspr eadingresidues’ashesas
wellasfal
lowi
ng,cr opr otati
on,int
ercroppi
ngandcontourpl
owing.Int
imesofl aborshortage,farmersalso
devel
opedteamwor k.

B.Handi cr
aftIndigenoushandcr afttechnologyhadexistedsincet heancientperiod.Thesoci al,economic
andpoliti
calconditi
onsofanci entstateshadallowedtheemer genceofar ti
sansinv ar
iousfiel
dswi thdiver
se
formsandappl icati
onsi ncludi
ngmet alwor k,pott
ery
,tannery,carpent
ry,masonr y,Metalworkerspr oduced
spears’poi
nts,swor ds,javeli
ns,bows.Carpentersengagedincar v
ingwoodi mpl ementslikedoors,windows,
stool
s,chair
s,tables.Tannersproducedleathertool
susedf orbed,bedcov er,saddl
es,harness,ropes.

C.TradeTradewasanot herimportanteconomicacti
vi
tyofanci entstatesthatobtai
nedconsider
ableincome
fr
om bothinter
nalandinternat
ionaltrade.Themajorsocio-economi candpol i
ti
calcenter
sofearli
eststat
es
seem tohavealsobeenmaj ort
radecent erswi
thwiderangingcont actsinvari
ousdirect
ionswit
hintheregi
on
i
tsel
fandwi t
hmer chant
scomi ngtot heareaacrosst
heinternationalwaterbodies.

I
I.Soci
o-cul
tur
alAchi
evement
s

A.Ar chitecture:As t he st
ates expanded,ar
chi
tectur
e also began toflouri
sh and one ofthe uni que
archi
tecturaltechnologieswast heengr av
ingofstel
earoundt hethir
dcent ur
yAD.Ther eweretot all
yfift
y
eightstelesinandar oundAksum t hatcanbegroupedi nt
owel lmadeanddecor ated,hal
fcompl etedand
megal i
ths( nothewn) .Aslocaltr
adit
ionsays,t
hestel
eswer eengravedspecifi
cal
lyatGobodarafrom whi ch
theywer etransportedandpl ant
edinAksum.Thelongestoneoft hesestel
emeasur es33metersheights(the
fi
rstinthewor ld)..

B.Wr it
ing Sy stem:The Sabean l anguage had an alphabetwi th boust
rophedon wr i
ting ty
pe thatis
pal
eographicalwr i
ti
ngfrom l
efttor i
ghtandr i
ghtt oleftal
ter
nati
v el
y.Theear l
i
estSabeani nscri
pti
onsin
Eri
tr
eaandEt hiopiadat
et othenint
hcent uryBC.Onepecul i
arfeatureofSabeani nscr
ipti
onsi sabsenceof
vowelsasmostoft hewordsarewr i
tteninconsonants.Fori
nstance,Da’amatwasdescr ibedasD’ mt,whi
le
i
tssuccessi v
eki ngsasRDM,RBH andLMN usi ngt i
tl
e,mlkn.Af
tert heseventhandsi xthcentur
iesBC,
however,v
ar i
ant sofscr
iptar
ose,evolvingi
nthedirect
ionoftheGeʽezscr i
pt(
analphasy l
labary)
.

C.Calendar:Peopl
eneededtoknowandr emembert heti
meswhent herai
nswouldbegi
nandendaswellas
theri
seandf al
lofthewaterlevel
.Ther esponsi
bil
i
tyofunder
standingthesev
italcl
i
mati
ccy cl
esf
ellon
exper
tise.
Calendar
swer edevel
opedandadopt edamongv ari
ouspeoplesofEt hi
opi
aandt heHorn.
For
example:Oromocalendar
,Si
damacalendar.
3
D.Numer al
s:Numer al
sappearedi
nEt hi
opiaandtheHornatthebeginningoffourthcentur
yAD.Geʽ ezuses
numeralsyst
em compar abl
etotheHebrew, Ar
abicandGreeknumerals,
buti tl
acksindi
vi
dualcharacter
sfor
mult
ipl
esof100.Number sar
eover-andunderl
inedi
nproperty
pesetti
ng, combinedtomakeasi ngl
ebar ,
but
somelesssophist
icatedfont
scannotrender

4.Di
scussthemajorsour
ceofriv
alr
ybet
weent
heChr
ist
ianki
ngdom andMusl
im Sul
tanat
esdur
ingt
he
Medi
evalandpostmediev
alper
iod?

 Therev
ivalofl
ong-di
stancetr
adeandthest
ruggletocontr
olt
rader
out
escausedcompet
it
ion
bet
weent heChri
sti
anKingdom andt
heMuslim pri
nci
pali
ti
es.

 Popul
ati
onmovementsofthemedi
eval
peri
odhadext
ensi
veef
fect
sofi
nter
mingl
i
ngandt
he
i
ntegr
ati
onofpeopl
esacr
ossethni
candrel
i
giousl
i
nes.

 Theconfl
i
ctbetweentheChr
isti
anKingdom andMuslim Sul
tanat
escausedpast
oral
Oromo
gr
oupstoleav
ethelandst
heyinhabi
tedforotherar
eas.

 TheChr i
sti
ansandMusli
mswer ei
nafi
ghtt
osavesoulsf
rom eter
naldamnati
on.Sothe
successorsoft
heProphetMuhammad,t
heSunni
cali
phs,setoutofArabi
atoexpandDaral
-I
slam,
i
ehouseofpeace/theCaliphat
e.

 Resour
ces,tr
ade,andeconomi
cdevel
opment-
rel
atedpr
obl
emsareatthehear
toftheeconomi
c
var
iabl
esthatdr
iveconfl
i
ctbet
weenChri
sti
anandMusli
m st
atesi
ntheHornofAfr
ica.

 Theunequal
dist
ri
but
ionofr
esour
cesandeconomi
cpr
ospect
sint
hear
eai
sasi
gni
fi
cantpr
obl
em.

 Whencomparedt oMusl i
m-dominat
edstates,
Christi
an-domi
natedstat
eshavetr
adit
ional
l
yhad
moreaccesstoresourcesandeconomicopportunit
ies,
whichhasresul
tedi
nfeel
ingsof
economi
cinequali
tyandmar gi
nali
zat
ion.

 Thetwogroupsarenowtenseandatoddswit
honeanotherasaconsequenceoft
his.The
str
uggl
eforcont
rolofst
rat
egicr
esour
cesli
kewater
,ar
ableland,
andmineral
sisanother
economi
celement.

 Factor
sl i
kepopulati
ondevel
opment ,cl
i
mat
echange,
andenvi
ronmental
degradati
on,whi
chhav
e
causedresourcescarcit
yandincr
easedcompet
it
ionf
orscar
ceresour
ces,ar
efrequent
lyt
he
dri
vi
ngf orcesbehindthi
scompetit
ion.

 Whi
lethesour
cesf ocusontheconfl
i
ctbet
weent hesult
ansoftheBar
rSaʿ
dal
-Dī
nandt
he
Chr
ist
ianki
ng,di
plomaticandeconomicr
elat
ionsalsoappear
.

 Weknowf orex
amplethattheembassi
esofChr
ist
iankingst
oCairot
othepatr
iar
chofAl
exandr
ia
andt
ot heMaml ukcourtcoul
dbeaccompani
edbyr epr
esent
ati
vesofI
slami
cEthi
opi
anpowersor
byEt
hiopianMusli
mt r
aders.

 Thedi
plomati
cr el
ati
onsbet
weenChri
sti
anandMusli
m Ethi
opi
anpoli
ti
esweremani
fest
edby
matr
imonial
all
iancesordi
plomat
icmessenger
sfr
om onecour
ttoanother

4
5 TheOr omo popul
ati
on movementoft hesixt
eenth centur
ycannotbebet t
erunder
stood wi
thout
consi
deri
ngtheGadaasystem.Ref
ersourcesandwrit
eabr iefexpl
anat
ionaboutt
heval
uesoftheGadaa
syst
em andhowcontri
but
edtosoci
alint
egrat
ion.

 Gadai
sat r
adi
ti
onal
syst
em ofgovernanceusedbytheOromopeopl
einEt
hiopi
adev
elopedf
rom
knowl
edgegai
nedbycommunityexperi
enceovergener
ati
ons.

 Thesystem r
egulat
espoli
tical,economic,soci
alandrel
igiousact i
vit
iesoft
hecommunitydeal
i
ng
wit
hissuessuchasconf l
i
ctr esolut
ion,r
eparat
ionandpr otect
ingwomen’ sri
ght
s.I
tserv
esasa
mechanism f
orenforci
ngmor alconduct
,buil
dingsoci
alcohesi on,andexpr
essi
ngfor
msof
communi t
ycult
ure.

 TheGadaasyst
em wasaninst
itut
iont
hroughwhichtheOr
omosocial
lyor
gani
zed,admini
ster
ed
thei
raf
fai
rs,
def
endedthei
rter
ri
tori
es,
maintai
nedlawandorder
,andmanagedthei
reconomies.

 Iti
ssuggestedthatforl
ongthesociet
yorganizedt
hei
rpol
i
tics,
economy
,soci
al,
cul
tur
al,
and
r
eli
giousaf
fair
sthroughtheGadaainsti
tut
ion

 governanceSy stem,Gadagui destheli

fecourseofindi
vi
dual
sandr egul
atespoli
ti
cal
,economic,
soci
al andreli
giousacti
vit
iesoft hecommuni t
y.Ital
soser
vesasamechani sm ofsoci
ali
zati
on,
education,r
eli
giousexpression,peacemaintenanceandsoci
alcohesionandpromotesthe
pri
nciplesofequalit
yandf reedom .

 TheGadaSyst
em hasdevel
opedt
hrought
hecumul
ati
veexper
iencesgai
nedf
rom pr
act
icesand
l
essonsofmanygener
ati
onsofOromoNati
on.

 TheOromor ecognizedtheGadaSy st
em aspartofthei
rcul
tur
alheri
tageandasacont
empor
ary
syst
em ofgovernancethatfunct
ionsinconcer
twiththemodernstat
esy st
em.

 TheGadaSystem i
sanall
-i
ncl
usi
vesoci
alsy
stem inwhi
chev
erymemberoft
hesoci
etyhas
speci
fi
edr
olesandduti
esduri
ngone’
sli
fecourse.

 Regar
dingpersonswit
hspeci
alr
esponsi
bil
i
ties,
theAbbaGada,
theel
ect
edchai
roft
hecl
ass
l
eader
shippresidesov
ert
heassembly.

6)Theperi
odf
rom 1800t o1941wit
nessedeff
ort
stoadoptmoder
nideasandEuropeant
echnol
ogiesby
Ethi
opi
anmonarchs.Assesswhatweretheendur
ingel
ement
sofmoder ni
zat
iont
hatsoughtbyrul
ersof
theper
iod.

 Thehi storyofmoder nEt hiopiastart

edar oundt hemi d-
19thcent ur
youtoft hedebr i
sleftfr
om the
i
nter nalr egionalpowerr ivalri
esthatstay edf oral mostacent ury.Thisper iod,commonl yknownas
ZamanaMesaf int(Eraoft hePr i
nces),waschar acterizedbyar enewedi nterestofEur opeanstov i
sit
Ethiopiaaf t
ertheexpul si
onofJesui tmi ssionari
esi nt hefi
rsthalfofthe17t hcent ury
.Att hisj
uncti
on
ofEt hiopian moder nizati
on endeav or,Eur opeansofv ari
oust radesst arted tov isi
tt hecountry.
Mer chant s,bot anists,expertsinnaturalhistory,diplomats,andmi ssionarieswer eamongt heal
li
ance
thatent eredt hecount ry
.Si debysi dewi ththi
speacef ulengagement ,Et hiopi
ahadal sobeent he
targetf orser i
esofMahdi staggressions.Thus,unt il1855,ayearf orthecor onationofKasaHai luas
5
 Emper
orTewodr
osI
I,
Ethi
opi
awassandwi
chedbet
weeni
nter
nal
civ
ilwar
sandext
ernal
incur
sions.

OnceTewodr oscamet opower ,

hebegant oenvisi
onf ewpr oj
ectsi nordert omoder nizethecountry
.
TheAmer icanhist
orianDonal dCr ummeyapt l
yputt hemoder nizi
ngzealoft heemper orthus:Herewe
haveani deadisti
nctiv
ei nEthiopianhi story,andonewhi chdeser ves,inthest ri
ctsenseoft heterm,
theuseoft hewor d„moder n‟.Thei deat hatEthiopiashouldemul atethet echnol
ogicalachievements
ofEuropeisonewhi chshar plydistinguishedTēwodr osfr
om hi spr edecessor samongstt heMasāfint,
and,i
ndeed, amongstt heemper ors.Thi scameoutwel li
nhi splant oorgani zemoder nstandi
ngarmy
(aswellasi nreal
izi
ngi tatsomel evel)( Caul
k,1972;Keller,2005:90) .Likemanyot herruler
sbefore
andafterhim,Tewodr oswaseagert oacqui r
emoder narmament s.Hiswas,howev er,unique6inhis
deter
minationfortechnologicalmoder nizati
on,whichwasr evealedpar t
icularl
yinhiskeeni nter
estto
devel
oporpr oducemoder narmsl ocally.

 Thiswasf ol
lowedbyhi sactionoff orcingEur opeanswhower eunderhi scust odytopr oducemoder n
artil
l
er y
.( Subsequently,thesamewor kshop Whet herTewodr os‟ sreignhadmi nimizedt hei nter
nal
conf l
ictshasal waysbeencont roversi
al–t heal t
ernati
v enarrativethati ti
nf actescalatedt heconfli
ct
mi ghtnotbecompl etel
yuntrue( seeMol vaer,1998) .6Accor dingt oMer i
d(1984:130) ,LebnäDengel
(r1508-1540) ,whohadagr eatnumberofEur opeanassi stant s,hadt heoppor t
unit
yt olearnabout
typesofweaponsEur opeansusedbutdi dn‟tshowt hesli
ght estinteresttoenqui r
e“ i
fanyoft helarge
numberofEur opeansandot herforeignersli
v i
nginhi scour tcoul dreproducesomeoft hem forhim.”
wher et hear ti
l
lerywasbei ngmadewasal soser vingt otrainmoder nEt hiopiansoldiers.)Unlikehis
predecessor s,whohadbeeni mpor t
inggunsort endt osi mpl yacqui r
et hem whent heyhadt he
chancet ogetf or
eignassistance,Tewodr oswasv erydeter minedi nacqui ringtechnicalcapabi l
ity
.
Howev er,despitehi szealousi nterestoft ransformingEt hiopi a,Tewodr oswasnotabl et omov e
forwar donhi smoder nizati
ont r
ack.

 Thecl ergy,ononesi de,andt her esistanceofaf ew r egi

onalpower sont heot her,wer ef ormidable
obst aclesf orhisendeav ors.Butmor ei mpor t
ant lyTewodr os‟smoder nizati
onf ervordi dnotcomet o
frui
tionbecause,asmanyschol arsofEt hiopianhi storywoul dsay,hisideas7wer eaheadofhi st i
me
anddi dnot ,theref
ore,fi
ndaf erti
lesoi lonwhi cht heycoul dgrow.Inawayr eminiscentt owhatLewi s
Mumf or d said of“ cul
turalprepar ation,”t hehi storian Cr ummeyat tributed thef ai
luret ol ackof
i
mpor tantsoci o-economicandadmi nistrativei nfrastructures:…he[ Tewodr os]lackedanysoci alor
i
nst i
tut i
onal baseuponwhi chtobui ld:nat ional unityeludedhi m;t
herewasnohi stori
cbur eaucracy ;no
nationaladmi nistr
ati
onhadsur vi
vedt hedi visi
onoft hecount ry;
urbanizationwaspr acticall
yunknown
(except ,per haps,inthemostr udiment aryf orm) ;t heredi dnotev enexi stawel l-developedcl assof
feudalnobi li
ty;andf i
nall
y,forei
gnassi stancewasnotf orthcomingonascal eatal lrelevanttot he
count ry‟sneeds.( 1969:465)

 The otheri nf l
uenti
alemper oraf terTewodr os,Yohannes I V(1872-1889) ,waspreoccupied with
reuni
fyingt hecount r
yandev angelizingact ivi
ties.Butagr eatdealofhi stimeandef f
ortswer ealso
spentondef endi ngEthiopiafrom aser i
esofor eignincursi
ons.( Thus,anothermoder ni
zat i
ongesture
wasnotr ekindledunt ilEmper orMenel i
kascendedt ot het hrone.)
7Otherthant heemper or
‟sinter
est
toestabl i
shamoder nstandingar myandt heur getopr oducear msl ocally,hewasal soknownf or
conceiving“ thei deaofauni ted,st rong,andpr ogressiveEt hiopi
anstate”( SvenRubensonquot edin
Samatar ,2003:31)v i
s-à-
visincreasi ngpr essuref r
om Eur opeani mperiali
stpower soft hetime.One
mayal sonot et hatthealreadyexi stingr udiment ar
yur bannucl eus(at ownl ikeGondar)didnothel p
theemper orf orhehadov err
idingpol i
ti
calreasonsnott o.Somewr it
ersev encl ai
medthathewant ed
tomov eawayf rom exist
ingur bancent ers.AleqaTekl e-I
yesus( Molvaer,1998:50) ,whowasknown
6
 f
orhi
sapparent
lyhost
il
edepi
cti
onofTewodr
os,poi
ntedoutt
hatt
heemper
orhadv
andal
i
zedt
he
t
ownofGondar.

 Soonaft
erEmper orYohannes‟sdeathin1889whenhewasher oi
cal
lydef
endi
nghiscountr
y,Menel
i
k
cametot het hr
one.Menelikhad,ofcourse,beenconsoli
dati
nghispowersince1865–ay eari
n
whichhecamet opowerasr ulerofthecentr
alprov
inceofEt hi
opi
a,Shewa.EmperorMeneli
kwas
abl
etofurtheraccompl
ishthetaskofreuni
ti
ngEthi
opia,apr
ojecti
nit
iat
edbyhispr
edecessor
s.

Byt hen,hewasabl et oextendhisr eigntot hesout hernandsout h-west ernpartsoft hecount ry.Thus,
atthemomenthebecameemper or,hehadabr oaderpol it
icalandeconomi cbasest hanmostofhi s
i
mmedi atepr edecessor s.TheItali
ancol onialambi tionintheHor nofAf ricaandi tssubsequentdef eat
att hebat tl
eofAdwa( 1896)gav eMenel ikext ensiv
ei nternat i
onalr ecognition.Thepol i
ti
caland
symbol i
csi gnifi
canceoft hev i
ctoryofAdwawasi mmense,av ictorythatr angi nternati
onall
y ,cal
ling
foranemanci pationofcol onizedpeopl ear oundt hewor l
d(Bahr u,2002a) .Thiswasl atertohav egreat
i
deol ogi
calandpol i
ticalgainsforEt hiopia.But,mor eimpor tantly,theendoft hiscol onialambi ti
on,
and,wi tht his,t he end ofot herpot entialand act ualf oreign i ncursions,gav e Menel i
k ampl e
oppor t
unitytodev elophi scountry;hencehi smoder nizati
onef for t
s.Thebegi nni ngoft het wentieth
centurymar kedt hebegi nningofmoder neducat ionsy stem i nEt hi
opia.Moder ncommuni cation
technologiessuchast el
ephone,t elegraphandt hepr inti
ngpr esswer etheni nt roduced( Gar r
etson,
2000) .

 Despi t
et hepowerst rugglest hatensuedaf t
erMenelik‟
sdeathi n1913, EmperorHai le-Selassie(aft
er
beingr egentandt hendef act oemper orforsometime)camet ot hethroneof fi
ciall
yi n1930.Att he
ti
mehewasr egent( thenknownasTaf ariMakonnen),Haile-Selassiehadt raveledt oEur opeand
vi
sited insti
tut
ions,incl uding schools,hospital
s and fact
ories.On t he basis oft he f oundati
on
establi
shedbyMenel ik,Hai l
e-Sel
assi
epr oceededtoexpandmoder neducationinEt hiopia.Moder n
schoolswer eopenedi nt hecapi t
alci t
yaswel lasi nsomepr ovi
nces.Thepol iti
calpowerHai le-
Selassief or
gedatt hecent rewasaut ocrat
icandequippedwi thal lthenecessar ybur eaucrati
cand
admi nist
rati
veoffices.Hai le-Sel
assi
ehadt heref
oreaf arbettersoci o-
economi candi nfrastr
uctural
preparationinordert or esumeandr unt hemodernizati
onpr ojectthatTewodr osandMenel i
khad
l
aunched( Bahr
u,2002a).

7.InEthiopi
a,t
heRevoluti
onof1974wasprecededbydecadesofopposit
ionst
otheimperi
alrul
e,both
undergr
ound and obv
ious.Assessther
eacti
onsofpeasants,and Nat
ionsand Nat
ional
it
iesand the
student
s.

Oppositiontot hef eudalregimeassumedabr oaderdimensionwi t

htheoutbreakofpeasantrebel
li
onsina
numberofpr ovinces.Theirinci
denceandt heirintensi
tyweremuchsev eretheearli
erper
iodsandat t
eststo
theincreasingl
yheav ypressuresbeingexertedont hepeasantr
y.Theserebell
ionsdif
fer
edint hei
rdurat
ion
(fr
om af ew day st oseveraldays),thei
rideol ogi
calarti
cul
ati
on,t heext
ernalfact
orsinthei
rout br
eakor
suppression,andt hemanneri nwhicht hegovernmentr eact
edtot hem.

TheWay aneRebel li
on( Mov ement):I
n1943, shor tl
yafterthepoli
ti
calreform,therewasamaj or‘r
evolt
’againstthe
centralgovernmenti nTigray.This‘revolt
’,calledtheWay yane,wasor ganizedbypeasant swhoseai m wast o
takeov erthemi li
tarycampandpr ovincialgov ernment.Then,openr esistancebr okeouti nallovereastern
Tigrayundert heslogan, t
“hereisnogover nment ;let’
sorgani
zeandgover nour sel
ves” .Theleader
shipoft he
easternTigreanr ebel
li
onqui ckl
ycr ystal
lizedar oundHai l
eMar i
am Reda, ay oungmanofpeasantor iginwho
hadbecomeanout l
aw( shif
ta)aftertheI tali
anoccupat i
on.Generally
,theWoy aner ebell
ionwhichast hefi
rst
ofthoser ebelli
onsbel ongstot heimmedi at
eaf termathoftheliberati
onoccur r
edi nTigrayprovi
nce.Ther e
weremanyel ement s(unequaltreatment )cont ri
butetoitsoutbr
eak.Thesewer e:
7
  Administr
ativ
eineffi
ciencyandcorrupti
on;
 Thecapacityoftheterrit
ori
alarmyunitsstat i
onedintheprovi
nce
 I
nabili
tyoflocalpeopl
et oadmi ni
sterandgov ernthemselves
 Asect i
onoft henobi li
tytri
edt otakeadv antageofsi t
uati
ontotr
ytor
e-asser
tthei
rher
edi
tar
y
pri
vi
legesandt hei
rregion’sfor
merpol i
ti
cal centr
ali
ty.

TheBalleRebell
ion:Ther
ewasar esi
stanceandr
ebel
li
ontothef
eudalr
egi
mewhicherupt
edintheSout
heast
ern
provi
nceofBal l
e,andi
tlast
edfrom 1963to1970.Themaj
orpropel
l
ingel
ement
st oit
soutbr
eakwerethe
fol
lowing.

 Theinsti
tut
ionoflandin1951hadt heeffectofr
educingmanypeasantstothest
atusoft
enants.
 Thepeasant ’
sabili
tytopaytheincreasedtaxesaccompanyingnewl andmeasur
ementsin1963
hadledtolargescaleal
ienati
onandpenal t
ybygov er
nmentoffi
cial
s.
 Thei mposit
ionofChr i
stianset
tl
ersov erapr edominat
elyMusl i
m popul
ati
onalsoengendered
rel
i
gionsantagonism.
 Sett
lerar
rogance,aswellaspoli
ti
calandeconomi cdominati
on.

El
ker
e, WabiandDel loUpr ising:Thi supr i
singbegani nthenat ionalistSomal i–i nhabitedf r
ontierdi st
ri
ctofElkere
i
n1965.Thest r ategywast oattackt hepol icest at i
onsandot hergov ernment ali nstit
utionswhi cht hey
thoughtarerunbypeopl efr
om t hecent ralr
egion.Thef eudal regimeatf irstadopt edaf air
lypaci fi
capproach,
promisingthetur nofconf i
scat edlandi ncaseswher eithadnotal r
eadygr antedt oot heri ndivi
dual
s.The
i
nfluenceoftheEl kereUpr i
singwasf eltinWabiar eaandagr oupofpeopl ebyt henameWabigr oupstarted
anat tackont hef eudalgov ernmenti n1964.Themaj ort r
iggeringcanv aseswer e:thet axpol icyoft he
government,absenceofi nf
rastructure,andabsenceofsoci alserviceslikeschool , healthcent er
s,water
, etc.
Thewabeupr i
singal socommencedDel loUprisingt hatlastedbet ween1964and1970.Thel eaderwasWaqu
Gutu.TheDel loUpr isingwasapol i
ticall
ymat urer esi
stanceandcal l
edi tsel
fal iberati
onmov ement.The
uprisi
ngwasuni quei nt hatitwasabl et ocreateauni fi
edandcent ral
i
zel eadershi p.Thegov er nmentputt he
areaundermi l
it
ar yadmi nistr
ationinor dertoweakenanddest roythemov ement .

TheGoj j
am Rebel li
on:Whi let hegov ernmentwasengr ossedi ncr ushi ngt heBalleuprisi
ng,anot herrebell
ion
wasbr eakouti nthenor th,namel yi nGojjam,duet odi scontentov ert axat i
onandl andmeasur ement .That
wasapr ovincewhi chhadsuccessf ull
yresist
edpr essuresfrom t hepol i
ticalcenter
.Thet axsy stem thatwas
beingpr acti
cedi nGojjam wasl ivedoncount ersvari
eti
esofpr oper tiessuchasl and,cattle,handcr aft
sand
others.Thet axeswer ei rr
ational ,exploi
tati
veandar bi
trari
l
ydet ermi ned.Thet axesassessmentwasof ten
donear bitr
aryandi tspr eci
seamountandv al
uewasnotdet ermined.Besi des,al
most2/ 3oft hei ncomepai d
taxwentt ot hecof f
ersofl ocalof f
ici
alsandt hei
rprivatearmi eswhi l
e1/ 3ofthet axwentt ot hechurch.
Consequent ly,peasantswhof ailedt opaywer efor
cefullymadet opayt heirduesinkindandl aboursuchas:
buil
dingandr equiri
ngoft hehouseandf encesofgov ernors,cultivatingt hel andoftheof f
icial
sandnobi l
i
ties,
coll
ectingf ir
ewoodandcut t
inggr asses,andunder takingmi l
itaryser vicesandot herdomest icchores.
Mor eover,peasant scoul darbi t
rar i
l
ybei mpr i
soned, t
heirpropertywasconf i
scat
ed,andev ent heirwivesand
chil
drenwer etaken.Last ly
,al ltheaf orementionedrepressionst rigger edaser i
ouspeasantr evoltwhi chwas
tobeknownast heGojjam Resi st ance.

TheEt
hiopi
anSt
udentMov
ement

Theexpansi onofeducat ionwhi chresul

tedintheexpansionofthestudentexpansi
ongav emoment um tothe
struggl
eagai nstthef eudalmonar chy.I
nt hi
srespect,t
he1960swasat urni
ngpoint.Itwasaper i
odwher e
manyAf ricanst at
esgott hei
rindependenceaf t
ermanyy ear
sofcolonialrul
e.Thesenewemer gentAfr
ican
stateswer efaradvancedi npoliti
calandeconomi cspheresthanEthi
opia,whichcl
aimedt ohav
esel f-
rul
efor
thousandy ears.Theel i
tesofEt hi
opiaattr
ibut
edt hecountry’
sbackwardnesst ot
hemi srul
eofthemonar chy
ofEmper orHai l
eSilassiewhosel egit
imacyhadbeencompr omised.

I
mpat
ientwi
tht
her
ateorf
orm ofsoci
al,
economi
candpol
i
ticalchangessomepol
i
ticalgr
oupsconspi
redt
o
8
l
aunchacoupde’ etatonDecember13,1960.Theat temptedcoupd’ etatwasor ganizedbyt hetwobr ot hers;
namely,Mengst uandGermameNeway .Thisattemptedcoupde’ et
atepi t
omizedt hemi li
taryandintel
lect ual
componentsoft hatoppositi
onbef
oreaswel lasaft
er1960.Howev er,theembr yocoupwaschar acterizedby
confusedarti
culati
onandi neptor
gani
zati
on.Despitethecoup’ sfail
ure,itsucceededi nt hestr
ippi
ngofi t
s
cl
aim ofuniversalaccept
anceandenroll
edi tsimageintheey esoft hecommonpeopl e.Itsparkedamor e
outspokenandr adi
caloppositi
ont
otheregime.Forinstance,i
tgivesal essonforst udentmov ement ,
i.e.the
Ethi
opianstudentmov ementanditsr
epercussionsonthestruggl
ef ordemocr acy,equali
tyandJust i
ce.

Hence,t hemosti mplacableopposi t

iontot heMonar chicalregi
mecamef r
om t hest udentpopul ati
on,
parti
cularl
yt heHai
leSilassieIUniversityst
udent s.Theirr esi
li
enceandt heirstr
ategiclocationinthet owns,
parti
cularl
yi nthecapi
talhadapr of oundeffectont her egime.Ruralprotest,howev er,sustai
nedandwel l
organized,hadanat ur
alt endencytobeper ipheral,andcoul dscarcelycaptureasmuchat tent
ionasur ban
mov ement s,morepart
icularl
yasitof tenfai
ledt ogainr eportage.Forsomethinglikeadecadef orm 1965on,
thestudent scameoutint othestreet sinal
mostr i
tualannualdemonst rat
ions,daringtodef yapolit
icalorder
thathadmanagedt osecur ethesolvedsubmi ssionofal argepartofthepopulati
on.

Int hef i
rststaget hepoli
ticalconsci ousnessoft hest udentswasv ir
tuall
ylow andt heywer eunabl eto
coor dinatetheirstruggl
e.Theear lyy earsoft hest udentmov ementwer echar acterizedbyt hest ruggl
efor
freeandf reeunion.Inthe1950s, studentv i
ewshadf oundf orumsi nTheUCCal l
s,auni versi
tycol legepaper
wi t
hadeci dedlydidacti
candapol it
icalmap.Newsandv i
ews,init
iatedin1959,r epresentedast ept owards
radical i
zati
on,alt
hought heheav yhandofaut hor i
tyensur edthatitwouldnotassumeamor eradicall i
ne.The
earliestform ofstudentor ganizat
ionwast heSt udentcounci l
,whichgoesbackt ot heestablishmentoft he
univer si
tycoll
ege.1960wasat ur
ningpoi ntint hest udents’expressionofv iewsandi dea.Bef or
et hatti
me,
studentact i
vi
tiestendedt obegear edmor et owar dst heirowni ntell
ectualgrowt handt heenr ichmentof
campusl i
fe.

Ther eal l
ymi l
it
antphaseoft hest udentmov ementst ar
tedi nthemi d1960’ s.Theemer gencei n1964a
radicalcoreknownast he“crocodiles”wasacr ucialinthi
sr espect.Thecr ocodilesprovedtruetotheirname,
oftenst rayi
ngundercov er,r
arelyoccupy i
ngpost si ntheuni onleadership,butinsteadpreferri
ngtoadv ance
theirideasandpr ogrammest hroughf r
ontfi
gur es.Thest udent s’uncompr omisingopposi t
iontot her egi
me
aswel lasthebeginningofaccept anceofMar xistideasistraceabl etothisperiod.Thef i
rstmanifestationof
radicaloppositi
oncamei nFebruary1965whi l
epar l
iamentar i
ansdebat edt heregulati
onoft enancy;students
cameoutont hestreetschanti
ngt herevol
uti
onar ysloganof“ LandtotheTi ll
er”
.

In 1967,student
s came outi
ndiff
erence ofciv
illi
ber
ti
es as a par
li
ament
arybi l
lthreat
ened t
o make
demonstrati
onsvirt
uali
mpossi
ble.I
n1969,t hecauseofeducat
ionalr
efor
m broughtstudent
sallovert
he
countryi
ntothestr
eets.

Thef i
nalphaseoft hest r
uggleoft hestudentmov ement sbeganwhent hegov ernmentunleashedopen
armedr epressi
onagai nstthestudents,whichl
astedunt il1974.Thebegi nningoftheacademicy ear1969-
1970saw uni versi
tystudentsaddressingthemselvest oper hapsthemostsensi ti
veissue,t
hequest i
onof
nati
onali
ties.Studentsupportoftherightofnat
ionali
tiest oself-
deter
minational
armedt hegovernmentint
o
l
aunchingi tsmostdet erminedof f
ensivetodate.Anar rangedpr esscampai gnagainstthestudentswas
fol
lowedbyt heassassinati
onoft hestudentUni
onpr esident.

9
 Concl
usi
on
ThisHist
oryassi gnmenti ncludesmanyexpr essionondi f
ferenttopic.For
exampleitstatest heway sofgeogr aphicalsettingofEthi
opiaandt heHor n
shapehumanhi storyoft her egion,thehumanev al
uati
ontheory,feat ures
ofhomof amily,sour ceofr ivalrybet weenChr i
sti
anandMusl i
m sul tan
duri
ngmedi evalandpostmedi eval
,aboutOr omoopopul at
ionmov ement ,
aboutGadasy stem,t heway sofEt hi
opiamonar chadoptmoder nization
and element sofmoder ni
zat i
on,r eacti
onofpeasant sandnat ionsand
nati
onali
ti
es and st udentsi n Ethiopiar evoluti
on of1974 and soci o-
economicandcul turalachi
ev ementofEt hiopiasociet
yfrom ancientt i
me
totheendoft het hir
teenthcentur y.

10
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11