Ethiopia is the oldest sovereign country in African region and one of the oldest on earth. The discovery of "Lucy", a 3.2 million year old skeleton found in the Awash Valley has strengthened the belief that Ethiopia may be the oldest race on earth.
Of the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus describes ancient Ethiopia in his writings, while the Old Testament of Bible records the Queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem where "she proved Solomon with some hard questions". Things clearly went further than that for; legend asserts that King Menelik - the founder of the Ethiopian Empire - was the son of the Queen and Solomon.
In Axum Queen of Sheba’s palace can still be seen today in ruins in the province of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. The place Axum is also the home to many other extensive historical sites, including the home of Ark of the Covenant brought there from Jerusalem by Menelik.
Missionaries from Syria and Egypt reached Ethiopia in the fourth century to introduce Christianity. In the seventh century, because of the rise of Islam Ethiopia was isolated from European Christianity. The Portuguese began to re-establish contact with Ethiopia in the 1500s basically to strengthen their control over the Indian Ocean and to convert the Ethiopians to Roman Catholicism. Almost one century of religious conflict continued in Ethiopia resulting in the expulsion of all foreign missionaries by 1630s.
Thus bitter religious conflict made the Ethiopians hostile towards foreign Christians. The Europeans which remained until the twentieth century became a factor in Ethiopia's isolation til the middle of the nineteenth century.
From the 1700s, for nearly 100 years, there was no vital power in Ethiopia. This "Era of the Princes" was featured by the confusion caused by local rulers competing in opposition to each other. By 1869 Emperor Tewodros brought many of the princes together, and became an important unifying force. He came out successful by Emperor Yohannes, who built upon the efforts through Tewodros.
Emperor Menelik II reigned from 1889 to 1913, fending off the intrusion of European powers. Italy posed the greatest danger, beginnings to colonize part of what would become its future colony of Eritrea in the mid 1880s. In 1896 Ethiopia overpowered Italy at the Battle of Adwa, which remains famous even today as the first victory of an African nation over a colonial power.
In 1916, the Christian deposed the sitting king, Lij Iyassu because of his Muslim sympathies and made Zewditu, the Empress, his predecessor's (King Menelik 11 1889 - 1913) daughter. Ras Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), Her cousin, was appointed regent and successor to the throne.
Zewditu died in 1930, after which the regent who adopted the name Haileselassie became the Emperor. His reign was seriously interrupted in 1936 when Italian forces invaded and occupied the territory of Ethiopia. Haileselassie appealed to the League of Nations, but that appeal was unheard and he fled to exile in London. He spent five years until the Ethiopian patriotic resistance forces defeated the Italians with the help of the British and then he returned to his throne.
Haileselassie reigned until 1974 when he was deposed and a provisional council of soldiers seized power and installed a government. The new government was socialist in name but military in style. 59 members of the Royal Family along with ministers and generals from the Imperial Government were summarily executed. Haile Selassie was also strangled in the basement of his palace in August 1975.
Major Mengistu Haile Mariam took power as head of state. Derg became chairman after having his two predecessors killed. His years in office were marked by a totalitarian style government. Country's massive militarization was financed and supplied by the Soviet Union and was assisted by Cuba.
The violence of the regime over a period of 17 years followed by droughts and famine quickened Derg's collapse.
Insurrections happened throughout Ethiopia, especially in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea. In 1989, the Tigrayan People's Liberation front merged with the Amhara and Oromo liberation fronts to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front. In May 1991, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front forces advanced to Addis Ababa forcing Mengistu to flee to Zimbabwe.
In 1991, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia was set up from the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front and other political parties in the country with 87 strong Council of Representatives and a transitional constitution.
In the meantime, in May 1991, The Eritrean People's Liberation front, led by Isaias Afworki took control of Eritrea after 30 years of struggle and could establish a provisional government. This ran Eritrea until April 1993 while Eritreans voted for independence in UN monitored referendum.
In Ethiopia, President Meles Zenawi and members of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia pledged to oversee the formation of a multi-party democracy. In June 1994 the election for a 548 member constituent assembly was held. In December 1994 this assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In 1995 elections for the first parliament were held and the government was installed in August of the same year.
