Ethiopian Empire: Map & History
The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a country that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
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The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a country that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak around 1270 until the 1974 coup d'état by the Derg, which ended the reign of the final Emperor, Haile Selassie. In the late 19th century, under Emperor Menelik II, the empire expanded significantly to the south, and in 1952, Eritrea was federated under Selassie's rule. Despite being surrounded by hostile forces throughout much of its history, the empire maintained a kingdom centered on its ancient Christian heritage.
Modern Countries Once Part of Ethiopian Empire
At its mapped extent, Ethiopian Empire covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Ethiopian Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Ethiopian Empire in Depth
History
After the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 10th century AD, the Ethiopian Highlands would fall under the rule of the Zagwe Dynasty. The new rulers were Agaws that had come from the Lasta region, later ecclesiastical texts accused this dynasty of not having pure "Solomonic" stock and derided their achievements. Even at the zenith of their power, most Christians would consider them to be usurpers. However, the architecture of the Zagwe shows a connotation of earlier Aksumite traditions, among those can be seen in Lalibela, the building of rock hewn churches first appeared in the late Aksumite era and reached its peak under the Zagwe.
The Zagwe were not able to stop squabbling over the throne, diverting men, energy and resources that could have been used to affirm the dynasty's authority.
Government
As feudalism became the central tenet in the Ethiopian Empire, it developed into an authoritarian system with institutionalized social inequality. As land became the prime commodity, its acquisition became the main driving force behind imperialism, especially from the reign of Menelik II onwards.
As part of Emperor Haile Selassie's modernization efforts, the traditional monarchical regime was reformed through the introduction of the 1931 and 1955 constitutions, which introduced a unitary parliamentary system with two legislative bodies: the Chamber of Senate (Yeheggue Mewossegna Meker Beth) and Chamber of Deputies (Yeheggue Memeriya Meker Beth).
Military
From the reign of Amde Tseyon, Chewa regiments, or legions, formed the backbone of the Empire military forces. The Ge'ez term for these regiments is ṣewa (ጼዋ) while the Amharic term is č̣äwa (ጨዋ). The normal size of a regiment was several thousand men. Each regiment was allocated a fief (Gult), to ensure its upkeep ensured by the land revenue.
In 1445, following the Battle of Gomit, the chronicles record that Emperor Zara Yaqob started garrisoning the provinces with Chewa regiments.
Regiments in border regions, or more autonomous provinces, such as Hadiya, Bahir Negash, Bale, under azmač who were military officials appointed by the king.
Economy
The economy consisted of centuries old barter system with "primitive money" and currency of various kinds until the 20th century in the framework of feudal system. Peasants worked to produce and fixated their activities to taxation, marketing infrastructure and agrarian production. One form of currency was gold cubes. Excavations near Mount Yerer, by Lanfranco Ricci and Fattovich uncovered 5.5 mm gold cubes weighing 3.2 grams each, dated to medieval period. Lacking jewelry features, these cubes likely standardized gold value for trade, with some possibly bearing marks indicating official currency status.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ethiopian Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ethiopian Empire: Key Facts
| Capital | Gondar |
|---|---|
| Official language | Ge'ez |
| Form of government | absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy |
| Currency | bir |
| Founded | 1270 |
| Dissolved | 12 March 1975 |
Preceded by
- Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea
- Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea
- Kingdom of Wolaita
Facts from Wikidata Q207521 (CC0).
Interactive map
Ethiopian Empire on the World War I map →
See Ethiopian Empire on the day-by-day map of World War I.
Ethiopian Empire Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Ethiopian Empire appears, with the other states of the time.
Ethiopian Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,128,249 km² in 1934 CE.
Ethiopian Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Ethiopian Empire exist?
The Ethiopian Empire is dated to 1272 CE – 1935 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Ethiopian Empire?
The capital of the Ethiopian Empire was None (1270–1635), Gondar (1635–1855), Debre Tabor (1855–1881), Mekelle (1881–1889), Addis Ababa (1889–1974).
How large was the Ethiopian Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 1934 the Ethiopian Empire covered about 1,128,249 km².
How did the map of the Ethiopian Empire change over time?
The Ethiopian Empire appears on 9 dated world maps in the atlas, from 1300 CE to 1914 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram