In 1950, the United Nations facilitated Eritrea’s federation with Ethiopia, but the union of the two nations lasted less thanįifty years later when Eritrea’s wishes for independence erupted into a civil war that lasted thirty years. Italian rule continued until World War II. Although Ethiopia was victorious, Menilik conceded to Italian rule over Eritrea once more with the signing of the Treaty of Addis Ababa that ended the first Italo-Ethiopian war.
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The climactic Battle of Adwa on Maended in Italian defeat. Italy itself became one of those rivals when they made several attempts to invade Ethiopia from their Eritrean stronghold. The period of Italian colonial rule commenced on Januafter King Menelik signed the Treaty of Wichale in which he recognized “Italian possession in the Red Sea” in exchange for weapons to fight potential rivals. Eritrea’s Christian population also includes Roman Catholics, as well as a smaller population of Protestants, stemming from the time of Italian colonial rule (1889–1941). Upon winning their independence, Eritrea successfully petitioned the Coptic church for autocephaly and joined the ranks of the 5 other Orthodox Churches based in Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria, Armenia, and India. Since then, about one half of Eritrea has remained Christian with about two-fifths belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church up until its secession from Ethiopia in 1993. Christianity entered the Horn of Africa in the 4th century where it was accepted by Ethiopian highlanders. The Red Sea was also the route by which Christianity and Islam reached the region. The very name of this country is a testament to its inextricable link with Red Sea trading routes, as “Eritrea” is derived from the Red Sea’s ancient Greek name: the Erythraean Sea. Later, Eritrea’s ports beckoned imperial powers like Turkey, Egypt, and Italy with promises of access to the gold, coffee, and slaves sold by traders in the Ethiopian highlands to the south. The Axumite kingdom existed between 100AD and 940AD and was a prominent trading hub that had connections with Ancient India and the Roman Empire. Eritrea was once part of the ancient kingdom of Axum, which also included present-day Tigray Region and Ethiopia. The nation looks forward to celebrating 30 years of independence in May 2021, but Eritrea’s history stretches back much further than that. Italian, Eritrea’s previous colonial language, is also spoken but is not formally recognized by the government. Tigray, Kunama, and Afar are also prominent languages, although Arabic and English are widely understood. Given its ethnic diversity, Eritrea is a multilingual state of which Tigrinya is the de facto language with over 2.5 million speakers across the central and southern parts of the nation as of 2006. The nine major ethnic groups of Eritrea are Afar, Bilen, Hedareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinya.
Eritrea’s capital and largest city is Asmara, which still features remnants of Italian colonial rule, such as grand Catholic Cathedrals.
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Selam! This week, we’re taking you back to the Red Sea, but this time, to the African shores of Eritrea.Įritrea is located in the Horn of Africa where it is bordered by Sudan to the northeast, Ethiopia to the south, Djibouti to the southeast, and the Red Sea along its eastern border.