Ethiopia, a country study Edited by Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry Ethiopia, a country study Table of Contents Ethiopia, a country study.........................................................................................................................................1 Edited by Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry.......................................................................................1 ........................................................................................................................................................................6Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................................................5 Ethiopia: Preface............................................................................................................................................6 COUNTRY Formal Name: Ethiopia............................................................................................................7 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................10 Chapter 1. Historical Setting by John W. Turner (An African analyst with the Department of Defense) .....................................................................................................................................................16 Early Populations and Neighboring States...................................................................................................18 The Aksumite State......................................................................................................................................19 Ethiopia and the Early Islamic Period..........................................................................................................21 The Restoration of the Solomonic" Line..............................................................................................23 Amhara Ascendancy....................................................................................................................................23 The Trials of the Christian Kingdom and the Decline of Imperial Power...................................................24 Oromo Migrations and Their Impact .........................................................................................................25 Contact with European Christendom...........................................................................................................26 The Gonder State and the Ascendancy of the Nobility................................................................................27 The Making of Modern Ethiopia.................................................................................................................28 The Reestablishment of the Ethiopian Monarchy........................................................................................28 From Tewodros II to Menelik II, 1855−89..................................................................................................29 The Reign of Menelik II, 1889−1913..........................................................................................................31 The Interregnum...........................................................................................................................................32 Haile Selassie: The Prewar Period, 1930−36...............................................................................................33 Italian Administration in Eritrea..................................................................................................................34 Mussolini's Invasion and the Italian Occupation.........................................................................................34 Ethiopia in World War II.............................................................................................................................36 The Postwar Period, 1945−60: Reform and Opposition..............................................................................37 Change and Resistance.................................................................................................................................37 Administrative Change and the 1955 Constitution......................................................................................38 The Attempted Coup of 1960 and Its Aftermath.........................................................................................39 Growth of Secessionist Threats....................................................................................................................39 The Liberation Struggle in Eritrea...............................................................................................................39 Discontent in Tigray.....................................................................................................................................41 The Ogaden and the Haud............................................................................................................................41 Revolution and Military Government..........................................................................................................42 Background to Revolution, 1960−74...........................................................................................................42 The Establishment of the Derg.....................................................................................................................43 The Struggle for Power, 1974−77................................................................................................................45 Ethiopia's Road to Socialism........................................................................................................................46 The Mengistu Regime and Its Impact..........................................................................................................47 Political Struggles Within the Government.................................................................................................47 Eritrean and Tigrayan Insurgencies.............................................................................................................48 Social and Political Changes........................................................................................................................48 Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath, 1984−88..............................................................................49 Famine and Economic Collapse...................................................................................................................49 Government Defeats in Eritrea and Tigray..................................................................................................50 The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia...........................................................................................50 Changes in Soviet Policy and New International Horizons.........................................................................51 i Ethiopia, a country study Table of Contents Ethiopia, a country study Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment...............................................................................................52 Physical Setting............................................................................................................................................53 Boundaries: International and Administrative.............................................................................................53 Topography and Drainage............................................................................................................................53 Climate.........................................................................................................................................................54 Population....................................................................................................................................................55 Urbanization.................................................................................................................................................57 Resettlement and Villagization....................................................................................................................58 Refugees, Drought, and Famine...................................................................................................................60 Ethiopia's Peoples........................................................................................................................................62 Ethnic Groups, Ethnicity, and Language.....................................................................................................62 Ethio−Semitic Language Groups.................................................................................................................63 Cushitic Language Groups...........................................................................................................................64 Omotic Language Groups............................................................................................................................66 Nilo−Saharan Language Groups..................................................................................................................67 Ethiopia and Sudan......................................................................................................................................67