Nun and lesbianism: A New Translation of an Ethiopian Manuscript Sheds Light on African Women’s Anticolonialism

By Allison Miller, Historians Asked how she came to translate the life story of Walatta Petros, a 17th-century Ethiopian woman saint, Wendy Belcher jokes that the story takes a while to tell. She’s right. Just published by Princeton University Press,The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros, written by a monk in 1672, which Belcher…

The New Dictators Rule by Velvet Fist

By SERGEI GURIEV and DANIEL TREISMAN NY Times THE standard image of dictatorship is of a government sustained by violence. In 20th-century totalitarian systems, tyrants like Stalin, Hitler and Mao murdered millions in the name of outlandish ideologies. Strongmen like Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire left trails of blood. But in recent decades, a new…

US Press Statement: Ethiopia’s May 24 Parliamentary and Regional Elections

Press Statement Marie Harf Deputy Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC May 27, 2015 The United States commends the people of Ethiopia for their civic participation in generally peaceful parliamentary and regional elections on May 24. We acknowledge the National Electoral Board’s organizational efforts and the African Union’s role as the only international…

‘Lucy’ May Not Be Our Mom, Say Scientists

By Richard Ingham Paris (AFP) – In 1974, anthropologists in Ethiopia found the astonishing fossilised remains of a human-like creature who last walked the planet some 3.2 million years ago. Was “Lucy,” as the hominid was called, the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens? Was she “The Mother of Mankind,” as some headlines claimed? Over the…

Adowa and Its Timeless Significance

By Fekadu Bekele (PhD) What does Adowa mean for Ethiopians and the rest of Africa? What is left from the Victory of Adowa? What do we owe our patriotic mothers and fathers who saved Ethiopia from Colonial Domination? Introduction To write an article on such a major issue might seem too late. Many have written…

The Intricately Carved Tiya Megaliths of Ethiopia

By M R Reese The Tiya stones are part of an archaeological site located in central Ethiopia, in an area known as the Gurage Zone. The 46 large, decorated Tiya megaliths have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the construction of such megaliths is an ancient tradition in Ethiopia, the Tiya stones are…

A chronology of key events in Ethiopian History

  2nd century AD – Kingdom of Axum becomes a regional trading power. 4th century – Coptic Christianity introduced from Egypt. King Ezana’s Stele: One of the 1700-year old obelisks erected by the Kingdom of Axum Ethiopia unveils ancient obelisk 1530-31 – Muslim leader Ahmad Gran conquers much of Ethiopia. 1818-68 – Lij Kasa conquers…