mzeiya
Elder Lister
Brilliant thread courtesy of @surambaya. Will continue in the comments section since one can't attach 10+ images kwa thread.
Nelson Mandela once declared that Ethiopia held a special place in his imagination.
Indeed, the land of coffee, ancient architecture and a resilient people does carry a certain mystique… and a very long, torturous history.
1/
--Long Thread--
[Pic: Children of the Omo Valley]
2/
See, Mandela spent two weeks in July 1962 in Ethiopia where he learned the tricks of guerilla warfare from Col Fekadu Wakene, a corporal in the riot battalion of the Ethiopian police force at the time.
Mandela was in Ethiopia by invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
3/
At 1.1mn km², a population of 110mn & 80 ethnic groups, Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world, having come into existence circa 980 BCE.
Most intriguing is the nation’s ancient links to Islam, and Christianity, which was declared a state religion in 330 CE.
4/
Ethiopia is the world’s 5th largest coffee producer, exporting $836mn worth in 2018, comprising 1/3rd of exports.
Agri made up a third of the country’s $84bn 2018 GDP with industry and services making up 25% and 37% respectively.
GDP tripled in the period 2008-2018
5/
Africa’s 2ⁿᵈ most populous country, with a documented history dating back to the 10th century BCE, gets mentioned twice in Homer’s Iliad and hosts the oldest standing structure in Sub-Saharan Africa - the Temple of the Moon in Yeha – built in 700 BCE.
6/
The Kebra Negast (an account written in the 14ᵗʰ century) references the Queen of Sheba (Queen Makeda) whose son with King Solomon, Menelik I, founded the Solomonic Dynasty that ruled for centuries and ended with the ouster of the 225ᵗʰ descendant, Haile Selassie in 1974.
7/
20 years after King Solomon’s dalliance with the queen, Menelik I visited Jerusalem and apparently left with the Ark of the Covenant.
It is believed that the receptacle for the 10 commandments lies in the chapel of the Lady of Zion in Aksum and no one is allowed to view it...
8/
Ethiopia began as the empire of Aksum (80 BCE – 825 CE), located in Tigray, Eritrea and Somalia.
Aksum was one of the first African polities to issue its own currency, had its own alphabet and was deemed one of the 4 great powers alongside Rome, Persia, and China.
9/
Aksum went into decline in the 6ᵗʰ Century CE giving way to the latter Solomonic Dynasty beginning in 1270 CE.
It was from this era that came Emperors Yohannes IV, Tewodros II, Menelik II, Haile Selassie I and Empress Zewditu (pictured).
10/
Fast-forward to 1855 and the reign of Emperor Tewodros II - an outlaw warrior who sought to unify Ethiopia but faced rebellions across the land.
In 1863, Tewodros II wrote to Queen Victoria seeking help to quell the revolts but the letter was ignored and forgotten for years.
Nelson Mandela once declared that Ethiopia held a special place in his imagination.
Indeed, the land of coffee, ancient architecture and a resilient people does carry a certain mystique… and a very long, torturous history.
1/
--Long Thread--
[Pic: Children of the Omo Valley]
2/
See, Mandela spent two weeks in July 1962 in Ethiopia where he learned the tricks of guerilla warfare from Col Fekadu Wakene, a corporal in the riot battalion of the Ethiopian police force at the time.
Mandela was in Ethiopia by invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
3/
At 1.1mn km², a population of 110mn & 80 ethnic groups, Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world, having come into existence circa 980 BCE.
Most intriguing is the nation’s ancient links to Islam, and Christianity, which was declared a state religion in 330 CE.
4/
Ethiopia is the world’s 5th largest coffee producer, exporting $836mn worth in 2018, comprising 1/3rd of exports.
Agri made up a third of the country’s $84bn 2018 GDP with industry and services making up 25% and 37% respectively.
GDP tripled in the period 2008-2018
5/
Africa’s 2ⁿᵈ most populous country, with a documented history dating back to the 10th century BCE, gets mentioned twice in Homer’s Iliad and hosts the oldest standing structure in Sub-Saharan Africa - the Temple of the Moon in Yeha – built in 700 BCE.
6/
The Kebra Negast (an account written in the 14ᵗʰ century) references the Queen of Sheba (Queen Makeda) whose son with King Solomon, Menelik I, founded the Solomonic Dynasty that ruled for centuries and ended with the ouster of the 225ᵗʰ descendant, Haile Selassie in 1974.
7/
20 years after King Solomon’s dalliance with the queen, Menelik I visited Jerusalem and apparently left with the Ark of the Covenant.
It is believed that the receptacle for the 10 commandments lies in the chapel of the Lady of Zion in Aksum and no one is allowed to view it...
8/
Ethiopia began as the empire of Aksum (80 BCE – 825 CE), located in Tigray, Eritrea and Somalia.
Aksum was one of the first African polities to issue its own currency, had its own alphabet and was deemed one of the 4 great powers alongside Rome, Persia, and China.
9/
Aksum went into decline in the 6ᵗʰ Century CE giving way to the latter Solomonic Dynasty beginning in 1270 CE.
It was from this era that came Emperors Yohannes IV, Tewodros II, Menelik II, Haile Selassie I and Empress Zewditu (pictured).
10/
Fast-forward to 1855 and the reign of Emperor Tewodros II - an outlaw warrior who sought to unify Ethiopia but faced rebellions across the land.
In 1863, Tewodros II wrote to Queen Victoria seeking help to quell the revolts but the letter was ignored and forgotten for years.
