Lhe craggy plateau in central Ethiopia allowed a succession of Christian kingdoms to resist for centuries the invasions that swept the Horn of Africa. The history of this region, known in ancient Egypt as the “land of Punt”, was punctuated by coups d'état, assassinations and palace intrigues.
The kingdom of Axum
The original inhabitants of Ethiopia were related to the populations of Nubia. In the XNUMXst millennium BC, emigrants from Yemen settled between the shores of the Red Sea and Lake Tana. One of their tribes, the Habashas, gave its name to Abyssinia and the kingdom of Aksum eventually prevailed.
Aksum was the region's greatest power when its king, Ezana (AD 320-342), converted to Christianity. The Axumites dominated the Red Sea and made expeditions to Arabia. They had fruitful relations with the Far East.
In 1504, the kingdom of Aloa, penultimate of the Christian kingdoms of Nubia, had to give in to Muslim pressure. Only Abyssinia resisted, taking refuge in its mountainous lair. But the invading troops commanded by Imam Gragne and reinforced by the arrival of the Turks in the Red Sea devastated the region. Emperor Claudius then asked for the help of the Portuguese whose caravels had just entered the Indian Ocean. At the end of the fighting, Imam Grange's troops had to leave the territory and the Portuguese settled in Abyssinia.
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