History of Eritrea

Kingdom of Aksum, 100 CE–960 CE Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Under Ezana, Aksum later adopted Christianity. Christianity was the first world religion adopted in modern Eritrea. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own Aksumite currency.

Seat of power: Axum

Medri Bahri, 1137–1890 Draft, not yet reviewed

Medri Bahri was a semi-autonomous province of the Ethiopian Empire, located north of the Mereb River, in the Eritrean Highlands. It was governed by the Bahr Negash. In the mid-fifteenth century, Emperor Zara Yaqob extended the Bahr Negash's authority over Hamasen, Seraye, Shiré and Bur. Italian occupation followed Alula's recall in 1889, and the territory became the core of the colony of Italian Eritrea in 1890.

Seat of power: Debarwa

Italian Eritrea, 1890–1936 Draft, not yet reviewed

Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. In 1889 the Ethiopian Empire recognized the Italian possession in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded. In 1936 the region was integrated into Italian East Africa as the Eritrea Governorate, until Italy's loss of the region in 1941.

Seat of power: Asmara

Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, 1952–1962 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea was a federation between the former Italian colony of Eritrea and the Ethiopian Empire between 1952 and 1962. Eritrea was to have its own administrative and judicial structure, its own new flag, and control over its domestic affairs, including police, local administration, and taxation. The federal government, which for all practical purposes was the existing imperial government, was to control foreign affairs (including commerce), defense, finance, and transportation. On 15 November 1962, the Eritrean Assembly voted unanimously to dissolve the federation and incorporate Eritrea into the Ethiopian Empire as a province.

Seat of power: Asmara

Eritrea, 1993 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. Eritrea gained de facto independence in 1991 and de jure independence in 1993 after an independence referendum. The Eritrean–Ethiopian War lasted from 1998 to 2000 and claimed approximately 70,000 lives from both sides. A peace treaty between Eritrea and Ethiopia was signed on 9 July 2018.

Seat of power: Asmara

Rulers

• Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea, 1991 to today