Ethiopia

Stephen WooleryJune 2005

Ethiopian Aristocratic Titles• Negus- King• Negusa negrest- Knig of kings, known in the west as Emporer• Itgue- Empress• Ras- Highest noble rank, sometimes worn by minor princes of Solomonic

blood, a hereditary title.• Bitwoded- Literal translation “beloved”, highest non-royal title.• Dejazmach- Originally referred to “Gate keeper”• Fitawari- A noble title, means Leader of the vanguard”.• Gerazmach- Literal translation “Military commander of the left”.• Kenyazmach- Equivalent to Gerazmach, but translates to “Military

commander of the right”.• Balambaras- Literal transalation “Castellan” or commander of a fortress.• Ato- “Sir”• Woizero- “Mrs.”• Lij- Child of a noble family.• Makwanent- Titled nobles.

Modern Ethiopia• For better or worse today’s Ethiopia is a result of

economic, strategic and global actions taken in the later part of the 1800’s and the first half of the 1900’s.

• The connection between Italy and Ethiopia is a link to the late 1800’s and is as strong today as ever.

• The US came late into the Ethiopian sphere. The Us became a military partner with Ethiopia after the Korean Conflict. US involvement with Ethiopia was not significant and personal until we, the Mapping Mission, came to help Ethiopia make valid maps of their country.

Early History• Ethiopia is mentioned in the bible- Psalm 68- “Ethiopia shall

reach out her hand unto God.” written for King David around 1000 BC (technically the country was called “Abyssinia”.

• The Ethiopian Coptic church was founded by two Monks (Frumentius and Aedissius) in the early 4th century.

• The Coptic church separated from the Orthodox church in 451 AD.

• The rulers of Ethiopia or Abysinia trace their lineage back to Kng Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

• The Imperial descent comes also from the Prophet Muhammed to the heirs of Haille Selassie.

• Ethiopia has been able to maintain direct succession through the millennia by being a somewhat isolated country.

Early History (continued)

• To this day Ethiopians have strong bond with the state of Israel. Many Ethiopians consider themselves to be of Jewish decent and blood lines.

• Ethiopia has communities of ‘Falashas’ (Ethiopian Jews) especially in the Gondar region of the country. In the latter part of the last century some of these communities have actually returned to Israel to live.

• In approximately 615 AD Mohammed himself sent followers to Ethiopia to convert Ethiopians to Islam.

Italian-Ethiopian Contacts• The country of Italy resulted from the forcible annexation of

several monarchies in the 1860’s.• Control of the Italian state was in the hands of a King.• Italy was left to her own designs by the major European

powers of the time (England & France).• Italy received Massawa from the British in 1885 and occupied

several Red Sea ports in 1886.• Ethiopian Emporer Johannis fought several battle with Italian

garrisons in 1887/88 while allied with the British to fight the Mahdist in the Sudan.

• Emporer Johannis died as a result of wounds during a battle with the Mahdists 1889.

Emporer Menelick II• Born in 1844, named Sahle Miriam.• Considered the founder of the Ethiopian Nation.• He was Negus of Shewa from 1865 until he became Emperor

in 1889.• The rapid modernization of Ethiopia was his greatest domestic

achievement.• He moved the capital to Addis Ababa (“New Flower”- in

Amharic).• An epidemic introduced by Italian cattle and a rampant locust

infestation caused a 4 year famine early in his administration.• There was continued feuding among Ethiopian princes that

convoluted his rule in this same time.

Menelik II (continued)

• In October 1889 Italy unilaterally declared Ethiopia a protectorate on the basis of the Treaty of Weschale.

• The treaty was flawed! Terms in the Italian version were not the same as those in the Ethiopian version.

• At the same time Italy secured control of Eritrea.• Menelik united his people and raised a 100,000 man

well equipped army.• At Adowa Menelik II led his army against 15,000

Italians and defeated them. This was the first defeat of a European Army by a native African Army (only 1/3 of the Italian soldiers were actually Italian).

Battle of Adowa• It was the climatic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War.• Late February 1896 both sides were running low on supplies.• On March 2, 1896 Italian General Baretieri made an ill fated

late night move into rough terrain, his forces were scattered in pockets and lost contact with the separated forces.

• Ras Makonnen (father of Haille Selassie) noticed the fractured command and control situation and seized the initiative by attacking.

• By late morning the Emperor's army had joined the foray.• Out of 14,527 Italian soldiers 11,000 were casualties. Out of

over 120,000 Ethiopian soldiers there were 10,000 casualties.

Battle of Adowa (continued)• As a result of this battle the Treaty of Addis Ababa was signed.• Ethiopia was recognized as an independent state by Italy,

however, Italy retained control over Eritrea.• This battle was the first time that an African native Army had

defeated a European led Army.• This battle was the rallying point for African nations during the

decolonization period of Africa.• This humiliating loss remained with the Italians for 40 years,

until 1935.• Ethiopia fought and won battles with the “Dervishes” from the

Sudan in 1889.

Emporer Haille Selassie• Emperor Menelik II passed away in 1913.• His Grandson, Iyasu, succeeded him as Emperor, but was

overthrown in 1916 for embracing the Muslim faith.• Menelik’s daughter, Zawditu, succeeded Iyasu in 1917 with

Tafari Makonnen (to be Haille Selassie) as regent.• Tafari Makonnen became Negus of Shewa in 1928.• Following the death of Zawditu in 1930 Tafari Makonnen was

confirmed Emperor (Negusa Nagest).• He took the name Haille Selassie I (“Mighty of the Trinity”).• He continuously sought to bring Ethiopia closer to the European

style of monarchy and government.• He continued Memelik’s modernization efforts, but is

remembered as a warrior king.

Leading up to the War!• Italy never forgot the humiliating defeat at the hands of the

Ethiopian Army by Haille Selassie’s father (Ras Makonnen) and the Emperor at Adowa.

• Italy armed the Eritrean province and Italian Somalia on the strategic Horn of Africa. They intended to invade Ethiopia from the very beginnings of the military build-up. They wanted to have a land bridge between their two colonies on the Horn of Africa.

• At this period of time the world was in an economic depression and Italy had a large unemployed labor force to support.

• Hitler had come to power and had similar feelings that his country also needed vast foreign territory to exist. Mussolini wanted to emulate Hitler’s conquests.

• The establishment of a vast colonial empire was integral to the Fascist Italian foreign policy. Italy had come into the colonial period much later than other European nations.

• Italy invaded northern Ethiopia on October 3, 1935 without declaring war.

Human Interest• The common Italian soldier that came to Ethiopia with the

invasion forces were interested in bettering their lives, they were promised land in Ethiopia that they could cultivate and have a good life in the Italian colony of Ethiopia. At home unemployment was rampant and the world was in a great depression.

• Mussolini saw Ethiopia as a means of creating a greater Italy with foreign colonies and territories and righting the wrong created at the Battle of Adowa 40 years before.

• The Italian people were sincere in their desire to better Ethiopia, they considered every African country as being a backward place in dire need of benevolent ‘help’ & ‘guidance’ from superior Europeans.

• The war with Ethiopia was a popular cause at home!

The War!• The Italian Army attacked from the Eritrean province and sent

their Armies across the border in the south from Italian Somalia into the Ogaden Desert.

• The Italian Army was equipped with modern, for the times, military weapons, including flame throwers, poison gas and other outlawed weapons. They also had air superiority over a non-existing Ethiopian air force.

• During many engagements the Italians resorted to the use of massive aerial and artillery bombardments, bombing with poisonous gasses and strafing of innocent civilian and defeated military personnel.

• Several Ethiopian commanders defected to the Italian cause along with their entire armies. Others commanders collaborated with the invading force.

War! (continued)• Hitler’s Germany did not trust Italy either and supplied arms

to the Ethiopian Army early in the invasion.• Ethiopian armies had few automatic weapons, little usable

artillery and no real air force. It was the policy of the League of Nations to not arm combatants.

• The generals of Ethiopia were not schooled in modern warfare and lost a most battles they chose to fight and casualties were atrociously high for the Ethiopian forces.

• The Italians used mercenary armies from Libya and Eritrea. The mercenary armies were used for the frontal assaults and the Italian soldiers for the mop up actions. The mercenary armies were treated differently that their own soldiers were.

• Both sides had difficulty keeping their soldiers in line, there were defections on both sides of the fighting.

• Morale for the invaders was reinforced by succeeding victories on the battle fields.

War! (continued)• Numerous Ethiopian Generals (Ras) defected to the Italian side,

especially after it was apparent who was going to win the war.• Some other Ethiopian Generals (Ras) remained ‘loyal’ to the

Negus, but did conspire with the Italians.• All during the war the League of Nations sat by the sidelines and

debated the wars merits even when it was proven that Italy was using weapons that were banned by international conventions..

• The Negusa Negast finally accepted the folly of meeting Italian Armies head on and resorted to a guerilla war with Italian armies.

• Just prior to the fall of Addis Ababa Haille Selassie fled the country through Jibouti and then on a British cruiser.

• For the next 4 years he was under the protection of the British realm.

• The Italian Viceroy of Ethiopia, General Graziani, offered no compassion in his victory. Atrocities were routinely committed by orders from the command staff, including Mussolini, of the Italian Government.

Occupation!• The new Ethiopian Viceroy’s guidance was that anyone caught

with weapons or in open hostilities were to be summarily shot. Only if a prisoner was taken in armed hostility were they considered to be prisoners of war. Even if prisoners were POW’s they tended to be shot by firing squads.

• This edict was stiffened and citizens of Ethiopia were being murdered indiscriminately by soldiers and firing squads through-out the war and occupation.

• All during the occupation there was continuous guerilla attacks through out Ethiopia. Italian garrisons were in a constant state of defense.

• Two Ethiopians attempted an assassination of General Graziani. The treatment of Ethiopians got even worse after the attempted assassination.

• The Archbishop of Ethiopia and 298 monks were killed by Italian soldiers on the pretext that they were inciting the guerilla attacks.

Occupation! (Continued)

• Many noble men and there families were run to ground and captured, most were executed by their Italian captors on the spot or after mock trials.

• During the occupation the guerilla forces were hunted down mercilessly with the same inhumane tactics as were used in the war- poisonous gas, shelling by artillery, bombing and strafing by air. In many occasions Ethiopian Ras’s and their armies were used to hunt their former comrades.

• During the war and the occupation the Italian commanders from Mussolini on to the lowest commander had little regard for the Ethiopians who fought them. The Ethiopians were considered sub-human to the Italian commanders.

• The rallying cry for the Italians was- “10 eyes for each eye!”

Occupation! (Continued)• The occupation was sustained, but the Italians were being

stretched to the limit by continuous guerilla attacks.• Just before the assistance was provided by the British to retake

and drive out the Italians from Ethiopia the resistance in Ethiopia was having an affect on morale and capabilities of the Italian homeland to support the Ethiopian occupation.

• By this time WWII had started in earnest Italy did not have the material resources or industry to support the numerous operations that they were involved in the world wide conflicts.

• At the beginning of the war Italy had provided numerous aircraft, artillery and transport capabilities that were needed. As Italy was forced into other world battles the supply and logistics fell off drastically. Towards the end of the occupation the Italian soldier’s conditions were as bad as the Ethiopian soldiers.

Rescue!• By the time the British arrived to defeat the Italian occupiers,

the Italian Armies were demoralized and were holed up in strategic cities and fortresses. The Ethiopians resistance was taking its toll on men, equipment and morale.

• One of the final desperate acts of the Italian military was to create ‘black’ indigenous armies that were intended to defend Ethiopia against any army sent to free Ethiopia.

• British assistance came in the form of supplies, soldiers and commanders who did know 20th century tactics and desert fighting techniques.

• The British smuggled in arms, supplies and automatic weapons that had been previously lacking.

Rescue! (Continued)• It was difficult for the Negus Negest to stay out of the country

while the rescue of his country was taking place. He repeatedly sought to be in the Ethiopian battles as ground commander.

• Haille Selassie was one of very few leaders of a country who was an actual battlefield commander. In this regard he was a good friend of Dwight Eisenhower.

• The Emperor was magnanimous in his conquest of Ethiopia.• Italians were insensitive and severe to captured soldiers and to

civilians. In victory Haille Selassie made it a point to not take revenge on Italians caught or captured. He encouraged Italians to stay and be a part of Ethiopia’s future.

• He likewise was forgiving of almost all of the Ras’s who had abandoned their country when attacked by the Italians. Of all who were traitors only one spent 20 years in prison and was then given back his title and property after release from prison.

After the War!• The advancement of Ethiopia was not quick and still the country is

considered a third world country.• Haille Selassi did try to upgrade and bring his country into the

modern world.• The Neusa Negast was considered a good family man and leader for

his country.• He was praised for attending John Kennedy’s funeral in 1962.• In his quest to modernize his country he was instrumental in

bringing the Mapping Mission in to map his country.• There are still Italians who came before, during or after the invasion.

He never attempted to extort or persecute any Italian who stayed in Ethiopia. He did file for (claimed amount- 326M Lire) and did receive war reparations from Italy and finally received 10-1/2M Lire.

After the War! (Continued)

• Haille Selassie believed strongly in the League of Nations, even after the League abandoned Ethiopia in the early days of the war.

• He, likewise, believed in the United Nations organization. Ethiopia sent a token force of soldiers to support the efforts in the Korean Conflict.

• It is ironic that the Movie “Born Free” was filmed in Ethiopia during Haille Selassie’s rule.

• Deep seated feelings of resentment for the rulling nobility class remained and led to radical change as Haille Selassie grew older.

Post Haille Selassie

• His Imperial Majesty (HIM) was overthrown by the Communists. He was imprisoned and eventually was killed by the Communist regime. Members of his family fled the country.

• The Communist regime plunged the country into 17 years of a repressive regime. The country experienced famines from 1972-1974 and from 1984-1985.

• In 1991 the Communists regime were driven from power and was replaced by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and retains power to this day.

• The long running Eritrean problem was solved when the province was given autonomous self rule.

References

• “The Ethiopian War- 1935-1941”, Angelo Del Boca, 1965, English

Translation- 1969• www.imperialethiopia.org• www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com• www.gondarlink.org.uk