Asmara

City · 1897 CE · in the Middle East

Capital of State of Eritrea (1993–today).

Abidjan (1898 CE): Capital of Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (1961–1983).
Chania (c. 1898 CE): Capital of Cretan State (1898–1907).
Nairobi (1899 CE): Capital of Republic of Kenya (1963–today).
N'Djamena (1900 CE): Capital of Republic of Chad (1961–today).
Muscat (c. 1900 CE): Capital of Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1900–1946), Sultanate of Oman (1970–today).
Lilongwe (1902 CE): Capital of Malawi (1975–today).
Mbabane (1902 CE): Capital of Eswatini (1969–today).
Omdurman (c. 1890 CE): Capital of Mahdist State (1890–1899).
Harare (1890 CE): Capital of Rhodesia (1967–1978), Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979–1979), Republic of Zimbabwe (1983–today).
Bangui (1889 CE): Capital of Central African Republic (1961–today).

Around the same time and place

Haile Selassie (1892 CE – 1975 CE): Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 who appealed to the League of Nations against the Italian invasion; deposed by the Derg military junta in 1974.
Battle of Adwa (1896 CE): Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II decisively defeated an Italian army on 1 March 1896, securing Ethiopia's independence during the Scramble for Africa.
Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb (1922 CE): Howard Carter's excavation revealed the nearly intact tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in the Valley of the Kings, with its gold burial mask and thousands of objects.
Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1937 CE): Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, using chemical weapons, and occupied Addis Ababa in May 1936; the League of Nations failed to stop it.
Menelik II (1844 CE – 1913 CE): Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 who expanded the empire, founded Addis Ababa and defeated Italy at Adwa in 1896.
Djibouti (1888 CE): Capital of Republic of Djibouti (1979–today).
Unification of Saudi Arabia (1902–1932 CE): Ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh in 1902 and over three decades conquered most of the Arabian Peninsula, proclaiming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
Arab Revolt (1916–1918 CE): Sharif Hussein of Mecca led an Arab uprising against Ottoman rule with British support; Arab forces took Aqaba in 1917 and entered Damascus in 1918.