Ethiopian Empire

State · 1272–1935 CE · at its largest around 1908 CE

Christian empire of the Ethiopian highlands ruled by the Solomonic dynasty, founded by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, which endured into the twentieth century.

Its battles, in Battle View

Battle of Adwa (1896 CE)

On its lands while it lasted

Gondar (c. 1272 CE): Capital of Ethiopian Empire (1272–1889).
Zeila (c. 1285 CE): Capital of Ifat Sultanate (1285–1414), Adal Sultanate (1415–1546), Sultanate of Harar (1547–1577).
Coffee drinking in Yemen (c. 1450 CE): The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking comes from Sufi circles in Yemen in the 15th century; the port of Mocha became the centre of the coffee trade.
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (c. 1506 CE – 1543 CE): Imam of the Adal Sultanate, based at Harar, who conquered much of the Ethiopian highlands from 1529 until his death in battle in 1543.
Fasil Ghebbi (c. 1636 CE): Royal fortress-enclosure at Gondar, founded by Emperor Fasilides in the 17th century, the seat of Ethiopian emperors for two centuries.
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.
Addis Ababa (1886 CE): Capital of Ethiopia founded in 1886 by Menelik II and Empress Taytu; seat of the African Union.
Djibouti (1888 CE): Capital of Republic of Djibouti (1979–today).
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.
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.