Italian Africa

State · 1890–1943 CE · at its largest around 1940 CE

Italian rule brought railways, settlers and Asmara's modernist architecture, but also land seizures and racial segregation. Libyan resistance was crushed with concentration camps, and the 1935–36 invasion of Ethiopia used poison gas against soldiers and civilians.

Its battles, in Battle View

Battle of Adwa (1896 CE)

On its lands while it lasted

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.
Scramble for Africa (1881–1914 CE): Invasion, occupation and partition of almost all of Africa by European powers between the 1880s and 1914, formalised in part at the Berlin Conference of 1884–85.
David Ben-Gurion (1886 CE – 1973 CE): Zionist leader who proclaimed the State of Israel in 1948 and served as its first prime minister.
Omdurman (c. 1890 CE): Capital of Mahdist State (1890–1899).
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.
Asmara (1897 CE): Capital of State of Eritrea (1993–today).
Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897 CE – 1978 CE): Kenyan anti-colonial activist imprisoned by the British, who became Kenya's first prime minister and president after independence in 1963.
Nairobi (1899 CE): Capital of Republic of Kenya (1963–today).
N'Djamena (1900 CE): Capital of Republic of Chad (1961–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.
Oil struck at Masjed Soleyman (1908 CE): Prospectors financed by William Knox D'Arcy struck oil at Masjed Soleyman, the first major oil discovery in the Middle East, leading to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
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.
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.