Ethiopia

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is situated in the Horn of Africa. This landlocked country is bordered by Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east and Eritrea to the north.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world and Africa's second-most populous nation. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the world.Ethiopian dynastic history is traditionally held to have begun with the reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC.

The Aksumite Empire adopted the name "Ethiopia" in the 4th century. After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries known as the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Judges/Princes"), the country was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II, marking the beginning Ethiopia's modern history.

Ethiopia's borders underwent significant expansion to its modern borders for the rest of the century, especially by Emperor Menelik II and Ras Gobena, culminating in victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, and ensuring its sovereignty and freedom from colonization.

It was brutally occupied by Mussolini's Italy from 1936 to 1941.

Having converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the second-oldest country to become officially Christian, after Armenia. Since 1974, it has been secular and has also had a considerable Muslim community since the earliest days of Islam.

Ethiopia was one of the fifty-one original members of the United Nations (UN). The headquarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is in Addis Ababa, as is the headquarters of the African Union, of which Ethiopia was the principal founder.