Eritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρός, erythros. But earlier Eritrea was called Mdre Bahri. The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara and named it with its current name. After World War II, Eritrea annexed to Ethiopia. Following the communist Ethiopian government's defeat in 1991 by the coalition created by armed groups notably the EPLF, Eritrea declared its independence. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1993.
Massawa or Mitsiwa is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries. Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Kingdom of Punt, Kingdom of Aksum, Medri Bahri kingdom, the Ethiopian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.
Petros Solomon is an Eritrean politician. He was an Eritrean People's Liberation Front commander and played a key role during the Eritrean War of Independence, following independence he served in several positions in the Cabinet, including Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Modern banking in Eritrea started with the arrival of the Italian colonizers. However, from 1974 on, the banking sector became a government monopoly. This situation continued after Eritrea achieved its independence. The Bank of Eritrea is the central bank of Eritrea.
Ibrahim Sultan Ali was born in Keren, Eritrea. He played a part in the emancipation of Tigre in Sahel and Barka and in establishing Blocco Independenza. He was also the Secretary General of the Eritrean Democratic Front (EDF).
The provinces of Eritrea existed since pre-Axumite times and became administrative provinces from Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Many of the provinces had their own local laws since the 13th century.
The Eritrean Air Force (ERAF) is the air service branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces.
The Ethiopian Navy, known as the Imperial Ethiopian Navy until 1974, is the naval branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force founded in 1955. It was disestablished in 1996 after the independence of Eritrea in 1993, which left Ethiopia landlocked. However, the Ethiopian Navy was re-established in 2019 as a brown water navy and is based in Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Amhara region.
Religion in Eritrea consists of a number of faiths. The two major religions in Eritrea are Christianity and Islam. However, the number of adherents of each faith is subject to debate. Estimates of the Christian share of the population range from 47% and 63%, while estimates of the Muslim share of the population range from 37% to 52%.
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Italian Eritreans are Eritrean-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Eritrea during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Eritrea.
Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 the Ethiopian Empire recognized the Italian possession in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
Bereket Mengisteab is an Eritrean songwriter, composer and singer.
Dejazmatch Haregot Abbai (Abay) KCVO (1909-1979) was an Eritrean businessman and politician. He was member of political party known as “Mahber Fikre Hager” in Eritrea in the late 1940s. In 1952, following the Federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia, he was elected as a member of the newly created Eritrean Assembly. During the early days of the Federation (1952–55) he served in the positions of Director of Interior, Secretary of Justice and Secretary of Economy. In 1963, a year after the Federation ended and Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia, he was appointed as the Mayor of Asmara. In 1974 with the onset of military dictatorship Derg in Ethiopia he was imprisoned in Addis Ababa along with most of former Emperor Haile Selassie cabinet members, most regional governors, many senior military officers and other dignitaries. In 1979, he was killed by the Derg dictatorship in Ethiopia.
Osman Saleh Sabbe (1932–1987) was an Eritrean revolutionary and prominent nationalist figure in the Eritrean War of Independence.
The Eritrea for Eritreans Party, also known as the Liberal Progressive Party (LPP) was a political party in Eritrea. The party was founded on February 18, 1947 in Adi Keyh. It was a secular party dominated by Christians. It opposed union with Ethiopia. The party program accepted the notion of a U.S. trusteeship as intermediary step towards independence. The party gathered a membership of 53,500.
Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, first rose to prominence in medieval and post-medieval times. Though it had long overshadowed by nearby Debarwa, the residence of the Bahr Negash or the governor of the coastal province, it still existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. During the 20th century it was a staging ground for Italian initiatives in East Africa, collateral of Britain's colonial politics, and the subject of the expansion of Ethiopia until 1993, when the sovereign state of Eritrea was established. Despite the passage of over seventy years, the city has remained mostly unchanged in structural design, likely influenced by its position as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit was a bilateral summit that took place on 8–9 July 2018 in Asmara, Eritrea, between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from the two countries.
Ahmed Mohamed Jasir was an Eritrean politician, is one of the most significant leaders in Eritrean history of struggle for independence from 1958 to 1990.
The fallof the Derg was a military campaign that resulted in the defeat of the ruling Marxist–Leninist military junta, the Derg, by the rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on 28 May 1991 in Addis Ababa, ending the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg took power after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie and the Solomonic dynasty, an imperial dynasty of Ethiopia that began in 1270. The Derg suffered from insurgency with different factions, and separatist rebel groups since their early rule, beginning with the Ethiopian Civil War. The 1983–1985 famine, the Red Terror, and resettlement and villagization made the Derg unpopular with the majority of Ethiopians tending to support insurgent groups like the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).
