Ethiopia

Zaga Christ died on 22 April 1638 leaving Europe no wiser as to the authenticity of the self-proclaimed Ethiopian prince who might bring his homeland to Catholicism.

A community of Ethiopian monk-scholars in Renaissance Rome brought their learning, language and liturgy into the heart of the Roman Church.

The spread of Rastafari carried pan-African ideals from rural Jamaica to the world. From its origins in 1930s Kingston, it has espoused a striking message: Africa yes, England no. 

Ethiopia’s current crisis is rooted in a long history of regional and ethnic defiance towards the political centre. 

Italy's conquest of Addis Ababa was hailed an imperial triumph by Mussolini, though most Ethiopians had only bows and arrows with which to defend themselves. 

Walatta Petros was a woman feared even by kings. Wendy Laura Belcher tells the story of the Ethiopian saint, her relationships with centuries of monarchs and the stories of the miracles she performed.

Three very different writers – Evelyn Waugh, Wilfred Thesiger, and Ryszard Kapuscinski – reported on the court of Haile Selassie during his reign, producing contrasting accounts of Ethiopia’s emperor.

Czeslaw Jesman describes the revival of the African Empire and the British expedition of 1868.

Patricia Wright describes the first Italian attempt to capture Ethiopia.