Examines the religious and political evolution of Ethiopia that led to the foundation of the Christian dynastic rule now governing the country.

Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia offers an original perspective on how the rulers of Ethiopia - one of the great subcenters of agricultural innovation and development - used land to support their dominion. Crummey draws on all the surviving documents pertaining to the holding and granting of agricultural land in the Ethiopian highlands from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. By examining how social relations affected the conditions for economic production and how people of power drew on the wealth created by society's basic producers, he provides new insight into how ordinary farming and herding folk were incorporated into and affected by the institutions that ruled them.

The time is 1769 and the place is the Ethiopian Empire, last stronghold of Black Power on the Continent of Africa. The Ethiopian Empire, known as the Camelot of Africa, is soon to be under siege from European Colonial Powers. First, though, Ethiopia must survive the Zemene Mesafint, the so-called Era of the Princes. It was a tumultuous time in Ethiopian History, as the proud African nation found itself with weakened leadership, and the chaos brought forth by too many Princes vying for power. Ethiopian Christians and Ethiopian Muslims also found themselves at odds over the country's direction. In the City of Dire Dawa, close to the often contested Ethiopian/Somali Border, Prince Abraham Tilahun, the Patriarch of House Tilahun, and his beloved wife Lady Bethlehem try desperately to stem the tide of chaos. Dark times await the Ethiopian Noble Houses. Things are complicated by the actions of their only son, the tall, handsome and unruly Prince Joseph, for whom hedonism and womanizing are a way of life. Prince Joseph is carrying on a passionate affair with Lady Amira Abreha, his mother's erstwhile best friend, and bedding courtesans at the local bawdy houses, but he has a mysterious bond with Prince Malik of House Adugna, his supposed best friend. Prince Joseph is Bisexual and not afraid to challenge taboos and conventions. What can be done about a man whose passions are limitless Can the House of Tilahun survive its darkest time

This engaging and informative historical narrative provides an excellent introduction to the history of Ethiopia from the classical era through the modern age. The acute historical analysis contained in this volume allows readers to critically interrogate shifting global power configurations from the late nineteenth century to the twentieth century, and the related implications in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. Adejumobi identifies a second wave of globalization, beginning in the nineteenth century, which laid the foundation for a highly textured Ethiopian Afromodern twentieth century. The book explores Ethiopia's efforts at charting an independent course in the face of imperialism, World War II, the Cold War and international economic reforms with a focus on the gap between the state's modernization reforms and the citizenry's aspirations of modernity. The book focuses on Ethiopians' efforts to balance challenges related to social, political and economic reforms with a renaissance in the arts, theater, Orthodox Coptic Christianity, Islam and ancient ethnic identities. The History of Ethiopia paints a vivid picture of a dynamic and compelling country and region for students, scholars, and general readers seeking to grasp twenty-first century global relations. The work also provides a timeline of events in Ethiopian history, brief biographies of key figures, and a bibliographic essay.

Examines the religious and political evolution of Ethiopia that led to the foundation of the Christian dynastic rule now governing the country.