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The Land of Punt (Egyptian: pwnt; alternate Egyptological readings Pwene(t)) was an ancient kingdom. A trading partner of Egypt, it was known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory, and wild animals. The region is known from ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to it. At times, the ancient Egyptians called Punt Ta netjer, meaning "God's Land". This referred to the fact that it was among the regions of the Sun God, that is, the…

Dʿmt was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia that existed during the 10th to 5th centuries BC. Few inscriptions by or about this kingdom survive and very little archaeological work has taken place. Given the presence of a large temple complex and fertile surroundings, the capital of Dʿmt may have been present day Yeha, in Tigray, Ethiopia. At Yeha the temple to the god Ilmuqah is still standing. The kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet…

The Kingdom of Aksum (Tigrinya: መንግስቲ ኣኽሱም also known as the Kingdom of Axum, or the Aksumite Empire) was an ancient kingdom located in what is now Tigray Region (northern Ethiopia) and Eritrea. Axumite Emperors were powerful sovereigns, styling themselves King of kings, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Beja and of Kush. Ruled by the Aksumites, it existed from approximately 100 AD to 940 AD. The polity was centered in the city of Axum and grew from the…

"The Zagwe dynasty was the ruling dynasty of a Medieval kingdom in present-day northern Ethiopia. The kingdom itself was perhaps called Begwena, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 900 to 1270, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of the Abyssinian King Yekuno Amlak. The name of the dynasty is thought to derive from the ancient Ge'ez phrase Ze-Agaw…

Lalibela (Amharic: ላሊበላ) is a town in Amhara Region, Ethiopia famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large antiquity of the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Axum, and a center of pilgrimage. Unlike Axum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of…

The Sultanate of Ifat was a medieval Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. Led by the Walashma dynasty, it was centered in ancient city of Zeila and Shewa. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and north eastern Somalia.

The Ethiopian Empire, also known as Abyssinia (derived from the Arabic al-Habash), was a kingdom that spanned a geographical area in the current states of Eritrea and Ethiopia. It began with the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty from approximately 1270 and lasted until 1974, when the ruling Solomonic dynasty was overthrown in a coup d'état by the Derg. The Solomonic dynasty was a bastion of Judaism and later of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. The dynasty's members claim…

The kingdom of Fazughli was a precolonial state in what is now southeastern Sudan and western Ethiopia. Oral traditions assert its establishment to refugees from the Nubian kingdom of Alodia, after its capital Soba had fallen to Arabs or the Funj in c.1500. Fazughli was famous for its gold. Centered around the mountainous region of Fazughli on the Blue Nile and serving as a buffer between the Funj sultanate and the Ethiopian empire, the kingdom lasted until its incorporation…

Gondar is a city and separate distirct in Ethiopia which served as a strong Christian kingdom for many years. Gondar previously served as the capital of both the Ethiopian Empire and the subsequent Begemder Province. The city holds the remains of several royal castles, including those in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), for which Gondar has been called the "Camelot of Africa". Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital town…

Fasil Ghebbi (Royal Enclosure) is the remains of a fortress-city within Gondar, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides (Fasil) and was the home of Ethiopia's emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian styles. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ghebbi is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure. The complex of buildings includes Fasilides' castle, Iyasu I's palace, Dawit III's Hall, a…