Questions About Ethiopia From Her Historical Coins.

"The Empire of Ethiopia was the only Christian empire in Europe" - Did you mean Africa here by any chance?

Ethiopia was indeed the only piece of Africa not to be annexed by the European colonial powers (or the United States) during the 19th century. Indeed, apart from the brief Italian occupation (1935-1941) it completely resisted colonial occupation. This fact gave the Ethiopian emperors considerable influence amongst post-colonial African nationalist movements, and even helped spawn the Rastafarian religious sect in faraway Jamaica (who believe the last emperor Haile Selassie to be a reincarnation of Jesus Christ).

Ethiopia was also one of the last remnants of the ancient pre-Islamic Christian Middle East not to be conquered by Islamic forces.

But both of these facts can largely be put down to geography: Ethiopia is mountainous, and up until the 20th century invention of modern weaponry, it was always easier for people to hide from invaders in the mountains than in the plains or by the sea. Even today with modern weapons, mountainous countries are the most difficult countries to invade (as the Americans have been the most recent to find out in Afghanistan). Thus, Ethiopia did not survive where other African kingdoms had fallen because of its wealth, or power, or resources, or influence - but simply by its location.

Having no inherently superior wealth, Ethiopia was not really any better (or worse) off than any other post-colonial government in 1960s Africa. What helped bring Ethiopia down, and keep it down, was war.

After World War II, the Ethiopians were given control of Eritrea as reparations for having been invaded (since Eritrea was originally annexed from the Ethiopians back in the 1800s). Ethiopian rule over Eritrea was initially fairly benign, with Ethiopia forming a federal-style government giving the provinces considerable autonomy. Then, in 1961, the government became more centralist - and the Eritrean provincial government was stripped of its powers and shut down. This initiaited a 30-year-long secessionist war between Ethiopia and Eritrean rebels. Unfortunately, the same mountains that had hidden the Ethiopians from the colonialists also hid the rebels from the Ethiopians. The Imperial government in Ethiopia, weakened by its inability to win the war, succumbed to Marxist revolutionaries in 1974. But even with the Soviets now backing the Ethiopian government, the war was unwinnable. Somalia also attempted to invade Ethiopia during the communist period. When Soviet help disappeared along with the Soviet Union in 1991, the Marxist government collapsed and the new regime quickly recognized Eritrean independence. But the damage had been done.

As for the famines that have all too frequently made the news since the 1980s, this too can largely be blamed on the geography, though Ethiopian culture plays its part as well. Ethiopia's weather is dominated by the mountains and their ability to trap the monsoon rains. The ability of local farmers to grow enough food to feed themselves has always depended on the rainy season, which runs from June to September - this same rain that used to cause the annual flooding of the Nile River in Egypt. This wet season is very regular and almost never fails - but, sometimes, it does, particularly in "La Nina" years.

Since Ethiopia was never colonized, Ethiopian landowners were never dispossessed nor had their lands rearranged in the "modern" way, nor were modern agricultural techniques ever introduced by colonialist "meddlers". Traditionally, Ethiopian peasant farmers who produced more than they could consume were forced to give their surplus to the church, or to the local nobility. Thus, there was little cultural impetus to produce a large surplus or to store food in the event of the rains failing in the future. Thus, occasional famines have really always been a part of the way of life. The Ethiopian peasants traditionally compensated for this by having one of the highest birth-rates in the world - creating a "natural" human boom-bust population cycle.

The inability of the Imperial government to cope with the famine of 1973 (which did not really make the news in the West) led in part to the downfall of the government, with Marxist promises to end the famines with collectivization creating food for all. The Marxists showed that such promises were easier to make than keep when the next famine struck just ten years later, in 1983 - only this time, the rains failed for three years in a row (1983-1985) - there simply hadn't been time or the political will to build the massive Soviet-style agricultural projects needed to drought-proof Ethiopia. The fact that the civil war with Eritrea was also still raging in the famine-hit area also did not help, with the Ethiopian government attempting to use the famine as a weapon, to starve the rebels into surrendering.

Since 1993, Ethiopia is mostly stable, though increasingly dictatorial as the originally populist party became entrenched in power. The anarchy in neighbouring Somalia is also not helping the stability of the more low-lying areas in the south-east of the country. Most of the refugees leaving Ethiopia in recent years are fleeing the aftermath of the most recent famine, where again the rains failed for two years in a row (2010 and 2011).

Wow! Thank you Sap and Ian, I have read your notes carefully and find both of you tell the history of Ethiopia in two different directions. They are all fantastic; I am lucky to learn a lot from my unwitting question.

Ian, would you clarify two points for me: what is meant by "The PC story"? When did MTT restrikes start to an influx to the Christian Empire? I would suppose the Birr crown of Menelik II was an imitation to MTT, did it a successful issue to compete with MTT in your viewpoints? I think a crown size silver from another Christian (Roman) Empire would have a benefit to circulate in Ethiopia.

All you need is one wrong regime / poor leadership and it can ruin a country within a few years. A lot of African nations unfortunately was under poor leadership and the result is what it is today. Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, etc all follow similar pattern.

From the mintage point of view, this Ethiopian Birr's mintage was about 1.5 millions for 3 years, it could be impossible to resist the influx of MTT restrikes. The Emperor could do nothing about the production of the silver crown as other nations in Africa. So I also believe Menelik used his Birr to promote his rule and his achievements rather than pure economy. Without the Menelik's portrait on the silver Birr, the later generations could know less about the country's history. This is the point why I feel the greatness of Menelik.