Ethiopian Empire

The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a country that covered the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It lasted from the founding of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak around 1270 until the 1974 coup by the Derg, which ended the reign of the last emperor, Haile Selassie. Yekuno Amlak claimed descent from the last Aksumite king and ultimately from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. In the late 19th century, under Emperor Menelik II, it expanded significantly to the south, and in 1952 Eritrea was federated under Selassie. Despite hostile neighbours it kept a kingdom centred on its ancient Christian heritage.