The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the See more

From the reign of Amde Tseyon, Chewa regiments, or legions, formed the backbone of the Empire military forces. The Ge'ez term for these regiments is ṣewa (ጼዋ) while the Amharic term is č̣äwa (ጨዋ). The normal size of a regiment was several thousand … See more

The most common currency of the earlier periods of Ethiopian history were essential items such as, "amole" (salt bars), pieces of cloth or iron and later cartridges. It's only in the 19th century that the Maria Theresa Thaler had become the medium of exchange for large … See more

Background
After the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 10th century AD, the Ethiopian Highlands would fall under the rule of the Zagwe Dynasty. … See more

According to Bahrey, there were ten social groups in the feudal Ethiopia of his time, i.e. at the end of the 16th century. These social groups consisted of the monks; the debtera; … See more

The economy consisted of centuries old barter system with "primitive money" and currency of various kinds until the 20th century in the framework of feudal system. Peasants worked to … See more

As feudalism became the central tenet in the Ethiopian Empire, it developed into an authoritarian system with institutionalized social inequality. As land became the prime commodity, its … See more