Eritrea, officially known as the State of Eritrea, is a nation located in the Eastern Africa region of the Horn of Africa.
It is a country with a rich history and diverse ethnic groups. The capital city, Asmara, serves as the administrative and cultural center.
Eritrea shares borders with Ethiopia to the south, Sudan to the west, and Djibouti to the southeast.
Its northeastern and eastern regions boast a beautiful coastline along the Red Sea. Covering an area of approximately 117,600 square kilometers, Eritrea includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several Hanish Islands.
The region of Eritrea has significant archaeological findings, including human remains dating back to one million years.
It holds valuable records related to human evolution. Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with nine recognized ethnic groups, each with its own language.
The most widely spoken language is Tigrinya, followed by Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Nara, Afar, Beja, Bilen, and Arabic.
Tigrinya, Arabic, and English serve as the official languages. The majority of the population belongs to the Afroasiatic language family, specifically the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches.
The Tigrinyas make up approximately 55% of the population, followed by the Tigre people at around 30%.
Additionally, there are several Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic groups. Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions, with a small minority practicing traditional faiths.
History
The history of Eritrea dates back to the Kingdom of Aksum, which encompassed modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.
The kingdom adopted Christianity in the fourth century. During medieval times, Eritrea was divided into the kingdoms of Medri Bahri and Hamasien.
The formation of Italian Eritrea occurred through the incorporation of these independent kingdoms.
After the defeat of the Italian colonial army in 1942, Eritrea came under British administration until 1952.
Following a UN General Assembly decision, Eritrea had its own parliament but entered into a federal status with Ethiopia for ten years in matters of foreign affairs and defense.
However, in 1962, Ethiopia dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed the region. The Eritrean Liberation Front fought for independence, leading to de facto independence in 1991 and de jure independence in 1993 following a referendum.
Eritrea faces developmental challenges as one of the least developed countries. It is a unitary one-party presidential republic with limited political freedoms.
Isaias Afwerki has been the president since independence. Human rights organizations have criticized the Eritrean government for its poor human rights record, with limited freedom of the press and political participation.
Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. It holds observer status in the Arab League alongside Brazil and Venezuela.
The name “Eritrea” is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea, symbolizing its proximity to this prominent body of water.
It has been used since the establishment of Italian Eritrea in 1890 and has persisted through British and Ethiopian occupations, as well as its independence in 1993.
Madam Buya, a fossil discovered in Eritrea by Italian anthropologists, is an extraordinary find shedding light on the evolution of humans.
She represents one of the oldest hominid fossils to date, bridging the gap between Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens.
With an estimated age of 1 million years, Madam Buya is the oldest known skeletal specimen of her kind.
Her discovery provides valuable insights into the transition from earlier hominids to anatomically modern humans.
The archaeological site in Eritrea’s Danakil Depression is believed to be a significant location for studying human evolution and may hold further evidence of this process.
During the last interglacial period, early anatomically modern humans inhabited the Red Sea coast of Eritrea.
This area is thought to have been part of the migration route used by early humans to colonize other parts of the world.
In 1999, a multinational research team uncovered a Paleolithic site near the Gulf of Zula, south of Massawa, along the Red Sea.
The site contained stone and obsidian tools dating back more than 125,000 years. These tools likely aided early humans in harvesting marine resources such as clams and oysters.
The ancient kingdom of Dʿmt existed from the tenth to fifth centuries BC in present-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.
Its capital, most likely located in the area with a remarkable temple complex at Yeha, played a crucial role in the kingdom.
Qohaito and Matara were also significant cities within the Dʿmt kingdom in southern Eritrea.
Dʿmt developed advanced agricultural practices, including irrigation systems and plowing. They cultivated millet and were skilled in ironworking for tool and weapon production.
After the decline of Dʿmt in the fifth century BC, smaller successor kingdoms dominated the region until the rise of the Kingdom of Aksum in the first century.
The Kingdom of Aksum, centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, thrived from approximately 100 to 940 AD.
It evolved from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period that began around the fourth century BC and gained prominence by the first century AD.
Aksum’s first capital, Mazaber, was founded by Itiyopis, son of Cush, according to the medieval Liber Axumae (Book of Aksum).
The capital later shifted to Axum in northern Ethiopia. The kingdom referred to itself as “Ethiopia” as early as the fourth century.
Aksumites erected massive stelae, including the renowned Obelisk of Aksum, the largest such structure in the world, standing at 90 feet.
During the reign of Ezana (fl. 320–360), Aksum adopted Christianity. Eritrea embraced Christianity early on, with the fourth-century construction of the Debre Sina monastery, one of the oldest in Africa.
The Debre Libanos monastery, founded in the late fifth or early sixth century, played a significant religious role and housed the Golden Gospel, a metal-covered Bible from the thirteenth century.
In the seventh century AD, early Muslims seeking refuge from persecution in Mecca, including companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, journeyed to the Kingdom of Aksum.
They reportedly built the first African mosque, the Mosque of the Companions, in Massawa. Aksum’s role as an important ivory market is noted in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
The ruler Zoskales governed both Aksum and the port of Adulis, facilitating trade with the minting of Aksumite currency.
In 1958, Eritrean individuals established the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM), composed mainly of students, professionals, and intellectuals.
The ELM engaged in covert political activities to resist the centralizing policies of the Ethiopian government.
Also read: 12 Beautiful Places to Visit in Eritrea
The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), led by Hamid Idris Awate, launched an armed struggle for independence on September 1, 1961.
In 1962, Emperor Haile Selassie dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed the territory.
The Eritrean War of Independence ensued for three decades until 1991 when the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), a successor to the ELF, defeated Ethiopian forces in Eritrea and assisted a coalition of Ethiopian rebel forces in capturing Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
Following a UN-supervised referendum in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared itself an independent nation in 1993.
The EPLF assumed power, establishing a one-party state and prohibiting further political activities. Elections have not been held as of 2020. On May 28, 1993, Eritrea became the 182nd member state of the United Nations.
The Eritrean-Ethiopian War, taking place from 1998 to 2000, involved a significant border conflict centered around Badme and Zalambessa.
The conflict was resolved in 2018. In 2020, Eritrean troops intervened in the Tigray War on the side of the Ethiopian central government.
Language & culture
Eritrea is a country with multiple languages spoken by its diverse population. It does not have an official language, as the Constitution emphasizes the equality of all Eritrean languages.
The nation has nine national languages: Tigrinya, Tigre, Afar, Beja, Bilen, Kunama, Nara, Saho, and Arabic.
Tigrinya, Arabic, and English are de facto working languages, with English commonly used in universities and technical fields.
Italian, the former colonial language, is not officially recognized but is spoken by some individuals and was previously taught at the Scuola Italiana di Asmara, which closed in 2020.
There is also a form of Italian mixed with Tigrinya words spoken by native Eritreans known as Eritrean Italian.
The majority of languages spoken in Eritrea belong to the Ethiopian Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, while other Afroasiatic languages from the Cushitic branch are also widely spoken.
Nilo-Saharan languages such as Kunama and Nara are native to the Kunama and Nara ethnic groups residing in the western and northwestern regions of the country.
Smaller groups speak other Afroasiatic languages like Dahlik and Arabic, including the Hejazi and Hadhrami dialects spoken by the Rashaida and Hadhrami, respectively.
The coffee ceremony is a prominent part of Eritrean culture. Coffee, known as “būn” in Ge’ez, is an integral part of social gatherings, festivities, and daily life.
The ceremony follows specific traditions, with coffee being served in three rounds: awel (first round), kalaay (second round), and bereka (to be blessed) in Tigrinya.
Eritrean cuisine typically includes injera, a flatbread, accompanied by a spicy stew containing beef, chicken, lamb, or fish.
The cuisine bears similarities to Ethiopian food but often incorporates more seafood due to Eritrea’s coastal location.
Eritrean dishes are generally lighter in texture compared to Ethiopian cuisine and use fewer seasoned butter and spices, with more tomatoes.
Italian influences from the colonial era have also left their mark on Eritrean cuisine, with the inclusion of pasta, curry powders, and cumin.
