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The Escalation of War in Ethiopia

153 points · 167 comments · mooreds

  1. csense · · focus · HN ↗
    Interestingly, Ethiopia wasn't always poor and backward. Back in the classical era, Ethiopia (then known as Axum or Aksum) was a major power [1].

    [1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Kingdom_of_Aksum" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Kingdom_of_Aksum

    1. oppaoppa · · focus · HN ↗
      That was back when Aksum had a large Greek minority and other minorities, and even in some periods of time had coinage with Greek writing.

      Also, Aksum probably overlaps much more with Eritrea than with Ethiopia. Aksum was also mostly surrounded by desert, mountains, at least one volcano, and the sea, and its territory tended to be close to the sea, also for trade. Surprisingly isolated from the rest of Africa south of the Sahara.

      Edited, to tclancy:

      Rude.

      But also, I made this comment before your comment, check the timestamps.

      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=49945710">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=49945710

      And it mentions ancient Chinese and Meso-American civilizations.

      1. achierius · · focus · HN ↗
        Ethiopia has been a great power since then too: under Constantine I (c. 1450) it was the preeminent power in East Africa, and while the kingdom subsequently fragmented it managed to recombine by the 1800s in time to take a stand against European colonialism. None of that was because of a &quot;Greek minority&quot;, African people are perfectly capable of governing themselves (with the right social structures in place, as with all people).
        1. oppaoppa · · focus · HN ↗

          [dead]

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