This volume explores the mysteries, myths, and legends surrounding Ethiopia. The book includes four of the author's lectures on the Queen of Sheba, the origin of Ethiopian Christianity, medieval relations, and the Prester John legend.

In this groundbreaking study, the father of African Studies, William Leo Hansberry, examines classical references to the African continent and its people. The writings of Homer, Pliny, Ovid, Virgil, Herodotus and others are discussed and analyzed in a lively and highly readable manner.

This introductory survey provides a rich understanding of the African experience which, until recently, either had been omitted from the curriculum of institutions of higher learning or was distorted in written and oral literature. The book identifies the post-World War II civil rights movement in America and the independence revolution in Africa as the most decisive forces that generated interest in the study of the African/black experience. Includes four theoretical models for interpreting the black experience. The author discusses the place and role of Africa in the development of human civilization, focusing on Africa's Nile Valley civilizations and Western Sudanic empires. It probes aspects of traditional African culture, including the family, traditional political institutions and religion, and analyzes the impact on Africa and its peoples of such historical traumas as slavery, colonialism, and decolonization.

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Ethiopia is clearly one of the most important countries in Africa. First of all, with about 75 million people, it is the third most populous country in Africa. Second, it is very strategically located, in the Horn of Africa and bordering Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, and Somalia, with some of whom it has touchy and sometimes worse relations. Yet, its capital – Addis Ababa – is the headquarters of the African Union, the prime meeting place for Africa’s leaders. So, if things went poorly in Ethiopia, this would not be good for Africa, and for a long time this was the case, with internal disruption rife, until it was literally suppressed under the strong rule of the recently deceased Meles Zenawi. The Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, Second Edition covers the history of Ethiopia through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has several hundred cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the world's oldest countries; its Rift Valley may be the location where the ancestors of humankind originated more than four million years ago. With a population of 67 million people today, it is the third most populous country on the African continent after Nigeria and Egypt. It is the source of 86 percent of the water reaching the Aswan Dam in Egypt, most of it carried by the amazing Blue Nile. Ethiopia offers major historical sites such as the pre-Christian palace at Yeha, the stele and tombs of the old Kingdom of Axum, and the rock-carved churches of Lalibela. For anyone interested in Ethiopia, this historical dictionary, through its individual and carefully cross-referenced entries, captures the importance and intrigue of this truly significant African nation. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia appeals to all levels of readers, providing entries for each of Ethiopia's 85 ethnic groups and covering a broad range of cultural, political, and economic topics. Readers interested in the cultural aspects or who are planning to visit Ethiopia will find a wealth of entries on art, literature, handicrafts, music, dance, bird life, geography, and historic tourist sites. Practitioners in government and non-governmental organizations will find entries on pressing economic, social, and political issues such as HIV/AIDS, female circumcision , debt, human rights, and the environment. The important historical role of missionaries and the combination of conflict and cooperation between Christians and Muslims in the region are also issues reviewed. And, finally, many of the entries highlight relations between Ethiopia and her neighbors-Eritrea, Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Kenya, and Sudan. In the bibliography, considerable emphasis has been placed on including both new and old materials covering all facets of Ethiopia, organized for easy identification by areas of major interest.