Product Description

The book opens with a review of Ethiopian prehistory, showing how the Ethiopian section of the African Rift Valley has come to be seen as the "cradle of humanity".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135728 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"Clear, balanced and well informed, drawing on the latest sources to valuable effect, especially in references to archaeological work." Times Literary Supplement

"Richard Pankhurst's contribution to The Peoples of Africa series will be a useful tool for students and general readers who are new to Ethiopian history." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"The Ethiopians makes an excellent introduction to the fascinating past of Ethiopia." Danny Yee's Book Reviews - For the full text of this review please visit: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Ethiopians.html

"... excellent, based on current scholarship, factual and replete with the type of generalizations necessary for a good tertiary study." Journal of African History

Review
"Clear, balanced and well informed, drawing on the latest sources to valuable effect, especially in references to archaeological work." Times Literary Supplement

"Richard Pankhurst's contribution to The Peoples of Africa series will be a useful tool for students and general readers who are new to Ethiopian history." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"The Ethiopians makes an excellent introduction to the fascinating past of Ethiopia." Danny Yee's Book Reviews - For the full text of this review please visit: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Ethiopians.html

"... excellent, based on current scholarship, factual and replete with the type of generalizations necessary for a good tertiary study." Journal of African History

From the Back Cover
This is a history of the Ethiopians from pre-history to the present day. Drawing on research in archeology, anthropology, linguistics and on recent historiography, the book charts the development of Ethiopian peoples and their society, placing emphasis on the African origins of Ethiopian civilization.

The book opens with a review of Ethiopian prehistory, showing how the Ethiopian section of the African Rift Valley has come to be seen as the "cradle of humanity". It describes, for instance, the discovery of the remains of the oldest known hominid, "Lucy", in the middle Awash Valley, in 1974. The book then discusses Ethiopia in biblical time, reconsidering, for example, the legend of the Queen of Sheba. The author examines the various dynasties that ruled in the period up to the first Portuguese mission, and explores the subsequent political and religious struggles between Christians, Muslims and Falashas. He discusses the social and economic effects of key stages in Ethiopian history such as the Gondar period and the era of the "Judges".

The book also examines the succession of modernizing monarchs that followed, culminating in the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie. The book concludes with a review of Ethiopian history and culture considering contemporary Ethiopia within an historical context.

Customer Reviews

Okay
This is a good book, especially when it got to the nineteenth century. My only complaint is that it barely says anything about ancient Axum (thats like writing a history of Italy but skipping over the Roman empire). The text also seemed to focus on Ethiopia's connection with the rest of the world, rather than focusing on Ethiopia's history and the Ethiopian people themselves (that is , their culture). An imformative read but hardly the kind of info I expected.

Cursory but Useful
Pankhurst writes a nice readable book. The work is a bit shallow on the treatment of a variety of subjects but it is survey so that is expected.

It reads well for a reader who is just approaching the subject but anyone with a more than passing interest in the book will likely want something a bit more substantial.

277-Page Summary of Ethiopian History
As a RastafarI I have an intense interest in the history of Ethiopia. However, in the country I live in, I could find nothing in the book shops, not even in the library that is anything else than travelogues, architectural picture books, satires of the reign of Haile Selassie-I or the usual Western doom-n-gloom vision of contemporary politics.

What a relief this book is indeed! As for the above reasons, my so far knowledge on Ethiopia's history is relatively limited, i.e. my rating has to be considered as that of a reader, who largely reads "new" information.

The subtitle "A History" should be considered, as it rightfully doesn't say "The History". The 277 text pages - including 25 half-page sized pictures - are merely a summary of Ethiopia's history. Most of the time quite literally, as the book proceeds with an incredible pace through the times. Therefore, it is probably the perfect book for newcomers to the subject. On average every page suggests an entire book waiting to be written on its content. So much for the Western assumption, Africa would be devoid of any history! In fact, reading this book, I felt like reading some sort of science fiction, the history of another planet. Ethiopian history reads like one of the "classical" histories of other countries we are well used to, only this one has been thoroughly omitted from the Western consciousness. No wonder, after all, it is THE classical country, as it is the oldest, in the sense that Ethiopia is the very cradle of humanity. No wonder also, knowledge about it has been largely censored, as the Western entanglements in Ethiopian history largely is a shame.

It would be an idel attempt to summarize this defacto summary. Let me select some interesting bits of information to wet your appetite: Aksum (preceding name of "Abyssinia", preceding "Ethiopia") came into existence at the time, Jesus was conceived, i.e. 8 "B.C." (though the book doesn't explicitly go into that). Muhammad excluded Ethiopia from the Jihad. (The book elaborates on, what happened to the rulers on either side who violated that.) Three successive Ethiopian rulers turned Ethiopia into a Roman Catholic society. (Guess, what happened to THEM and what the consequences for the country turned out to be!) Losing soldiers of the US-Civil War as mercenaries engaged in warfare against Ethiopia. Instead of any democratic member of the League of Nations to initially help Ethiopia against the fascist Italian invasion it was only one leader to do so: Adolf Hitler. Secretely, of course, and not for altruistic reasons... Written in 1998 the book closes after the revolution of 1991.

All too many bits of history are mentioned too briefly for my taste. This briefly, that they do not really explain themselves, as in one or two sentences. I would have appreciated an extra 100 pages and gladly paid more money for that. For example, I DO know a bit more about the abolished "lebeshay" tradition of magical thief-catchers. It would have been interesting to explain more (or at all) than is actually said about it like in this sentence. Some information I missed completely, like the Ethiopian temporary "spin-off" kingdom on the Arabian peninsula and the Year of the Elephant (of importance at the advent of Islam). However, I can't bring myselft to subtract any star from this book.