DID YOU KNOW?

The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was established during the first or second century AD. It adopted Christianity around the middle of the fourth century. Beginning in the 12th century, the Ethiopian Zagwe and Solomonid dynasties held sway to a fluctuating extent over the entire plateau and the Red Sea coast. Eritrea's central highlands, known as Mereb Melash, were the northern frontier region of the Ethiopian kingdoms. In the 16th century, the Ottomans conquered the Eritrean coastline, then in May 1865 much of the coastal lowlands came under the rule of the Khedivate of Egypt, until it was transferred to Italy in February 1885. Italian rule continued until 1942 when Eritrea was placed under British Military Administration during World War II; following the UN General Assembly decision in 1952, Eritrea would govern itself with a local Eritrean Parliament. However, in 1962, the Government of Ethiopia annulled the Eritrean Parliament and formally annexed Eritrea. The Eritrean secessionist movement organised the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1961 and fought the Eritrean War of Independence until Eritrea gained de facto independence in 1991.