Historical Dictionary of Eritrea (Historical Dictionaries of Africa)

In 1991, Eritrea won a 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia, and in 1993, it was recognized as Africa's newest nation after more than a century of conquest and occupation by a succession of external powers that included the Ottomans, Egypt, Italy, Great Britain and Ethiopia. Each had left its mark, while fostering a deep distrust of outsiders and a fierce commitment to Eritrea's separate political identity. Eritrea and Ethiopia slipped into a chronic state of no-peace-no-war that kept the entire Horn of Africa off-balance for nearly two decades, the standoff ended in 2018 when a newly installed Ethiopian prime minister reached out to Eritrea and set in motion a rapid-fire series of talks among the states of the African Horn that broke down long-standing barriers and raised hopes for a new era of regional peace and cooperation. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Eritrea contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Eritrea. In 1991, Eritrea won a 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia, and in 1993 it was recognized as Africa's newest nation after more than a century of conquest and occupation by a succession of external powers that included the Ottomans, Egypt, Italy, Great Britain, and Ethiopia. Each left its mark while fostering a deep distrust of outsiders and a fierce commitment to Eritrea's separate political identity. Eritrea and Ethiopia slipped into a chronic state of no-peace-no-war that kept the entire Horn of Africa off balance for nearly two decades. The standoff ended in 2018 when a newly installed Ethiopian prime minister reached out to Eritrea and set in motion a rapid-fire series of talks among the states of the African Horn that broke down long-standing barriers and raised hopes for a new era of regional peace and cooperation. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Eritrea contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, an extensive bibliography, and more than 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities and aspects of the country's politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture--back cover This second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Eritrea spans several millennia, starting with the discovery of some of the earliest known hominid remains and continuing on to Eritrea's early encounters with Christianity (4th century) and Islam (7th century). The main focus of this book, however, is on the formation of the modern nation-state under a succession of colonial powers, its 30-year war for independence, and its emergence in the 1990s as a new country. The book also maps the numerous conflicts Eritrea has been involved in since then with its neighbors and identifies the key players within the government and ruling party, as well as the externally based opposition. This ready reference relates the history of Eritrea, from ancient times to the present, through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, events, places, and organizations, as well as entries on politics, economy, society, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Eritrea. - Publisher.