Ethiopia

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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ge'ez ኢትዮጵያ Ītyōṗṗyā), is a country situated in the Horn of Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and Sudan to the west. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Unique among African countries, Ethiopia maintained its independence during the Scramble for Africa, and continued to do so except for a five-year period (1936-41) when it was under Italian occupation. But even during this period there was no Italian colonization of Ethiopia as the Italians occupied a few key cities and most of Ethiopia was not affected by their presence; the Italian period is thus considered an "occupation" and not colonial rule. In addition, Ethiopia has long been a member of international organisations: it became a member of the League of Nations, signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa and was one of the 51 original members of the United Nations.

Ethiopia was also historically called Abyssinia, derived from the Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "HBSHT," modern Habesha. The English name "Ethiopia" is thought to be derived from the Greek word Aithiopia, from Aithiops ‘an Ethiopian’, derived from Greek terms meaning "of burnt (αιθ-) visage". However, this etymology is disputed. The Book of Aksum, an Ge'ez chronicle first composed in the 15th century, states that the name is derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Axum.