1.
ISO 4217
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The ISO4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. ISO4217 codes are used on tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price. The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself, so Japans currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the dollar, franc, peso and pound being used in dozens of different countries. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency codes last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. Other changes can be seen, however, the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB and these currency units are denominated as one troy ounce of the specified metal as opposed to USD1 or EUR1. The code XTS is reserved for use in testing, the code XXX is used to denote a transaction involving no currency. There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, the codes for most supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit, had the code XEU, the use of an initial letter X for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO4217 can use X codes without risk of clashing with a country code. ISO3166 country codes beginning with X are used for private custom use, consequently, ISO4217 can use X codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes. The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, the ISO4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the exponent and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its currency unit the cent. So the USD has exponent 2, the code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such negligible value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value. There is also a code number assigned to each currency
2.
Centime
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Centime is French for cent, and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries. In France the usage of centime goes back to the introduction of the monetary system under Napoleon. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins, a five-centime coin was known as a sou, i. e. a solidus or shilling. In Francophone Canada 1⁄100 of a Canadian dollar is known as a cent in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of cenne has completely replaced the official cent, spoken and written use of the official form cent in Francophone Canada is exceptionally uncommon. In the Canadian French vernacular sou, sou noir, cenne, and cenne noire are all known, used. In the European community cent is the name for one hundredth of a euro. However, in French-speaking countries the word centime is the preferred term, indeed, the Superior Council of the French language of Belgium recommended in 2001 the use of centime, since cent is also the French word for hundred. An analogous decision was published in the Journal officiel in France, in Morocco, dirhams are divided into 100 centimes and one may find prices in the country quoted in centimes rather than in dirhams. Sometimes centimes are known as francs or in former Spanish areas, pesetas
3.
Currency symbol
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A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
4.
Ethiopia
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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
5.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
6.
Amharic
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Amharic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by the Amhara in Ethiopia, the language serves as the official working language of Ethiopia, and is also the official or working language of several of the states within the federal system. Amharic is the second-most widely spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic and it is written using Amharic Fidel, ፊደል, which grew out of the Geez abugida—called, in Ethiopian Semitic languages, ፊደል fidel and አቡጊዳ abugida. There is no agreed way of transliterating Amharic into Roman characters, the Amharic examples in the sections below use one system that is common, though not universal, among linguists specializing in Ethiopian Semitic languages. Amharic is spoken by 22 million native speakers in Ethiopia and 15 million secondary speakers in Ethiopia, additionally,3 million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak the language. Most of the Ethiopian Jewish communities in Ethiopia and Israel speak Amharic, in Washington DC, Amharic became one of the six non-English languages in the Language Access Act of 2004, which allows government services and education in Amharic. Furthermore, Amharic is considered a language by the Rastafari religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide. It is the most widely spoken language in the Horn of Africa, the Amharic ejective consonants correspond to the Proto-Semitic emphatic consonants, usually transcribed with a dot below the letter. The consonant and vowel tables give these symbols in parentheses where they differ from the standard IPA symbols, the Amharic script is an abugida, and the graphemes of the Amharic writing system are called fidel. Each character represents a sequence, but the basic shape of each character is determined by the consonant. Some consonant phonemes are written by more than one series of characters, /ʔ/, /s/, /sʼ/ and this is because these fidel originally represented distinct sounds, but phonological changes merged them. The citation form for each series is the form, i. e. the first column of the fidel. The Amharic script is included in Unicode, and glyphs are included in fonts available with major operating systems, as in most other Ethiopian Semitic languages, gemination is contrastive in Amharic. That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another, for example, alä he said, allä there is, yǝmätall he hits, gemination is not indicated in Amharic orthography, but Amharic readers typically do not find this to be a problem. This property of the system is analogous to the vowels of Arabic and Hebrew or the tones of many Bantu languages. Punctuation includes the following, ፠ section mark ፡ word separator ። full stop ፣ comma ፤ semicolon ፥ colon ፦ Preface colon, question mark ፨ paragraph separator Simple Amharic sentences One may construct simple Amharic sentences by using a subject and a predicate. Here are a few sentences, ኢትዮጵያ አፍሪቃ ውስጥ ናት ʾItyop̣p̣ya ʾAfriqa wǝsṭ nat Ethiopia is in Africa. Lǝǧu is the boy The boy is asleep, አየሩ ደስ ይላል Ayyäru däss yǝlall
7.
Emperor of Ethiopia
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The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with executive, judicial. A National Geographic Magazine article called imperial Ethiopia nominally a constitutional monarchy, the title of King of Kings, often rendered imprecisely in English as Emperor, dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, but was used in Axum by King Sembrouthes. However, Yuri Kobishchanov dates this usage to the following the Persian victory over the Romans in 296-297. The consort of the Emperor was referred to as the ətege, empress Zauditu used the feminized form nəgəstä nägäst to show that she reigned in her own right, and did not use the title of ətege. At the death of a monarch any male or female relative of the Emperor could claim succession to the throne, sons, brothers. Practice favoured primogeniture but did not always enforce it, Ethiopian traditions do not all agree as to exactly when the custom started of imprisoning rivals to the throne on a Mountain of the Princes. Taddesse Tamrat argues that this began in the reign of Wedem Arad. The potential royal rivals were incarcerated at Amba Geshen until Ahmed Gragn captured that site in 1540 and destroyed it, then, from the reign of Fasilides until the mid-18th century, rumors of these royal mountain residences were part of the inspiration for Samuel Johnsons short story, Rasselas. His claim to the throne was also helped by his marriage to that kings daughter, while the surviving records of these kings fail to shed light on their origins, this genealogical claim is first documented in the 10th century by an Arab historian. Interpretations of this vary widely. Some accept it as evident fact, at the other extreme, others understand this as an expression of propaganda, attempting to connect the legitimacy of the state to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Some scholars take an approach in the middle, attempting to find a connection between Axum and the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, or between Axum and the pre-exilic Kingdom of Judah. Due to lack of materials, it is not possible as of 2006 to determine which theory is the more plausible. The restored Solomonic dynasty, which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from the 13th century until 1974, the most significant usurper was Kassa of Kwara, who in 1855 took complete control over Ethiopia and was crowned Tewodros II. After his defeat and demise, another Solomonic dynasty, Dejazmatch Kassai took over as Yohannes IV, however, the most famous post-Theodorean Emperors were Yohannes IV, Menelik II and Haile Selassie. Emperor Menelik II achieved a military victory against Italian invaders in March 1896 at the Battle of Adwa. Menelik lost Eritrea to Italy and Djubouti to France, after Menelik, all monarchs were of distaff descent from Solomonics
8.
Haile Selassie
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Haile Selassie I,23 July 1892 –27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was Ethiopias regent from 1916 to 1930 and emperor from 1930 to 1974. He also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 25 May 1963 to 17 July 1964 and 5 November 1966 to 11 September 1967 and he was a member of the Solomonic Dynasty. At the League of Nations in 1936, the emperor condemned the use of weapons by Italy against his people during the Second Italo–Ethiopian War. His regime was also criticized by rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, as autocratic. Among the Rastafari movement, whose followers are estimated at two and four million, Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible. Beginning in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness. Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life and he is a defining figure in Ethiopian history. Haile Selassie died on 27 August 1975 at the age of 83, Haile Selassie was known as a child as Lij Tafari Makonnen. Lij is translated as child, and serves to indicate that a youth is of noble blood and his given name, Tafari, means one who is respected or feared. Like most Ethiopians, his personal name Tafari is followed by that of his father Makonnen and his Geez name Haile Selassie was given to him at his infant baptism and adopted again as part of his regnal name in 1930. As Governor of Harer, he known as Ras Teferi Makonnen listen. Ras is translated as head and is a rank of nobility equivalent to Duke, in 1916, Empress Zewditu I appointed him to the position of Balemulu Siltan Enderase. In 1928, she granted him the throne of Shoa, elevating his title to Negus or King, on 2 November 1930, after the death of Empress Zewditu, Ras Tafari was crowned Negusa Nagast, literally King of Kings, rendered in English as Emperor. Upon his ascension, he took as his regnal name Haile Selassie I, Haile means in Geez Power of and Selassie means trinity—therefore Haile Selassie roughly translates to Power of the Trinity. Haile Selassies full title in office was By the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God. This title reflects Ethiopian dynastic traditions, which hold that all monarchs must trace their lineage to Menelik I, who was the offspring of King Solomon, to Ethiopians, Haile Selassie has been known by many names, including Janhoy, Talaqu Meri, and Abba Tekel. The Rastafari movement employs many of these appellations, also referring to him as Jah, Jah Jah, Jah Rastafari, Haile Selassies royal line originated from the Amhara people, but he also had Oromo, and Gurage roots. He was born on 23 July 1892, in the village of Ejersa Goro and his mother was Woizero Yeshimebet Ali Abba Jifar, daughter of the renowned Oromo ruler of Wollo province Dejazmach Ali Abba Jifar
9.
Maria Theresa thaler
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In 1750 the thaler was debased to 10 thalers to the Vienna Mark. The following year the new standard was adopted across the German-speaking world when that standard was accepted formally in the Bavarian monetary convention. It is owing to the date of the Bavarian Monetary convention that many writers erroneously state that the Maria Theresa Thaler was first struck in 1751 and it was named after Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia from 1740 to 1780. The word thaler gave rise to daalder and daler, which became dollar in English, since 1780, the coin has always been dated 1780. On 19 September 1857, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria declared the Maria Theresa Taler to be an official trade coinage, a little over a year later, on 31 October 1858, the Maria Theresa Taler lost its status as currency in Austria. The MTT could also be found throughout the Arab world, especially in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Muscat and Oman, in Africa, especially in Ethiopia, in German-speaking countries, following a spelling reform dated 1901 that took effect two years later, Thaler is written Taler. Hence 20th-century references to this coin in German and Austrian sources are found under Maria-Theresien-Taler, the spelling in English-speaking countries was not affected. The thaler is 39. 5-41 mm in diameter and 2.5 mm thick, weighs 28.0668 grams and it has a silver content of.833 and a copper content of.166 of its total millesimal fineness. Note, Rome mint struck MTTs are marginally lighter being produced in finer 835 standard instead of 833 standard silver, the inscription on the obverse of this coin is in Latin, M. THERESIA D. G. R. IMP. It is an abbreviation of Maria Theresia, Dei Gratia Romanorum Imperatrix, Hungariae Bohemiaeque Regina, Archidux Austriae, Dux Burgundiae, Comes Tyrolis. 1780 X, which means, Maria Theresa, by the grace of God, Empress of the Romans, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol. The X is actually a saltire, and was added in 1750 indicating the new debased standard of the thaler, around the rim of the coin is the motto of her reign, Justitia et Clementia, meaning Justice and Clemency. The MTT continues to be produced by the Austrian Mint, and is available in proof and uncirculated conditions. The MTT quickly became a trade coin and several nations began striking Maria Theresa thalers. Between 1751 and 2000, some 389 million were minted and these different mints distinguished their issues by slight differences. In 1935 Mussolini gained a 25-year concession over production of the MTT, in 1961 the 25-year concession ended and Austria made diplomatic approaches to the relevant governments requesting they cease production of the coin. The UK was the last government to agree to the request in February 1962. The MTT came to be used as currency in parts of Africa until after World War II
10.
Ge'ez
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Geez is an ancient South Semitic language that originated in Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa. It later became the language of the Kingdom of Aksum. However, in Ethiopia Amharic or other languages, and in Eritrea and Tigray Region in Ethiopia. Tigrinya and Tigre are closely related to Geez, with at least four different configurations proposed, the foremost Ethiopian experts such as Amsalu Aklilu point to the vast proportion of inherited nouns that are unchanged, and even spelled identically in both Geez and Amharic. Geez is transliterated according to the system, Because Geez is no longer a spoken language. There is, however, no evidence either in the tradition or in Ethiopian Semitic what value these consonants may have had in Geez, a similar problem is found for the consonant transliterated ḫ. Gragg notes that it corresponds in etymology to velar or uvular fricatives in other Semitic languages, though the use of a different letter shows that it must originally have had some other pronunciation, what that pronunciation was is not certain. The chart below lists /ɬ/ and /ɬʼ/ as possible values for ś and ḍ respectively and it also lists /χ/ as a possible value for ḫ. These values are tentative, but based on the reconstructed Proto-Semitic consonants that they are descended from, in the chart below, IPA values are shown. When transcription is different from the IPA, the character is shown in angular brackets, question marks follow phonemes whose interpretation is controversial. In Geez, Emphatic consonants are phonetically ejectives, as is the case with Arabic, emphatic velars may actually be phonetically uvular. Geez consonants have an opposition between voiceless, voiced, and ejective obstruents. The Proto-Semitic emphasis in Geez has been generalized to include emphatic p̣. Geez has phonologized labiovelars, Geez ś ሠ Sawt is reconstructed as descended from a Proto-Semitic voiceless lateral fricative. Like Arabic, Geez merged Proto-Semitic š and s in ሰ, apart from this, Geez phonology is comparably conservative, the only other Proto-Semitic phonological contrasts lost may be the interdental fricatives and ghayin. Geez distinguishes two genders, masculine and feminine, which in certain words is marked with the suffix -t, there are two numbers, singular and plural. The plural can be constructed either by suffixing -āt to a word, plural using suffix, ʿāmat – ʿāmatāt year, māy – māyāt water. Internal plural, bet – ʾābyāt house, houses, qərnəb – qarānəbt eyelid, nouns also have two cases, the nominative which is not marked and the accusative which is marked with final -a. Triconsonantal nouns follow one of the following patterns, quadriconsonantal and some triconsonantal nouns follow the following pattern
11.
Rupee
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In the Maldives, the unit of currency is known as the rufiyah, which is a cognate of the Sanskrit rupya. The Indian rupees and Pakistani rupees are subdivided into one hundred paise or pice, the Mauritian and Sri Lankan rupees subdivide into 100 cents. The Nepalese rupee subdivides into one hundred paisas or four sukas or two mohors and it is derived from the noun rūpa shape, likeness, image. The word rūpa is further identified as having sprung from the Dravidian root uruppu, rūpiya was first named to a silver coin weighing 178 grains minted in northern India by Emperor Sher Shah Suri during his brief rule between 1540 and 1545. Suri also introduced copper coins called dam and gold coins called mohur that weighed 169 grains, the Indian rupee was first introduced, issued and termed as rupiya, the silver coin, by Sher Shah Suri, continued by the Mughal rulers. The history of the rupee traces back to Ancient India circa 3rd century BC, Ancient India was one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world, along with the Lydian staters, several other Middle Eastern coinages and the Chinese wen. The term is from rūpya, a Sanskrit term for silver coin, from Sanskrit rūpá, both the Kabuli rupee and the Kandahari rupee were used as currency in Afghanistan prior to 1891, when they were standardized as the Afghan rupee. The Afghan rupee, which was subdivided into 60 paisas, was replaced by the Afghan afghani in 1925, until the middle of the 20th century, Tibets official currency was also known as the Tibetan rupee. The Indian rupee was the currency of Dubai and Qatar until 1959. The Gulf rupee was legal tender until 1966, when India significantly devalued the Indian rupee, in East Africa, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, the rupee and its subsidiary coinage was current at various times. The usage of the rupee in East Africa extended from Somalia in the north, in Mozambique, the British India rupees were overstamped, and in Kenya, the British East Africa Company minted the rupee and its fractions, as well as pice. The rise in the price of silver immediately after the first world war caused the rupee to rise in value to two shillings sterling. In 1920 in British East Africa, the opportunity was taken to introduce a new florin coin. Shortly after that, the florin was split into two East African shillings and this assimilation to sterling did not, however, happen in British India itself. In Somalia, the Italian colonial authority minted rupia to exactly the same standard, the Straits Settlements were originally an outlier of the British East India Company. The Spanish dollar had already taken hold in the Straits Settlements by the time the British arrived in the 19th century, the East India Company tried to introduce the rupee in its place. Formerly, the rupee was divided into 16 annas,64 paise, each circulating coin of British India, until the rupee was decimalised, had a different name in practice. A paisa was equal to two dhelas, three pies and six damaris, other coins for two paisas, two annas, four annas, eight annas were widely in use until decimalization in 1961
12.
Menelik II
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Emperor Menelik II GCB, GCMG, baptized as Sahle Maryam, was Negus of Shewa, then Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. Ethiopia was transformed under Emperor Menelik, the major signposts of modernization were put in place, Menelik expanded his kingdom to the south and east, expanding into Kaffa, Sidama, Wolayta and other kingdoms. He is widely called Emiye Menelik in Ethiopia for his forgiving nature, Abeto Menelik was born in Angolalla, near Debre Birhan, in the Amhara Region. He was the son of Negus Haile Melekot of Shewa and Woizero Ijigayehu, Woizero Ijigayehu was a lady in the household of Haile Melekots grandmother, the formidable Woizero Zenebework, widow of Merid Azmatch Wossen Seged, and mother of King Sahle Selassie of Showa. Most sources indicate that no marriage took place between Haile Melekot and Woizero Ijigayehu, Sahle Selassie ordered his grandson legitimized. Menelik II had been born at Angolala in the Amhara region, prior to his death in 1855, Negus Haile Melekot named Menelik as successor to the throne of Shewa. Shortly after Haile Melekot died, Menelik was taken prisoner by Emperor Tewodros II, following Emperor Tewodros IIs conquest of Shewa, he had young Sahle Maryam transferred to his mountain stronghold of Magdala. Still, Tewodros treated the young prince well and he even offered him the hand of his daughter Altash Tewodros in marriage, which Menelik accepted. Upon Meneliks imprisonment, his uncle, Haile Mikael, was appointed as Shum of Shewa by Emperor Tewodros II with the title of Meridazmach, however, Meridazmach Haile Mikael rebelled against Tewodros, resulting in his being replaced by the non-royal Ato Bezabeh as Shum. However, Ato Bezabeh in turn then rebelled against the Emperor, although the Shewan royals imprisoned at Magdala had been largely complacent as long as a member of their family ruled over Shewa, this usurpation by a commoner was not palatable to them. Enraged, Emperor Tewodros slaughtered 29 Oromo hostages then had 12 Amhara notables beaten to death with bamboo rods, Abeto Menelik entered Ankober and proclaimed himself Negus. While Negus Menelik reclaimed his ancestral Shewan crown, he laid claim to the Imperial throne. Not wishing to take part in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, he allowed his rival Kassai to benefit with gifts of modern weapons, when Tewodros committed suicide, Menelik II arranged for an official rejoicing and celebration of his death even though he was personally saddened by the loss. When the British asked him why he did this, he replied to satisfy the passions of the people, as for me, I should have gone into a forest to weep over. I have now lost the one who educated me, and toward whom I had always cherished filial, Menelik II was cunning and strategic in building his power base. Another Italian writes of Menelik II, had the curiosity of a boy, great intelligence and great mechanical ability. Menelik II spoke with great economy and rapidity and he never became upset, Chiarini adds, listening calmly, judiciously with good sense. He is fatalistic and a soldier, he loves weapons above all else
13.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
14.
Qirsh
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Qirsh, Ersh, Gersh, Grush, Kuruş and Grosi are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the stems from the different languages it is used in. The name originally comes from the Italian grosso, as in denaro grosso, the original qirsh was a large, 17th century silver piece, similar to the European thalers, issued by the Ottomans. In 1844, following sustained debasement, the lira was introduced. In Greek, it was known as γρόσι, grosi, plural γρόσια grosia, as the Ottoman Empire broke up, several successor states retained the qirsh as a denomination. These included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey itself, others, including Jordan and Sudan, adopted the qirsh as a denomination when they established their own currencies. The name of the Groschen, a used in various German-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe, is derived from the same origin of the Italian denaro grosso. Egyptian pound Groschen Jordanian dinar Kuruş Palestine pound Saudi riyal Sudanese pound Turkish lira Ottoman Empire coins Turkish Republic coins and banknotes
15.
National Bank of Egypt
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National Bank of Egypt is the oldest and largest bank in Egypt. It has 338 branches within the country, assets of EGP366,6 bn. total deposits of EGP312,7 bn. and total loans and advances of EGP114,7 bn. As of 2007, the National Bank of Egypt accounted for 23% of the Egyptian banking systems total assets, 25% of total deposits and 25% of total loans, NBE also financed about 24% of Egypts foreign trade during the year. NBE also accounts for 74% of the credit market and 40% of the debit cards in Egypt. NBE has a subsidiary in London, National Bank of Egypt, branches in New York and Shanghai, according to the July 2007 issue of the Banker, in terms of total assets, NBE ranks 226th among the top 1000 world banks and ranks 3rd among the Arab banks. NBE established an office in London,1901 NBE opened a branch in Khartoum. It obtained a position as banker to and for the government. Over time, it added other agencies and branches in the Sudan,1902 NBE established the Agricultural Bank of Egypt. 1906 NBE established the Bank of Abyssinia in Addis Ababa, the bank received a 50-year monopoly and was the Ethiopian governments fiscal agent as well as the sole issuer of currency. 1925 Lloyds Bank transferred to NBE the branches in Cairo and Alexandria that it acquired with its purchase of Cox & Co. in 1923,1931 The Bank of Abyssinia was liquidated and the Ethiopian government established Bank of Ethiopia to replace it. 1936 Agricultural Bank of Egypt was liquidated,1940 All the staff and the Board of the bank were largely Egyptian. 1951 A decree gave NBE the status of the Central Bank for Egypt,1957 The Banking Act confirmed the status of NBE as Egypts Central Bank. 1961 Citibank sold to NBE its Egyptian assets and liabilities, Citibank had entered in 1955 but was forced to leave by the nationalization decree. 1975 Chase Manhattan Bank and National Bank of Egypt established Commercial International Bank,1976 NBE, together with 19 other Arab and four US banks, established Arab American Bank as a wholesale bank operating in New York. 1982 NBE established a subsidiary in the UK.1987 Chase sold its shares in CIB to NBE and CIB changed its name to Commercial International Bank, partial privatization in 1993 and a GDR issue in 1996 reduced NBEs share to 34%. NBE established a rep office in South Africa and a subsidiary in London. 2000 NBE established a NY branch to take over the business of Arab American Bank,2005 NBE acquired Mohandes Bank, which had been established in 1979 as a commercial bank. It also acquired Bank of Commerce and Development, known as Al Tigaryoon,2006 NBE opened a representative office in Dubai
16.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
17.
Italian East Africa
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Italian East Africa was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somaliland, Italian Eritrea, during the Second World War, Italian East Africa was occupied by a British-led force including colonial and Ethiopian units. After the war, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea came under British administration, in 1949, Italian Somaliland was reconstituted as the Trust Territory of Somaliland, which was administered by Italy from 1950 until its independence in 1960. When established in 1936, Italian East Africa consisted of the old Italian possessions in the Horn of Africa, Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, and the recently annexed Empire of Ethiopia. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of Emperor of Ethiopia, although having not been recognized by any other than Nazi Germany. Italian East Africa was briefly enlarged in 1940, as Italian forces conquered British Somaliland, however, the enlarged colony was dismembered only a year later, when in the course of the East African Campaign the colony was occupied by British forces. Italian East Africa, in Italian Africa Orientale Italiana, was acronymed in official documents as AOI, historians are still divided about the reasons for the Italian attack on Ethiopia in 1935. Other historians such as Pietro Pastorelli have argued that the invasion was launched as part of an expansionist program to make Italy the main power in the Red Sea area, Italys forces were far superior to the Abyssinian forces, especially in air power, and they were soon victorious. Emperor Haile Selassie was forced to flee the country, with Italian forces entering the city, Addis Ababa, to proclaim an empire by May 1936. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, in the summer of 1940, Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa. Hostilities began on 13 June 1940, with an Italian air raid on the base of 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force at Wajir in the East Africa Protectorate, in August 1940, the protectorate of British Somaliland was occupied by Italian forces and absorbed into Italian East Africa. This occupation lasted around six months, by early 1941, Italian forces had been largely pushed back from Kenya and Sudan. On 6 April 1941, Addis Ababa was occupied by the 11th Division, makonnen Endelkachew was named as Prime Minister and on 19 December 1944, the final Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was signed. Eritrea was placed under British military administration for the duration, and in 1950, after 1945, Britain controlled both Somalilands, as protectorates. British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, the Trust Territory of Somalia became independent on 1 July 1960, the colony was administered by a Viceroy of Ethiopia and Governor General of Italian East Africa, appointed by the Italian monarch. The dominion was divided for administrative purposes into six Governorates. Fascist colonial policy in Italian East Africa had a divide and conquer characteristic, Italys Fascist regime encouraged Italian peasants to colonize Ethiopia by setting up farms and small manufacturing businesses
18.
Italian lira
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The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002 and of the Albanian Kingdom between 1941 and 1943. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a national subunit of the euro, however, cash payments could be made in lira only, as euro coins or notes were not yet available. The lira was also the currency of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy between 1807 and 1814, L, sometimes in a double-crossed script form, was the symbol most often used. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100 centesimi, the lira was established at 4.5 grams of silver or 290.322 milligrams of gold. This was a continuation of the Sardinian lira. Other currencies replaced by the Italian lira included the Lombardy-Venetia pound, the Two Sicilies piastra, the Tuscan fiorino, the Papal States scudo and this practice has obviously ended with the introduction of the euro in 2002. World War I broke the Latin Monetary Union and resulted in prices rising severalfold in Italy, in 1927, the lira was pegged to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 1 dollar =19 lire. This rate lasted until 1934, with a separate tourist rate of US$1 =24.89 lire being established in 1936, in 1939, the official rate was 19.8 lire. After the Allied invasion of Italy, a rate was set at US$1 =120 lire in June 1943. In German occupied areas, the rate was set at 1 Reichsmark =10 lire. After the war, the value of the lira fluctuated, before Italy set a peg of US$1 =575 lire within the Bretton Woods System in November 1947, following the devaluation of the pound, Italy devalued to US$1 =625 lire on 21 September 1949. This rate was maintained until the end of the Bretton Woods System in the early 1970s, several episodes of high inflation followed until the lira was replaced by the euro. The lira was the unit of currency in Italy until January 1,1999. Old lira denominated currency ceased to be legal tender on February 28,2002, the conversion rate is 1,936.27 lire to the euro. All lira banknotes in use immediately before the introduction of the euro, originally Italys central bank pledged to redeem Italian coins and banknotes until 29 February 2012, but this was brought forward to 6 December 2011. Italys Constitutional Court has now declared the law that shortening the period of Italian Lira unlawful. Currently, studies are being conducted by the Banca dItalia and the Ministry of Economy, in 1863, silver coins below 5 lire were debased from 90% to 83. 5% and silver 20 centesimi coins were introduced. Minting switched to Rome in the 1870s, apart from the introduction in 1894 of cupro-nickel 20 centesimi coins and of nickel 25 centesimi pieces in 1902, the coinage remained essentially unaltered until the First World War
19.
East African Campaign (World War II)
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Ethiopian irregulars, the Free French and Belgian troops of the Force Publique also participated. The East African Campaign was the first Allied strategic victory in the war but was overshadowed by the British defeats in Greece and Crete. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, in the summer of 1940 Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation large areas of Africa. Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of the AOI in November 1937, with a headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. On 1 June 1940, as the commander in chief of Comando Forze Armate dellAfrica Orientale Italiana and Generale dArmata Aerea, Aosta had about 290,476 local, by 1 August, mobilisation had increased the number to 371,053 troops. About 70 percent of Italian troops were locally recruited Askari, the regular Eritrean battalions and the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali were among the best Italian units in the AOI and included Eritrean cavalry Penne di Falco. Most colonial troops were recruited, trained and equipped for colonial repression, although the Somali Dubats from the borderlands were useful light infantry and skirmishers. Irregular bandes were hardy and mobile, knew the country and were effective scouts and saboteurs, although confused with Shifta. Due to the isolation of the AOI from the Mediterranean, the Italians had very little opportunity for reinforcements or supply, leading to severe shortages, especially of ammunition. On occasion, foreign merchant vessels captured by German merchant raiders in the Indian Ocean were brought to Somali ports, there were 183 first line aircraft and another 140 in reserve, of which 59 were operational and 81 were unserviceable. On the outbreak of war, the CAAOI had 10,700 t of fuel,5,300 t of bombs and 8,620,000 rounds of ammunition. The Italians had reserves for 75% of their strength, but lacked spare parts. The quality of the units varied, the SM.79 was the only modern bomber and the CR.32 fighter was obsolete, but the Regia Aeronautica in East Africa had a cadre of highly experienced Spanish Civil War veterans. The Regia Marina maintained the Red Sea Flotilla at Massawa in Eritrea on the Red Sea, the port was a link between Axis-occupied Europe and the naval facilities in the Italian concession zone in Tientsin in China. There were also limited port facilities at Assab, in Eritrea, the flotilla also had two local defence destroyers, the Orsini and Acerbi, a squadron of five Motoscafo Armato Silurante and eight submarines. When the Mediterranean route was closed to Allied merchant ships in April 1940, Allied convoys had to sail via the Cape and up the east coast of Africa, as Italian fuel supplies in Massawa dwindled, opportunities for the Red Sea Flotilla to attack Allied shipping declined. The British had based forces in Egypt since 1882 but these were reduced by the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936
20.
East African shilling
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The East African shilling was the currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was produced by the East African Currency Board and it is also the proposed name for a common currency that the East African Community plans to introduce. In the United Kingdom, the pound sterling used to be divided into twenty shillings, in British East Africa, however, even though twenty shillings were equal in value to one pound sterling, the shilling was always taken to be the primary unit of account. This state of affairs was unique amongst all the parts of the British Empire that used the sterling currency. This anomalous state of affairs arose because the first currency used by the British colonial authorities in British East Africa was the rupee and not the sterling. The East African shilling was introduced to Kenya, Tanganyika, and Uganda in 1921, the short-lived florin had been introduced because of increasing silver prices after World War I. At that time, the Indian rupee was the currency of the British East African states, the rupee, being a silver coin, rose in value against sterling. When it reached the value of two shillings, the decided to replace it with the florin. From the florin thence came the East African shilling, the currency remained pegged to one shilling sterling and was subdivided into 100 cents. In 1936, Zanzibar joined the board, and the Zanzibari rupee was replaced at a rate of 1.5 East African shillings to 1 Zanzibari rupee. It was replaced by local currencies following the territories independence, in 1951, the East African shilling replaced the Indian rupee in the Aden colony and protectorate, which became the South Arabian Federation in 1963. In 1965, the East African Currency Board was breaking up, the shilling was also used in parts of what is now Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea when they were under British control. Before 1941, these areas, then known as Italian East Africa were using the Italian East African lira, in 1941, as a result of World War II, Britain regained control and introduced the shilling, at a rate of 1 shilling to 24 lira. Italian Somaliland was returned to Italy in 1949 as a UN Trusteeship and soon switched to the Italian Somaliland somalo, British Somaliland gained independence in 1960, and joined what had been Italian Somaliland to create Somalia. In that year Somalia began using the Somali shilling at par with the East African shilling, the East African shilling ceased to be legal tender in Somalia during 1961. Ethiopia regained independence in 1941, with British support and began using the East African shilling, maria Theresa thalers, Indian rupees, and Egyptian pounds were also legal tender at the beginning of this time, and it is unclear exactly when this status ended. Full sovereignty was restored in late 1944, and the Ethiopian birr was reintroduced in 1945 at a rate of 1 birr =2 shillings, Eritrea was captured from the Italians in 1941, and began using the East African shilling, as well as the Egyptian pound. The lira was demonetized in 1942, when Eritrea formed a federation with Ethiopia in 1952, the birr, which was already in use in Ethiopia, was adopted in Eritrea
21.
East African Currency Board
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The East African Currency Board supplied and oversaw the currency of British colonies in British East Africa from 1919 to 1966. It was established after Britain took control of mainland Tanzania from Germany at the end of World War I, and originally oversaw the territories of Uganda, Kenya, zanzibar joined the currency area in 1936. For most of its existence, the EACBs main function was to maintain the local shilling at par with the shilling in the United Kingdom and this was done by ensuring that the local currency was adequately backed by sterling securities. It operated out of premises at 4 Millbank, London SW1, the Board was replaced by the independent central banks of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in 1966. History of the Bank of Tanzania Arnaldo Mauri, The Currency Board and the rise of banking in East Africa, Dept. of Economics, University of Milano, WP n
22.
Ethiopian calendar
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A seven- to eight-year gap between the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars results from an alternate calculation in determining the date of the Annunciation. Like the Coptic calendar, the Ethiopic calendar has twelve months of 30 days plus five or six epagomenal days, the Ethiopian months begin on the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are in Geez. The sixth epagomenal day is added every four years without exception on August 29 of the Julian calendar, thus the first day of the Ethiopian year,1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1900 and 2099, is usually September 11. It, however, falls on September 12 in years before the Gregorian leap year, in the Gregorian year 2015, the Ethiopian calendar year 2008 begins on September 12, rather than September 11, on account of this additional epagomenal day occurring every four years. It occurs on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar, except for the following a leap year. The Ethiopian calendar year 1998 Amätä Məhrät began on September 11,2005, however, the Ethiopian years 1996 and 1992 began on September 12,2003 and 1999, respectively. This date correspondence applies for the Gregorian years 1900 to 2099, as the Gregorian year 2000 is a leap year, the current correspondence lasts two centuries instead. 400, thus its first civil year began seven months earlier on August 29, meanwhile, Europeans eventually adopted the calculations made by Dionysius Exiguus in AD525 instead, which placed the Annunciation eight years earlier than had Annianus. This causes the Ethiopian year number to be eight years less than the Gregorian year number from January 1 until September 10 or 11, in the past, a number of other eras for numbering years were also widely used in Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Aksum. Respective to the Gregorian and Julian New Years Days,3 1/2 to four months later and it is also because 532 is the product of the Metonic cycle of 19 years and the solar cycle of 28 years. Around AD400, an Alexandrine monk called Panodoros fixed the Alexandrian Era, after the 6th century AD, the era was used by Egyptian and Ethiopian chronologists. The twelfth 532-year-cycle of this era began on 29 August AD360, bishop Anianos preferred the Annunciation style as New Years Day,25 March. Thus he shifted the Panodoros era by about six months, to begin on 25 March 5492 BC, in the Ethiopian calendar this was equivalent to 15 Magabit 5501 B. C. The Anno Mundi era remained in usage until the late 19th century, the four-year leap-year cycle is associated with the four Evangelists, the first year after an Ethiopian leap year is named in honour of John, followed by the Matthew-year and then the Mark-year. The year with the sixth day is traditionally designated as the Luke-year. There are no exceptions to the four-year leap-year cycle, like the Julian calendar and these dates are valid only from March 1900 to February 2100. This is because 1900 and 2100 are not leap years in the Gregorian calendar, while they are leap years in the Ethiopian calendar, meaning dates before 1900. The Ethiopian Calendar, Appendix IV, C. F, huntingford, The Prester John of the Indies
23.
Bi-metallic coin
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Bi-metallic coins are coins consisting of two metals or alloys, generally arranged with an outer ring around a contrasting center.00 coin and all Mexican coins of $1 or higher denomination. The silver-center cent pattern produced by the United States in 1792 is another example, though not legal tender, Moores tokens were circulated widely and accepted at face value by many merchants. Despite their popularity, the Royal Mint rejected the proposal, in recent times, the first circulating bi-metallic coin was the Italian 500 lire, first issued in 1982. India introduced 10 rupee bi-metallic coins in 2009 that are dated 2006, since 1996, Canada has also produced bi-metallic $2 coins, Great Britain has issued a bi-metallic 2 pounds coin since 1997 and Singapore has issued a bi-metallic 1 dollar coin since 2013. The first ever tri-metallic circulating coins were 20 franc coins introduced in France and these were similar to the corresponding bi-metallic 10 franc coins, but had two rings instead of one. As well as circulating coins, where they are restricted to high denomination coins, bi-metallic coins are often used in commemorative issues. For example, the only coin of the United States is the $10 Library of Congress commemorative. They are used primarily as a way of securing against coin counterfeiting, the manufacturing process is similar to that of ordinary coins, except that two blanks are struck at the same time, deforming the separate blanks sufficiently to hold them together. Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collectors Club - website World bimetallic coin news - WBCN - website, new issues, catalog, country index and reference prices
24.
Economy of Ethiopia
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The economy of Ethiopia is a mixed and transition economy with a large public sector. Ethiopian government is in the process privatizing many of the state-owned businesses, however, the banking, telecommunication and transportation sectors of the economy are dominated by government-owned companies. Ethiopia has one of the economies in the world and is Africa’s second most populous country. Many properties owned by the government during the regime have now been privatized and are in the process of privatization. The country must create hundreds of thousands of jobs every year just to keep up with population growth. The Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to the state and the people, but citizens may lease land. Various groups and political parties have sought for full privatization of land, while opposition parties are against privatization. The current government has embarked on a program of reform, including privatization of state enterprises. While the process is ongoing, the reforms have begun to attract much-needed foreign investment. Despite recent improvements, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest nations in the world, though the issuing of minted coins didnt begin until around 270, metal coins may have been used in Aksum centuries prior to centralized minting. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that Aksum imported brass which they use for ornaments and for cutting as money, some outside influences encouraging the use of coins is undeniable. Roman, Himyarite, and Kushana coins have all found in major Aksumite cities. The minting of coins began around 270 CE, beginning with the reign of Endubis, around the 5th–8th century, the coffee plant was introduced into the Arab world from Ethiopia. Coffea arabica, the most highly regarded species, is native to the highlands of Ethiopia. Long before the cultivation of coffee, however, other crops like finger millet, teff, sorghum, lablab bean. As of 2015, agriculture accounts for almost 40. 5% of GDP,81 percent of exports, many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly of a nature, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include coffee, pulses, oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables. 9% of the world exports, Ethiopia is Africas second biggest maize producer
25.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
26.
Eritrea
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Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has an area of approximately 117,600 km2. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches, among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam. In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, the creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritrea became part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia, subsequent annexation into Ethiopia led to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence following a referendum in April 1993. Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and further skirmishes with both Djibouti and Ethiopia, Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean governments human rights record is considered among the worst in the world, the Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. The compulsory military service requires lengthy, indefinite conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid, since all local media is state-owned, Eritrea was also ranked as having the least press freedom in the global Press Freedom Index. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and IGAD, during the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri. The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea and it was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The territory became the Eritrea Governorate within Italian East Africa in 1936, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1953 and an Eritrean Liberation Front formed in 1960. Eritrea gained independence following the 1993 referendum, and the name of the new state was defined as State of Eritrea in the 1997 constitution. At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind, during the last interglacial period, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World
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Eritrean nakfa
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The nakfa is the currency of Eritrea and was introduced on 8 November 1997 to replace the Ethiopian birr at par. The currency takes its name from the Eritrean town of Nakfa, the nakfa is divided into 100 cents. The nafka is pegged to the US dollar at a rate of USD$1 = ERN15. Prior to that it was pegged at USD$1 = ERN13.50. Between 18 November and 31 December 2015, the Bank of Eritrea began replacement of all nakfa banknotes, a consequence of this was substantial amounts of the countrys currency existed in vast hoardings outside Eritrea. The plan to replace the currency was top secret and designed to prevent human traffickers bringing their funds back in time to exchange for the new banknotes. On the 1 January 2016 the old nakfa banknotes ceased being recognized as legal tender, the current series of banknotes is the artwork of an Afro-American banknote designer, Clarence Holbert, and printed by German currency printer Giesecke & Devrient. Nakfa coins are entirely of Nickel clad Steel. Each coin has a different reeded edge, instead of consistent reeding for all denominations, the 1 nakfa coin carries the denomination 100 cents. Coin denominations,1 cent 5 cents 10 cents 25 cents 50 cents 1 nakfa The nakfa banknotes were designed by Clarence Holbert of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1994. Banknotes come in denominations of,1 nakfa 5 nakfa 10 nakfa 20 nakfa 50 nakfa 100 nakfa There have been five series of banknotes since the currencys launch, the current fifth banknote series which rendered all previous currency valueless is dated 24.5.2015. Eritreas government has resisted calls to float the nations currency, preferring the stability of an exchange rate. However periodic devaluations have been made, ERN is a very weak currency. The de facto exchange rate of the currency is around 100 ERN for 1 USD. The currency does not have a good demand outside Eritrea, the black markets that exist in Asmara and a few other towns show the diminishing values of ERN. Economy of Eritrea Regulations concerning the nakfa from Afrol news
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Agriculture in Ethiopia
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Agriculture in Ethiopia is the foundation of the countrys economy, accounting for half of gross domestic product,83. 9% of exports, and 80% of total employment. Ethiopias agriculture is plagued by drought, soil degradation caused by overgrazing, deforestation, high levels of taxation. Yet agriculture is the countrys most promising resource, a potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock, grains, vegetables, and fruits. As many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually, Agriculture accounts for 46.3 percent of the nations Gross domestic Product,83.9 percent of exports, and 80% of the labour force. Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, production is overwhelmingly of a subsistence nature, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include coffee, pulses, oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is also Africas second biggest maize producer, Ethiopia has great agricultural potential because of its vast areas of fertile land, diverse climate, generally adequate rainfall, and large labor pool. Despite this potential, however, Ethiopian agriculture has remained underdeveloped, because of drought, which has repeatedly affected the country since the early 1970s, a poor economic base, and overpopulation, the agricultural sector has performed poorly. For instance, according to the World Bank between 1980 and 1987 agricultural production dropped at a rate of 2.1 percent. Consequently, the country faced a famine that resulted in the death of nearly 1 million people from 1984 to 1986, the beneficial climate in the Highlands of Ethiopia also enabled irrigation and other advanced agricultural technology. To make matters worse, during the 1972-74 drought and famine the imperial government refused to assist rural Ethiopians, as a result, up to 200,000 Ethiopians perished. Although the issue of reform was not addressed until the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974. In 1971 the Ministry of Agriculture introduced the Minimum Package Program to bring about economic, the program, designed for rural development, was first introduced in a project called the Chilalo Agricultural Development Union. The program later facilitated the establishment of similar internationally supported and financed projects at Adaa Chukala, Welamo, by 1974 the Ministry of Agricultures Extension and Project Implementation Department had more than twenty-eight areas with more than 200 extension and marketing centers. As a result, agriculture continued to grow, albeit below the growth rate. Agricultural productivity under the Derg continued to decline, during the same period, population increased at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent. There was much debate as to whether or not these reforms were genuine, nonetheless, agricultural output rose by an estimated 3 percent in 1990-91, almost certainly in response to the relaxation of government regulation. This modest increase, however, was not enough to offset a general decrease in GDP during the same period
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Coffee production in Ethiopia
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Coffee production in Ethiopia is a longstanding tradition. Ethiopia is where Coffea arabica, the plant, originates. The plant is now grown in parts of the world. In 2006, coffee exports brought in $350 million, equivalent to 34% of that years total exports, the coffee plant, Coffea arabica, originates in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the seventh largest producer of coffee, and Africas top producer. Half of the coffee is consumed by Ethiopians, and the leads the continent in domestic consumption. The major markets for Ethiopian coffee are the EU, East Asia, the total area used for coffee cultivation is estimated to be about 4,000 km2, the size is unknown due to the fragmented nature of the coffee farms. The way of production has not changed much, with all work, cultivating and drying. The Coffee and Tea Authority, part of the government, handles anything related to coffee and tea. This is a legacy from a scheme set in action by the previous regime that turned over all the washing stations to farmers cooperatives. The domestic market is regulated through licenses, with the goal of avoiding market concentration. Ethiopian coffee beans that are grown in either the Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe or Limu regions are kept apart and these regional varieties are trademarked names with the rights owned by Ethiopia. Ethiopia Genika is a type of Arabica coffee of single origin grown exclusively in the Bench Maji Zone of Ethiopia, like most African coffees, Ethiopia Guraferda features a small and greyish bean, yet is valued for its deep, spice and wine or chocolate-like taste and floral aroma. The most distinctive flavour notes found in all Sidamo coffees are lemon, Sidamo coffee includes Yirgachefe Coffee and Guji Coffee. Both coffee types are high quality. Harar is in the Eastern highlands of Ethiopia and it is one of the oldest coffee beans still produced and is known for its distinctive fruity, wine flavour. The shells of the bean are used in a tea called hasher-qahwa. The bean is medium in size with a greenish-yellowish colour and it has medium acidity and full body and a distinctive mocha flavour
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Cotton production in Ethiopia
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Cotton is grown throughout Ethiopia at elevations above 1000 meters and below 1400 meters. Because most of the lack adequate rainfall, cotton cultivation depends largely on irrigation. Cotton production has long been underway in Ethiopia, before the revolution, large-scale commercial cotton plantations were developed in the Awash Valley and the Humera areas. The Tendaho Cotton Plantation in the lower Awash Valley was one of Ethiopias largest cotton plantations, rain-fed cotton also grew in Humera, Bilate, and Arba Minch. In 1867 it was reported there were plans to construct a 362-kilometre road from the Ethiopian cotton fields to the Red Sea to trade with Egypt. Since the revolution, most commercial cotton has been grown on irrigated state farms, production jumped from 43,500 tons in 1974/75 to 74,900 tons in 1984/85. Similarly, the area of increased from 22,600 hectares in 1974/75 to 33,900 hectares in 1984/85. Despite its lack of governance, the Ethiopian cotton industry is self-sufficient, Cotton production in Ethiopia, development of the cotton industry, current status, problems, research needs and proposals
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Fishing in Ethiopia
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Ethiopias fisheries are entirely freshwater, in its many lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, as it has no marine coastline. Fishing contributed less than 1 percent of the domestic product in 1987. A study reported that 15,389 tonnes were caught in 2001, fresh fish are consumed in the vicinity of the Great Rift Valley lakes. Outside these areas, the market for fish is small. Two factors account for low level of local fish consumption. First, fish has not been integrated into the diet of most of the population, Second, because of religious influences on consumption patterns, the demand for fish is only seasonal. During Lent, for example, Christians who abstain from eating meat, milk, although the Second Five-Year Agricultural Development Plan laid down a number of targets to improve the yield of Ethiopias fisheries, a number of problems remain to be overcome. Federal and state laws regarding commercial fishing did not exist until 2002/2003 and this has led to localized overfishing. Some commercially important species are suffering from overexploitation, including Nile perch in Lake Chamo. The largest fishery is in Lake Tana, the countrys largest lake, agriculture in Ethiopia Economy of Ethiopia
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Forestry in Ethiopia
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In the late nineteenth century, about 30% of Ethiopia was covered with forest. The clearing of land for use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually changed the scene. The northern parts of the highlands are almost devoid of trees, however, about 45,000 square kilometres of dense forest exist in the southern and southwestern sections of the highlands. Lumber from the forests is important to the construction industry. The broadleaf evergreen forests furnish timber that is used in construction, the woodlands are a major source of firewood and charcoal. Certain trees --boswellia and species of commiphora—are of special economic significance, both grow in the arid lowlands and produce gums that are the bases for frankincense and myrrh. A species of acacia found in parts of the country is a source of gum arabic used in the manufacture of adhesives, pharmaceutical products. It is also a source of the material from which fiberboard and particleboard are made. Data on forestrys contribution to the economy are not readily available, largely because most GDP tables aggregate data on forestry, fishing, in 1980/81 forestry accounted for 2. 5% of GDP at constant 1960/61 factor cost and 5. 4% of the share attributable to the agricultural sector. Before 1974 about half of the forestland was privately owned or claimed, there was little government control of forestry operations prior to the Ethiopian revolution. The 1975 land reform nationalized forestland and sawmills, which existed mostly in the south, the government controlled harvesting of forestland, and in some cases individuals had to secure permits from local peasant associations to cut trees. But this measure encouraged illegal logging and accelerated the destruction of Ethiopias remaining forests, the local peasant associations lacked decision-making authority. Reforestation programs resulted in the planting of millions of seedlings in community forests throughout Ethiopia, a variety of Non Governmental Organizations, which had to organize their activities through the local peasant association, supplemented government efforts to rehabilitate Ethiopias forests. However, critics maintain that both systems caused communal resources to be developed at the expense of private needs, as a result, reforestation programs did not perform well. Seedling survival rates varied from as low as 5 to 20% in some areas to 40% in others and it remained to be seen whether this plan would improve the state of Ethiopias forests. It is estimated that in 2000 Ethiopia had 4,344,000 ha of natural forest area, compared to other East African countries Ethiopia’s deforestation rate is about average. However, the rates in East Africa are second highest of the continent. Moreover, it has the smallest fraction of its forest area designated primarily for conservation, apart from Northern Africa, East African countries show the second highest decline rates of conservation forests in the continent
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Mining in Ethiopia
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Mining is important to the economy of Ethiopia as a diversification from agriculture. Currently, mining comprises only 1% of GDP, gold, gemstones, and industrial minerals are important commodities for the countrys export-oriented growth strategy. Tantalum mining has also been profitable and it was reported that in the late 1980s, the mineral industry lacked importance given that it contributed less than 0.2 percent of Ethiopias GDP. Mining for gold is a key development sector in the country, gold export, which was just US$5 million in 2001, has recorded a large increase to US$602 million in 2012. The Ethiopian Geological Survey of the Ministry of Mines and Energy with assistance from UNDP and private companies have assessed the mineral, other mineral resources are platinum, niobium, copper, nickel, manganese and molybdenum, marble is found extensively in most parts of the country. Gold has been exploited since ancient times, large ore based gold mines are the Lega Dembi and Sakaro, which have been mined by private companies, the amount of gold produced by these mines is reported to be about 5 tons per year. In the Western and Northern Greenstone Belts of the country, orogenic mines have been located, tantalum is mined at the Kenticha Tantalite mining. It is found in the rocks of the Southern Greenstone Belt. Tantalum is used in making all electronic devices such as phones, cameras, computers and so forth. Kenticha mines has resources to the extent of 9,000 tonnes of processed potash which could be extracted over the next 15 years and this mine also produces quartz, feldspar, kaolin and dolomite used in industries. The gas fields are located in the part of the country at Calub, Hilala. The gas resources potential of these fields have been assessed as 4.6 Trillion Cubic Feet, precambrian to Recent period rock formations are found suitable for use in construction and in industrial use. Licenses have been granted to investigate and assess the mining potential, the licensing policy brought out in June 1993 is titled Mining and Mining Income Tax Proclamation. Some of the licenses issued cover mining of gold and base metals and also manufacture of cement, potash, diatomite and also covering industrial, licenses have been issued to 250 foreign firms from countries such as China, South Africa, the UK, the US and Canada. The license stipulates that every mining company should allocate 5% free equity shares apart from 8% royalties, the initial validity of the lease is for 25 years extendable for further ten-year period. Though the country is rich in mining resources its exploration and extraction has contributed only about 1% of its GDP with an investment of 14 billion birr. During 2013, a document has been placed before the House of Peoples’ Representatives for approval so that the sector becomes more competitive vis-à-vis those offered by neighboring countries. Production and sale of gold had touched a level of US$23.8 million, Potash mining has generated lot of interest in recent years
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Energy in Ethiopia
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Energy in Ethiopia is energy and electricity production, consumption and importation in Ethiopia. Primary energy use in 2009 in Ethiopia was 380 TWh and 5 TWh per million persons, hydropower accounts for the bulk of Ethiopias electric power generating capacity and output. In 2002, the generating capacity stood at 501 MW, with hydropower accounting for 451 MW. Electricity production for that year was 2.024 TWh, of which 2.003 TWh and 20 GWh came from hydroelectric and conventional thermal plants. Electric power consumption in 2002 totaled 1.882 TWh, in 2008 electricity production was 3.715 TWh. The expected completion of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam will add 1870 MW capacity to the power production. However, Ethiopias heavy reliance upon hydropower to supply its power has made the country vulnerable due to lengthy droughts. Ethiopia has small reserves of oil and natural gas, as of January 2003, the countrys crude oil and natural gas reserves were placed at 428,000 barrels and 880 billion cubic feet, respectively. Ethiopia has no crude oil refining capacity and must import all refined petroleum products, imports of refined petroleum products totaled 24,910 barrels per day, with consumption was an estimated 23,000 barrels per day in 2001. In 1997, due to maintenance and operating costs, Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to shut down their joint operations at the petroleum refinery at Assab. In 2001, Ethiopia signed an agreement to import products from Sudan. Although Ethiopia has few proven hydrocarbon reserves, it is estimated to have potential for oil. Geothermal energy is abundant in the Afar Region, specifically in the Erta Ale area
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Tourism in Ethiopia
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Tourism in Ethiopia accounted for 5. 5% of the countrys gross domestic product in 2006, having barely increased 2% over the previous year. The government is proving its commitment and willingness to develop tourism through a number of initiatives, tourism is a featured component of Ethiopias Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which aims to combat poverty and encourage economic development. Tourist destinations include Ethiopias collection of parks, and historic sites, such as the cities of Axum, Lalibela, Gonder, Negash Mosque, Sof Umer Washa. Developed in the 1960s, tourism declined greatly during the later 1970s, one encouraging aspect is the growing popularity of ecotourism, with significant potential for growth in Ethiopia. Travel retail sales are expected to continue to grow, posting an increase of 7% in 2006, sales are driven primarily by expanding interest in ecotourism packages, including adventure travel, trekking and walking safaris that are making up much of the tour operators revenues. Allegedly Mohamouda Ahmed Gaas and officials from the ministry obtained promotional services from a UK based company for the Ethiopian Millennium, but refused to pay after the event took place
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Transport in Ethiopia
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Transport in Ethiopia is overseen by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Over the last seven years, the Ethiopian federal authorities have increased funding for road construction. Road projects now represent around a quarter of the annual infrastructure budget, additionally, through the Road Sector Development Program, the government has earmarked $4 billion to construct, repair and upgrade roads over the next decade. Ethopia is building a standard railway network to connect the major population centers with each other. Ethiopia has currently 656 km of railways, which almost entirely consists of the electrified Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway. The railway, opened in October 2016, links the capital of Ethiopia to the Port of Djibouti and it allows a travel time from Addis Ababa to Djibouti City in less than twelve hours with a designated speed of 120 km/hour. As the first part of a 10-year Road Sector Development Program, as a result, as of 2002 Ethiopia has a total 33,297 km of roads, both paved and gravel. The Ethiopian government had begun the second part of the Road Sector Development Program, according to the Government of Ethiopia, it has spent over 600 billion birr on infrastructure since 1990. Part of road between Mojo and Shashamane is designated part of the Cairo-Cape Town Trans-African Highway 4 No 8, in December 2015, construction began on a second expressway between Awasa and Mojo, where it will connect to the existing expressway. In addition, the Ethiopian Roads Authority has undertaken a three year project to upgrade over 370 km of roads in the country, contracts have been signed with the Ethiopian Defense Construction, China Railway Engineering, Eney Construction, China Wuyi, Yotek Construction and FAL General Contractor. It is said that Ethiopia has the highest rates of fatalities per vehicle in the world. This is due to many factors, for example, the roads are poorly maintained, lightened and marked, which are major factors in road accidents. Another major factor is the people themselves, who ignore the rules of the road and their disregard of road safety puts every other driver at risk. Due to this, foreigners are advised to keep a distance from the car in front of them because the driving is unpredictable. Even the surroundings involving transport can be incredibly dangerous, for example, there are instances when carjackings and robberies occur on highways or streets that are away from the public eye. Due to this, people are forced to be highly alert of their surroundings, Ethiopia is landlocked and was by agreement with Eritrea using the ports of Asseb and Massawa, since the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, Ethiopia has used the port of Djibouti for nearly all of its imports. Only one river, the Baro is used for transport, the Addis Ababa Airport handles international jet transportation. Before the Ethiopian civil war, the carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, flew to numerous African, Asian, and European cities
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History of Ethiopia
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The Ethiopian Empire was first founded by Habesha people in the Ethiopian Highlands. One of the earliest kingdoms to rise to power in the territory was the kingdom of Dmt in the 10th century BCE, the Aksumite empire fell into decline with the rise of Islam, forcing the Ethiopians to move south into the highlands for refuge. The Aksumites gave way to the Zagwe Dynasty who established a new capital at Lalibela, during the early Solomonic period Ethiopia went through military reforms and imperial expansion that made it dominate the Horn of Africa. Portuguese missionaries arrived at this time, in 1529, a conquest of Abyssinia by the Somali Muslim Adal Sultanate allied with the Ottoman Empire devastated the highlands, and was only deterred by a Portuguese intervention. With both Ethiopia and Adal greatly weakened by the war, the Oromo people were able to invade into the highlands, conquering the remains of the Adal Sultanate and pushing deep into Ethiopia. The Portuguese presence also increased, while the Ottomans began to push into what is now Eritrea, creating the Habesh Eyalet. A new capital was established at Gondar in 1632, and a period of peace, Ethiopia was reunified in 1855 under Tewodros II, beginning Ethiopias modern history. Ethiopia began to go through a slow modernisation process under a leadership of Yohannes IV, Emperor Yohannes fought and won wars against Egyptians, Italians and Mehadists to keep his people free from foreign invaders. He was killed in action in 1889, under Menelik II Ethiopia defeated an Italian invasion in 1896 and came to be recognised as a legitimate state by European powers. A more rapid modernisation took place under Menelik II and Haile Selassie, the Italian army managed to occupy parts of the country from October 1935-May 1940 under a military occupation. A joint force of British and Ethiopian rebels managed to drive the Italians out of the country in 1941, Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and the militaristic Derg Regime came to power. In 1977 Somalia invaded to try and annex the Ogaden region, but were pushed back by Ethiopian, Soviet, in 1977 and 1978 the government tortured or killed hundreds of thousands of suspected enemies in the Red Terror. After a famine in 1984 killing 1 million people, the Derg fell in 1991, Ethiopia remains impoverished, but its economy has become one of the worlds fastest growing. It was not until 1963 that evidence of the presence of ancient hominids was discovered in Ethiopia, many years after similar such discoveries had been made in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. The discovery was made by Gerrard Dekker, a Dutch hydrologist, since then many important finds have propelled Ethiopia to the forefront of palaentology. The oldest hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2 million year old Ardipithicus ramidus found by Tim D. White in 1994, lucys taxonomic name, Australopithecus afarensis, means southern ape of Afar, and refers to the Ethiopian region where the discovery was made. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago, there have been many other notable fossil findings in the country. Near Gona stone tools were uncovered in 1992 that were 2.52 million years old, in 2010 fossilised animal bones, that were 3
Ethiopia
