Prehistory '' skull cast from
Buya Madam Buya, a fossil found at an Eritrean archaeological site by Italian anthropologists, has been identified as among the oldest
hominid fossils found to date. This fossil has been said to reveal significant stages in human evolution and to represent a possible link between the earlier
Homo erectus and an archaic
Homo sapiens. Her remains have been dated to 1 million years old, making her the oldest skeletal find of her kind. It is believed that the
Danakil Depression in Eritrea was a major site of human evolution and may contain other archaeological links between
Homo erectus hominids and
anatomically modern humans. During the last interglacial period (roughly 130,000 to 115,000 years ago), the
Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the route out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World.
Antiquity Tools found in the
Barka Valley, dating from 8,000 BC, appear to offer the first concrete evidence of human settlement in the area. Research also shows that many of the ethnic groups of Eritrea were the first to inhabit these areas. Excavations in and near
Agordat, in central Eritrea, yielded the remains of an ancient pre-Aksumite civilization known as the
Gash Group. This included ceramics dated to between 2,500 and 1,500 BC. Around 2,000 BC, parts of Eritrea were likely part of the
Land of Punt, a kingdom first mentioned in the twenty-fifth century BC. It was known for producing and exporting
gold, aromatic
resins,
blackwood,
ebony,
ivory, and wild animals. The region is known from
ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions, especially a well-documented expedition to Punt in approximately 1,469 BC, during the reestablishment of disrupted trade routes by
Hatshepsut and shortly after the beginning of her rule as the pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Excavations at
Sembel found evidence of an ancient, pre-
Aksumite civilization in greater Asmara. This culture is believed to have been among the oldest pastoral and agricultural communities in
East Africa. Artifacts at the site have been dated to between 800 BC and 400 BC, contemporaneous with other pre-Aksumite settlements in the Eritrean and Ethiopian highlands during the mid-first millennium BC.
D'mt , dating from the
Kingdom of Dʿmt (first century BC or earlier)
Dʿmt was a kingdom that existed from the tenth to fifth centuries BC in what is now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Evidence of a massive temple complex at
Yeha suggests that it was most likely Dʿmt's capital.
Qohaito, often identified as the town of Koloe in the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, and
Matara were important Dʿmt cities located in southern Eritrea. The realm developed
irrigation schemes, used
plows, grew
millet, and made
iron tools and weapons. After Dʿmt fell in the fifth century BC, the plateau was dominated by smaller successor kingdoms. This lasted until the first century, when one of these polities, the
Kingdom of Aksum, was able to reunite the area.
Kingdom of Aksum monastery complex of
Debre Bizen built during as early as 4th century in Massawa is believed by some to be the first mosque in Africa, built by the
companions of Muhammad in the 7th century. The
Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum) was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. It existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the proto-Aksumite
Iron Age period around the fourth century BC and achieving prominence by the first century AD. According to the medieval
Liber Axumae (
Book of Aksum), Aksum's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush. The capital was later moved to
Axum in northern Ethiopia. The kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the fourth century. Under
Ezana (
fl. 320–360), Aksum later adopted Christianity. Christianity was the first
world religion adopted in modern Eritrea. The oldest monastery,
Debre Sina, dates back to the fourth century,
Debre Libanos was built in the late fifth or early sixth century. Originally located in the village of Ham, it was moved to an inaccessible location on the edge of a cliff below the Ham plateau. Its church contains the Golden Gospel, a metal-covered bible dating to the thirteenth century, during which Debre Libanos was a seat of religious power. In the seventh century AD, early
Muslims from
Mecca, at least
companions of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad, sought refuge from
Qurayshi
persecution by travelling to the kingdom, a journey known in
Islamic history as the
First Hijrah. They reportedly built the
first African
mosque: the
Mosque of the Companions in Massawa. The kingdom is mentioned in the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for
ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world. At the time, Aksum was ruled by
Zoskales, who also governed the port of
Adulis. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own
Aksumite currency.
Early Modern Period , Pre-colonial Eritrea had four distinct regions, divided by geography and in limited contact with each other. The
Abyssinian,
Tigrinya-speaking Christians controlled the highlands, the nomadic
Tigre and
Beni Amer clans the western lowlands, the Arabic Muslims the regions
Massawa and Dahlak, and the
pastoralist Afars the
Dankalia region. After the decline of Aksum, the Eritrean highlands fell under the domain of the
Christian Zagwe dynasty, and later the influence of the
Ethiopian Empire. The area was first known as ''Ma'ikele Bahri
("between the seas/rivers", i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mereb river), and later renamed the Medri Bahri ("Sea land" in Tigrinya). The region, ruled by a local governor called the Bahr Negash, was first documented in an obscure land grant of the 11th-century Zagwe king Tatadim. He considered the unnamed Bahr Negash one of his seyyuman'' or "appointed ones". Ethiopian Emperor
Zara Yaqob strengthened imperial presence in the area by increasing the power of the Bahr Negash and placing him above other local chiefs, establishing a military colony of settlers from
Shewa, and forcing the Muslims on the coast to pay tribute. The first Westerner to document a visit to Eritrea was Portuguese explorer
Francisco Álvares in 1520. He recounted his journey through the principality ruled by the Bahr Negash, highlighting three key cities, with
Debarwa as the capital. He then detailed the border demarcation at the
Mereb River with the province of Tigray and recounted the difficulties in transporting certain goods across the border. His books have the first description of the local powers of
Tigray and the Bahr Negash. illustrating
Midrabahr (Midri Bahri) in the northern part of
Abyssinia The contemporary coast of Eritrea formed a route to the region of Tigray, where the Portuguese had a small colony, and to the interior
Ethiopian allies of the Portuguese. Massawa was also the stage for the 1541 landing of troops by
Cristóvão da Gama in the military campaign that eventually defeated the
Adal Sultanate in the
battle of Wayna Daga in 1543. By 1557, the
Ottomans had succeeded in occupying all of northeastern present-day Eritrea for the following two decades, an area that stretched from Massawa to
Swakin in Sudan. The Turks tried to occupy the highlands of Eritrea in 1559, but withdrew after they encountered resistance, pushed back by the Bahri Negash and highland forces. In 1578 they tried to expand into the highlands with the help of Bahri Negash Yisehaq, who had switched alliances due to a power struggle. Ethiopian Emperor
Sarsa Dengel made a punitive expedition against the Turks in 1588 in response to their raids in the northern provinces, and apparently, by 1589, they were once again compelled to withdraw to the coast. The Ottomans were eventually driven out in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. However, they retained control over the seaboard until the establishment of
Italian Eritrea in the late 1800s. In 1734, the
Afar leader Kedafu established the
Mudaito Dynasty in Ethiopia, which later also came to include the southern Denkel lowlands of Eritrea, thus incorporating the southern Denkel lowlands into the
Sultanate of Aussa. The northern coastline of Denkel was dominated by a number of smaller Afar sultanates, such as the Sultanate of
Rahayta, the Sultanate of
Beylul and the Sultanate of
Bidu.
Italian Eritrea s, colonial troops of the Italian Army, in an 1898 wood engraving The boundaries of present-day Eritrea were established during the
Scramble for Africa. On 15 November 1869, the ruling local chief sold lands surrounding the Bay of
Assab to the Italian missionary
Giuseppe Sapeto, on behalf of the
Rubattino Shipping Company. The area served as a
coaling station along the
shipping lanes introduced by the recently completed
Suez Canal. In 1882, the Italian government formally took possession of the
Assab colony from its commercial owners and expanded their control to include
Massawa (and most of the Eritrean coastal lowlands) after the Egyptians withdrew from Eritrea in February 1885. In the
power vacuum that followed the
1889 death of
Emperor Yohannes IV, Gen.
Oreste Baratieri occupied the highlands along the Eritrean coast and Italy proclaimed the establishment of
Italian Eritrea, a colony of the
Kingdom of Italy. In the
Treaty of Wuchale (It.
Uccialli) signed the same year,
Menelik II of
Shewa, a southern Ethiopian kingdom, recognized the Italian occupation of his rivals' lands of
Bogos,
Hamasien,
Akkele Guzay, and
Serae in exchange for guarantees of financial assistance and continuing access to European arms and ammunition. His subsequent victory over rival kings and enthronement as Emperor
Menelik II (r. 1889–1913) made the treaty formally binding upon the entire territory. and reached
Asmara in the highlands in 1911. The
Asmara–Massawa Cableway was the longest line in the world during its time but was later dismantled by the British in World War II. Besides major infrastructural projects, the colonial authorities invested significantly in the agricultural sector. They also oversaw the provision of urban amenities in Asmara and Massawa, and employed many Eritreans in public service, particularly in the police and public works departments. In 1922,
Benito Mussolini's rise to power in Italy brought profound changes to the colonial government in Italian Eritrea. After
il Duce declared the birth of the
Italian Empire in May 1936, Italian Eritrea (enlarged with northern Ethiopia's regions) and
Italian Somaliland were merged with the just-conquered Ethiopia into the new
Italian East Africa (
Africa Orientale Italiana). This
Fascist period was characterized by imperial expansion in the name of a "new Roman Empire". Eritrea was chosen by the Italian government to be the industrial center of Italian East Africa. After 1935,
art deco architecture was widely employed in Asmara. The Italians designed more than 400 buildings in a construction boom that only halted with Italy's involvement in
World War II. These included the
Fiat Tagliero Building and
Cinema Impero. In 2017, the city was declared a
World Heritage Site, described by
UNESCO as featuring
eclectic and rationalist built forms, well-defined open spaces, and public and private buildings, including cinemas, shops, banks, religious structures, public and private offices, industrial facilities, and residences.)
British administration in the late 1940s Through the 1941
Battle of Keren, the British expelled the Italians and took over the administration of the country. The decade of British administration saw significant restructuring of the Eritrean economy. Until 1945, the British and Americans relied on Italian equipment and skilled labor for wartime needs and Allied support in the Middle East. This economic boom, fueled by substantial Italian involvement, lasted until the end of the war, when the Eritrean economy faced a combination of recession and depression. War factories that had employed thousands shut down, and Italians began to be repatriated. Additionally, many small manufacturing plants established between 1936 and 1945 were forced to close due to intense competition from factories in Europe and the Middle East. The British placed Eritrea under British military administration until
Allied forces could decide its fate. In the absence of agreement amongst the Allies concerning Eritrea's status, the British administration continued until 1950. During the immediate postwar years, the British proposed that Eritrea be divided along religious community lines and annexed partly to the British colony of Sudan and partly to Ethiopia. After the peace treaty with Italy was signed in 1947, the
United Nations sent a Commission of Enquiry to decide the fate of the colony.
Annexation by Ethiopia against Ethiopia 1961–1991 In the 1950s, the Ethiopian feudal administration under Emperor
Haile Selassie sought to annex Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Selassie laid claim to both territories in a letter to
Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Paris Peace Conference and the First Session of the United Nations. In the United Nations, the debate over the former Italian colonies continued. The British and Americans preferred to cede all of Eritrea except the Western province to the Ethiopians, as a reward for their support during
World War II. The Independence Bloc of Eritrean parties consistently requested for the United Nations General Assembly to hold an immediate referendum to settle the question of Eritrean sovereignty. The United Nations Commission of Enquiry arrived in Eritrea in early 1950, and after about six weeks, returned to New York to submit its report. Two reports were presented. The minority report, presented by Pakistan and Guatemala, proposed that Eritrea be independent after a period of trusteeship. The majority report, presented by Burma, Norway, and the Union of South Africa, called for Eritrea to be incorporated into Ethiopia. The resolution called for Eritrea and Ethiopia to be linked through a loose federal structure under the sovereignty of the emperor. Eritrea was to have its own administrative and judicial structure, its own new flag, and control over its domestic affairs, including police, local administration, and taxation. In 1958, a group of Eritreans founded the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM). The organization mainly consisted of Eritrean students, professionals, and intellectuals. It engaged in clandestine political activities intended to cultivate resistance to the centralizing policies of the imperial Ethiopian state. On 1 September 1961, the
Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), under the leadership of
Hamid Idris Awate, waged an armed struggle for independence. In 1962, Emperor
Haile Selassie unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament and
annexed the territory. The ensuing
Eritrean War of Independence went on for 30 years against successive Ethiopian governments until 1991, when the
Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), a successor of the
ELF, defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea and helped a coalition of
Ethiopian rebel forces take control of the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa. In the 1980s, a non-government organization called the Eritrea Inter-Agency Consortium (EIAC) aided in the development projects for the Eritrean Liberation movement. Following a
referendum in Eritrea supervised by the United Nations (dubbed UNOVER) in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993. The EPLF seized power, established a one-party state along nationalist lines and banned further political activity. As of 2024, there have been no elections. On May 28, 1993, Eritrea was admitted into the
United Nations as the 182nd member state. == Geography ==