Portal:Eritrea

The Eritrea Portal

Eritrean Coat of Arms	Flag of Eritrea

Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the south, Sudan to the west, and Djibouti to the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km² (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.

Hominid remains found in Eritrea have been dated to 1 million years old and anthropological research indicates that the area may contain significant records related to the evolution of humans. The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was established during the first or second century AD. It adopted Christianity around the middle of the fourth century. Beginning in the 12th century, the Ethiopian Zagwe and Solomonid dynasties held fluctuating control over the entire plateau and the Red Sea coast. Eritrea's central highlands, known as Mereb Melash ("Beyond the Mereb"), were the northern frontier region of the Ethiopian kingdoms and were ruled by a governor titled the Bahr Negus ("King of the Sea").

Contemporary Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with nine recognized ethnic groups, each of which has a distinct language. The most widely spoken languages are Tigrinya and Arabic. The others are Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Nara, Afar, Beja, Bilen and English. Tigrinya, Arabic and English serve as the three working languages. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches. Among these communities, the Tigrinyas make up about 50% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are several Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic groups. Most people in the country adhere to Christianity or Islam, with a small minority adhering to traditional faiths.

Eritrea is one of the least developed countries. It is a unitary one-party presidential republic and a de facto totalitarian dictatorship, in which national legislative and presidential elections have never been held. Isaias Afwerki has served as president since its official independence in 1993. The country's human rights record is among the worst in the world. The Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and is an observer state in the Arab League alongside Brazil and Venezuela. (Full article...)

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British invasion of Eritrea, 1941

The Battle of Agordat was fought near Agordat in Eritrea from 26 to 31 January 1941, by the Italian army and Royal Corps of Colonial Troops against British, Commonwealth and Indian forces, during the East African Campaign of the Second World War. The British had the advantage of breaking Italian codes and cyphers before the offensive and received copious amounts of information from Italian sources on the order of battle and plans of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) and the Italian army.

After the garrison of Italian and colonial troops at Kassala in Sudan was ordered to withdraw in mid-January, the British offensive into Eritrea due in February 1941 began in mid-January instead. Agordat was an excellent defensive position and the British advance was slowed by delaying actions and mined roads but the attack began on 28 January on the left (northern) flank, which was repulsed. Determined fighting took place on the hills and plain below until 31 January, when the British attacked behind four Matilda tanks and Bren Gun Carriers, which easily destroyed the Italian Fiat M11/39 tanks and forced the infantry to retreat. (Full article...)

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The Cinema Impero is an Art Deco-style cinema in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. It was built in 1937 by the colonial authorities in Italian Eritrea.

Did you know -

... that the Eritrean Independent Moslem League was persuaded to support a union between Ethiopia and Eritrea, after receiving Ethiopian assurances on Arabic schooling and respect for Islamic traditions?

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General images -
The following are images from various Eritrea-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A plate of Injera with various Eritrean stews (from Culture of Eritrea)
Image 2A view over Asmara (from History of Eritrea)
Image 3Some of the buildings of the Christian monastery complex in Eritrea was built during 1350s but is much older than the oldest monastery Debre Sina (monastery) from 4th century (from History of Eritrea)
Image 4Map of the Eritrean War of Independence (from History of Eritrea)
Image 5Bahta Hagos was an important leader of the Eritrean resistance to foreign domination specifically against northern Ethiopian and Italian colonialism. (from History of Eritrea)
Image 6Massawa's Sheikh Hanafi Mosque, built in the 15th century under Emperor Zara Yacob (from History of Eritrea)
Image 7King Ezana's Stele in Axum (from History of Eritrea)
Image 8Bronze oil lamp excavated at Matara, dating from the Kingdom of Dʿmt (1st century BCE or earlier) (from History of Eritrea)
Image 9The Fiat Tagliero Building in Asmara, built in 1938 (from History of Eritrea)
Image 10Church of Our Lady of the Rosary built in 1923 in Asmara (from History of Eritrea)
Image 11An Eritrean krar and masinqo is a common instruments in Eritrea. (from Culture of Eritrea)
Image 12Neolithic rock art in a Qohaito canyon cave (from History of Eritrea)
Image 13Flag of Italian Eritrea (from History of Eritrea)
Image 14The National Museum of Eritrea is a national museum in Asmara, Eritrea (from Culture of Eritrea)
Image 15Pre-Axumite monolithic columns in Qohaito (from History of Eritrea)