History UsefulNotes / Ethiopia

** Deputy Prime Minister: Demeke Mekonnen

* '''Area:''' 1,104,300 km
(426,400 sq mi) (28th)

** Speaker of the House of Federation: Adem Farah
** Supreme Court Chief: Meaza Ashenafi

Ethiopia ('''Amharic:''' ''ኢትዮጵያ, ʾĪtyōṗṗyā''), officially known as the '''Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia''' ('''Amharic:''' ''የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ, ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralāwī Dīmōkrāsīyāwī Rīpeblīk''), is the oldest Christian nation in Africa. Founded thousands of years ago as the land of Axum, Ethiopia was an independent power in East Africa, near the Red Sea. Contact with the UsefulNotes/RomanEmpire to the north eventually led to the conversion of Ethiopia to Christianity. Ethiopia has been a Christian land since before many parts of Europe, such as UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} or UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is part of a branch of Christianity called [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Oriental Orthodox]][[note]]The difference between Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity is that the latter refused to accept the findings of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Chalcedon Council of Chalcedon]]. Long story short, the Oriental Orthodox churches have a slightly different conception of God relative to the Chalcedonian Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. And Protestant views are all over the place, but they are usually Chalcedonian[[/note]]. Despite this, the country also has a large and well-established Muslim minority that dates back to the establishment of their faith, as well as those who practice traditional African religions. Historically, it was home to the Beta Israel, a divergent Jewish community of controversial origin[[note]]One position favors an ancient lineage for them, while the other favors a much more recent (though still pretty old) one, dating back to the 14th century CE or so[[/note]], the vast majority of whom currently live in UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}.