Abyssinia

For other uses, see Abyssinia (disambiguation).

For the modern country of Ethiopia, see Ethiopia.
Abyssinia
ሐበሠተ (Ge'ez)
الحبشة (Arabic)
Historical region
1887 Italian map of Abyssinia
1887 Italian map of Abyssinia
Country Ethiopia
 Eritrea

Abyssinia (/æbɪˈsɪniə/;[1] also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.[2] The term was widely used as a synonym for Ethiopia until the mid-20th century and primarily designates the Amhara, Tigrayan and Tigrinya-inhabited highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Abyssinia". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ^ Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, (Tsehai, 2003), p.30.
  3. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. p. 948.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Breyer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).