THE 



ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA 



A 



ABYSSINIA, an empire in eastern Africa, 

 known also as Ethiopia. The ruler, whose title 

 is Negus Negusti, meaning King of Kings, is 

 Menelek II, originally King of Shoa, who estab- 

 lished himself on the throne with the aid of arms 

 and munitions furnished by the Italians after 

 Johannes II, his predecessor, had been slain in 

 a battle with the dervishes. He signed a treaty 

 at Ucciali on May 2, 1889, iinder which Italy 

 claimed a protectorate over all Abyssinia as well 

 as sovereignty in the territories north of Tigre 

 and inland from Massowah, which before the 



ritory all the country north of the Mareb, Balesa, 

 and Muna rivers. 



Ethiopia proper comprises the kingdoms of 

 Tigre, Amhara, with Gojam, and the powerful 

 kingdom of Shoa. The dependencies extend into 

 Somaliland as far as Harrar, and to the west and 

 southwest the present Negus has made efforts to 

 establish his dominion over the Gallas and the 

 tribes beyond to the borders of the already occu- 

 pied parts of British East Africa and to the 

 White Nile. 



The area of the empire is estimated at 150,000 



ADNA, CAPITAL OF TIGRE. 



Italian occupation were dependencies of Abys- 

 sinia. The protectorate was denied by Menelek, 

 whose troops, on March 1, 1896, defeated at Ado- 

 wa an Italian army that invaded Tigre and Am- 

 hara, and on Oct. 26, 1896, through the mediation 

 of Russia, a new treaty was signed at Adis Abeba, 

 by which Italy renounced the protectorate over 

 Abyssinia, and Menelek recognized as Italian ter- 

 VOL. XL. 1 A 



square miles, the population at 3,500,000. The 

 Negus has a regular army of about 150,000 men 

 stationed in garrisons in various parts of the 

 country, supplemented by irregular forces and 

 territorial levies. 



The Abyssinians are Christians of the Alexan- 

 drian rite, whose ecclesiastical chief, called the 

 abuna, is always a Copt, appointed by the Alex- 



