33 ' 
£ T H I 
■foundation, as it forms only a diftindl province or king¬ 
dom. See Abyssinia, vol. i. p. 37-40. 
The inhabitants of Ethiopia Propria might even vie 
with the Egyptians in point of antiquity, iince their pro¬ 
genitor, Cuflr, was the eldtft fon of Ham. They might 
alfo have been efteemed of equal antiquity with the Ara¬ 
bians, as the Culhites migrated, from the kingdom of 
Midian, both into the fouthern parts of the peninfitla of 
the Arabs arid Ethiopia. The communication which fub- 
fifted between Egypt and Ethiopia, as well as the proxi¬ 
mity of blood of Culh and Mizraim, introduced many 
of thofe cuftoms, laws, and fciences among the Ethio¬ 
pians, which have already been noticed in the article 
Egypt. Their religion, like that of the neighbouring 
nations, u r as grofs idolatry ; their government appears 
to have been monarchical from the earlieft ages ; and 
their language bore fo clofe an affinity to the Hebrew, 
that whoever was perfedlly acquainted with the one-, 
might, without any great difficulty, attain the knowledge 
of the other. 
The early hiftory of Ethiopia is enveloped in fuch 
clouds of fiction and uncertainty, that but little can be 
laid on the fubjedt, with any degree of confidence, till 
the time of Solomon, when it was fubjeft to Sefac, or 
Sefoftris, king of Egypt. Upon the demife of this vic¬ 
torious prince, a civil war broke out in Egypt, which fir 
Ifaac Newton fuppofes to have been invaded at this time 
by the Libyans, and defended by the Ethiopians. About 
ten years after this occurrence, the Ethiopians feized 
upon Egypt, and, at the fame time, made themfelves 
mafters of Libya ; a circumftance which accounts for the 
numerous hoft led by Zerah, the Ethiopian, againft Afa, 
king of Judah. However, Afa defeated that great army 
in the fifteenth year of his reign, and gained fuch impor¬ 
tant advantages, that Zerah could never rally his Scat¬ 
tered forces. Hereupon, the inhabitants of Lower Egypt 
ffiook off the Ethiopic yoke, and compelled Memnon, or 
Amenophis, king of that country, to retire to Memphis, 
whence he is laid to have retreated into Ethiopia. How¬ 
ever, about thirteen years after this difgrace, Memnon 
returned with his fon Ramefes, at the head of a formi¬ 
dable army, and chafed the Phoenicians out of Lower 
Egypt; which adlion the Egyptian hiftorians call the fe- 
cond expulfion of the fhepherds. See Egypt. 
From a comparative view of feveral hiftorical fadts, 
fir Ifaac Newton renders it probable that Memnon, Ame¬ 
nophis, and Menes, were the fame perfon ; that the 
Ethiopian prince who bore thefe names was the fon of 
Zerah; and that he died, in a very advanced age, about 
ninety years after the acceffion of Rehoboam to the throne 
of Judah. Fie was fucceeded by his fon Ramefes, who 
built a portico to the temple of Vulcan at Memphis. 
Mceris, his fucceflor, embelliffied the city of Memphis, 
and fixed his refidence there about 200 years after the 
Trojan war. The fceptte was then fticcefiively fwayed 
by Cheops, Cephrenes, and Mycerinus, whofe principal 
actions have been already noticed in the article Egypt. 
In the reign of Afychis both Affyria and Ethiopia re¬ 
volted from Egypt, which was thereupon divided into 
feveral fmall kingdoms. Gnephadtus poffelfed the regal 
title in one of thefe, and fixed his refidence at Memphis; 
but his fon Bocchoris was flain by Sabacon, the Ethio¬ 
pian emperor. This monarch, forming an alliance with 
Hofhea king of Ifrael, occafioned his revolt from the Af- 
fyrians : in confequence of which, an end was put to the 
kingdom of Ifrael by Shalmanafer king of Affyria, in 
the 24th year of the sera of Nabonaffar, and the 720th 
before the commencement of the Chriftian aera. Sabacon 
was fucceeded by Sethon, who marched with a powerful 
army againft Sennacherib king of Affyria, and defeated 
him. 
In the 78th year of the tera of Nabonaffar, Ethiopia 
was fubdued by Efar-Haddon king of Affyria, who over¬ 
run both thefe countries for three years, when the Ethio¬ 
pians afferted their independence, which they preferved 
Vol. VII, No. 405. 
O P I A. 
till the time of Cyrus, whofe dominion, according to 
Xenophon, extended to Ethiopia. After his death the 
Ethiopians revolted ; and their empire was fo powerful, 
that Cambyfes found it impradficable to penetrate into 
the country ; though fir Ifaac Newton fuggefts that he 
fubdued them about the year 223, or 224, of Nabonaffar. 
But others'are of a different opinion. Herodotus alferts, 
that the_y reduced fome of the provinces contiguous to 
Egypt; and it appears, that the Perfians proceded as far 
as Cyrene ; but it is not probable that they brought un¬ 
der fubjedlion the whole Ethiopia Propria of the ancients. 
We have no account cf any expedition undertakemby 
Alexander the Great againft Ethiopia, though he was 
very defirous of exploring the fource of the Nile. With 
this view Ptolemy Euergetes advanced into the country , 
but if he made any conquefts, he does nor feem to have 
long retained them, for nothing of importance relating 
to Ethiopia occurs till the days of Auguftus. About 
the year of Rome 725, Candace, queen of Ethiopia, made 
an irruption, at the head of a numerous army, into the 
province of Thebais; reduced Syene, Philoe, and Ele- 
phantina, the Egyptian frontiers on the fide of Ethiopia, 
without oppofitiou : and made three Roman cohorts pri- 
foners of war. But Petronius, the governor of Egypt, 
foon compelled her to retire into her own dominions, 
and gained fo decifive a victory over her undifeiplined 
forces, that the deemed it advifable to fend an embaffy 
to Auguftus, to requeft a ceffation of hoftilities. Au- 
guftus gave the envoys a gracious reception, and granted 
their miftrefs a peace upon honourable terms; but the 
Romans now regarded themfelves as mafters of Ethiopia, 
and complimented the emperor on his important con- 
queft. Pliny intimates that the Ethiopians had been go¬ 
verned, for feveral preceding generations, by queens, 
who all bore the name or title of Candace. 
But little occurs refpefting the affairs of Ethiopia 
from this period till the reign of Probus, who undertook 
an expedition againft a predatory tribe called Blemmyes, 
many of whom were led in triumph, and exhibited fo 
ftrange an appearance as greatly aftonifhed the Romans. 
Toward the clofe of the third century, that nation and 
the Nobata:, a people inhabiting the banks of the Nile r 
committed great depredations in Thebais, and other 
parts of the Roman Egyptian territories. The emperor 
Dioclefian, inftead of chaftifing their infolence, affigned 
them certain lands for their fubfiftcnce, and tranfplanted 
fome of them to the iflands Elephantina and Philoe, 
where he gave them the itfe of the temples in common 
with his own fubjedts, and permitted their own priefts to 
officiate at the altars, fuppoting that this would produce 
a perfect harmony between the nations. Plowever, they 
continued their nefarious pradtices till Juftinian illued or¬ 
ders for their temples to be demolilhed, their priefts im- 
prifoned, and all the images of their gods feat to Byzan¬ 
tium. 
Nothing remarkable occurs in the hiftoiy of the Ethio¬ 
pians' from the time of this emperor to the period of their 
converfion to Chriftianity, which event took place under 
Abreha and Atzbeha, or, as they are alfo called, A bra and 
Alba, who are confidered by Mr. Bruce as one prince, 
and by others as joint iovefeigns, about 373 rears after 
Chrift. Frumentius was conlecrated bithop of Axuma 
by St. Athanafius, and deputed by him to propagate the 
Chriftian religion in Ethiopia. Of this Frumentius it is 
faid, that whilft he was young, he accompanied Mero- 
pius, a philofopher of Tyre, who, in a voyage on the 
Red Sea to India, was call away on the coalt of Ethiopia. 
Meropius was (lain by the natives, but Frumentius, who 
had been liberally educated, was condudfed to Axum, 
where the court then refided. Here he wasentrufted by 
the queen with the education of the young prince; and 
having inftrudted him in various parts of learning, and 
imprelfed his mind with a veneration for the Chriftian re¬ 
ligion, lie found him difpoled to embrace Chriftiahirv on 
his return from Alexandria in difeharge of the com mi f- 
