Eritrea — books & literature

The story of Eritrea

Eritrea's highlands and Red Sea coast sit at a crossroads of ancient trade: the region was part of the early D'mt kingdom (circa 8th century BCE) and later the port of Adulis, which by the 1st century CE was described in Greek accounts as the gateway to the powerful Kingdom of Aksum, trading ivory and incense across the Red Sea. Centuries of Ottoman, Egyptian, and local rule followed before Italy formally colonised the territory in 1890, naming it after the Latin "Mare Erythraeum" (Red Sea) and building Asmara into a modernist colonial capital. British forces administered Eritrea after defeating Italy in 1941, and in 1952 the UN federated Eritrea with Ethiopia , a union Ethiopia unilaterally dissolved a decade later, sparking a 30-year war of independence led by the Eritrean Liberation Front and later the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. Asmara was liberated in May 1991, and a 1993 UN-monitored referendum returned a near-unanimous vote for independence. Since then Eritrea has charted its own course, including a bitter 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia, while its people preserve a highland culture of coffee ceremonies, Orthodox and Muslim traditions, and a growing cycling and distance-running legacy on the world stage.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 800 BCE

   The D'mt kingdom emerges in the highlands shared by modern Eritrea and Ethiopia.

2. circa 300 BCE

   The Red Sea port of Adulis rises as a major trading hub.

3. circa 1st century CE

   Adulis is described in the Greek "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea" as the gateway to the Kingdom of Aksum.

4. 1890

   Italy formally establishes the colony of Eritrea, building Asmara as its capital.

5. 1941

   British forces defeat Italy; Eritrea comes under British Military Administration.

6. 1952

   UN-sponsored federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia.

7. 1961

   Eritrean War of Independence begins (1 September), led by the Eritrean Liberation Front.

8. 1991

   Asmara is liberated by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (24 May), ending the war.

9. 1993

   UN-monitored referendum (99.83% in favour) leads to internationally recognised independence (24 May).

10. 1998-2000

    Eritrean-Ethiopian border war over the disputed town of Badme.

Top 10 things to know about Eritrea

1. Asmara, the capital, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved Italian modernist and Art Deco architecture.
2. Eritrea takes its name from "Mare Erythraeum", Latin for the Red Sea.
3. The ancient port of Adulis was a key Red Sea gateway to the Kingdom of Aksum over 2,000 years ago.
4. Eritrea fought a 30-year war of independence (1961-1991), one of the longest in modern African history.
5. The nakfa currency is named after the town where Eritrean forces won a decisive independence-war battle.
6. Tigrinya, written in the ancient Ge'ez script, is the most widely spoken of Eritrea's several languages.
7. Eritrea recognises nine ethnic groups, with Christian (Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo) and Muslim communities living side by side.
8. Eritrea has become one of Africa's strongest cycling nations, with its national teams ranked at the top of the continent.
9. The Dahlak Archipelago, over 200 islands in the Red Sea, has been a hub of trade and Islamic learning since antiquity.
10. The coffee ceremony (buna), involving roasting and serving fresh beans, is a central social ritual in Eritrean daily life.

Famous people from Eritrea

Say it in Eritrea's language

Did you know?

• ★Asmara's Italian-era Art Deco, Futurist, and Rationalist buildings earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 2017 and the nickname "Africa's secret modernist city."
• ★Eritrea's national cycling teams, both men's and women's, are ranked first in Africa , remarkable for a country that only gained independence in 1993.
• ★The Dahlak Islands off Eritrea's coast have Arabic tombstone inscriptions dating back to the 9th century, evidence of a flourishing medieval trading hub.

Eritrea culture

• The buna (coffee) ceremony , roasting green beans, grinding them, and brewing three rounds of coffee , is a daily ritual of hospitality and conversation.
• Eritrean cuisine centres on injera, a spongy sourdough flatbread, served with spicy stews called tsebhi.
• Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and Sunni Islam are both widely practised, often within the same neighbourhoods and families of friends.
• Nine recognised ethnic groups, including the Tigrinya, Tigre, and Afar, each keep distinct languages, dress, and highland-to-coastal traditions.

Why read Eritrea's books

Eritrean literature grew out of oral epic and Ge'ez religious verse long before its first Tigrinya-language novels appeared in the 20th century, and it carries the weight of colonisation, a 30-year war, and exile. Reading Eritrea's books is a window into a young nation still writing its own story.