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Ethiopia

An independent state in eastern africa, east of sudan and bounded on the north by the red sea. Its capital is addis ababa. It is an ancient country, being, from early times, under the sway of the ancient egyptians, jews, christians, and moslems. In modern times it has been governed by italy, great britain, france. It gained independence in 1941. In 1952 it became federated with eritrea. The name is from the greek aithi- (burn) _ opsis (appearance), with reference to the dark skin of the natives. The indigenous name of the country is abyssinia (from an amharic root hbs, meaning mixed, with reference to the mixed black and white races inhabiting the country); its biblical name cush comes from the name of the son of ham with reference to the country of his descendants, possibly also from an ethiopian word meaning dark-faced.