Negus in the context of "Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam"

Addis Ababa (/ˌædɪs ˈæbəbə/ AD-iss AB-ə-bə; Amharic: አዲስ አበባ [adˈdis ˈaβəβa] , lit. 'new flower'; Oromo: Finfinnee, lit. 'fountain of hot mineral water') is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the eleventh-largest in Africa. At an elevation of 2,355 metres (7,726 ft), it is the fourth highest capital city in the world and the highest capital in Africa. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative center of Ethiopia.

The founding history of Addis Ababa dates back to the late 19th century by Menelik II, Negus of Shewa, in 1886 after finding Mount Entoto unpleasant two years prior. At the time, the city was a resort town; its large mineral spring abundance attracted nobilities of the empire and led them to establish permanent settlement. It also attracted many members of the working classes – including artisans and merchants – and foreign visitors. Menelik II then formed his imperial palace in 1887. Addis Ababa became the empire's capital in 1889, and subsequently international embassies were opened. Urban development began with the 20th century, without any prior planning.

Ancient Aethiopia, (Greek: Αἰθιοπία, romanized: Aithiopía) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the skin color of the inhabitants of the upper Nile in northern Sudan along with areas south of the Sahara and certain parts of Asia. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer: twice in the Iliad, and three times in the Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus uses the appellation to refer to regions south of Egypt when describing "Aethiopians," most commonly Nubia. Likewise, the Hebrew term Cushi is derived from Kushite. Despite this, the Byzantine Greeks also referred to the Aksumites as Ethiopians and Negus Ezana, conqueror of Meroë took on the title of "king of Ethiopia" prior to the rise of the medieval Ethiopian Empire. The ancient Libyans (North African Berbers) were also called White Aethiopians by contemporary Greek sources. By the modern period the term Aethiopian Sea was used to refer to the southern Atlantic ocean, particularly the area adjacent to West Africa.

Inhabitants of Herodotus' India were sometimes named Ethiopians for their dark skin by the Greeks and Romans. In book 3 (3.89-97) however, Herodotus himself distinguishes the people of India. "All the tribes which I have mentioned live together like the brute beasts: they have also all the same tint of skin, which approaches that of the Ethiopians."

The migration to Abyssinia (Arabic: الهجرة إلى الحبشة, romanized: al-hijra ʾilā al-habaša), also known as the First Hijra (الهجرة الأولى, al-hijrat al'uwlaa), was an episode in the early history of Islam, where the first followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (they were known as the Sahabah, or the companions) migrated from Arabia due to their persecution by the Quraysh, the ruling Arab tribal confederation of Mecca. They sought and were granted refuge in the Kingdom of Aksum, an ancient Christian state that was situated in modern-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea (also referred to as Abyssinia), in 9 BH (613 CE) or 7 BH (615 CE). The kingdom's capital was Aksum, which is an ancient city in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The ruling Aksumite monarch who received them is known in Islamic sources as Najashi (نجاشي, najāšī), the Negus of the kingdom; modern historians have alternatively identified him with the Aksumite king Armah and Ella Tsaham. Some of the Sahabah exiles returned to Mecca and made the migration to Medina with Muhammad, while the others remained in Aksum and arrived in Medina in 628.

The migration to Abyssinia is an Islamic historical event that refers to the migration of some of the early Muslims from Mecca to Abyssinia (the Kingdom of Aksum) because of the harm they were facing from the leaders of Quraysh. A number of Muslims left, and the first migration to Abyssinia was in Rajab of the fifth year after the mission. They were eleven men and four women, and they appointed Uthman ibn Mazun as their leader. Then, while they were in Abyssinia, they heard that the people of Mecca had converted to Islam. Some of them returned to Mecca, but they did not find that to be true. So they returned, and another group went with them to Abyssinia. It was the second migration. They were eighty-three men, their wives, and their children, headed by Ja`far ibn Abi Talib.

The Zagwe dynasty (Amharic: ዛጔ መንግሥት) was a medieval Agaw monarchy that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 1137 to 1270 AD, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of the Amhara King Yekuno Amlak. The Zagwe are most famous for their king Gebre Meskel Lalibela, who is credited with having ordered the construction of the rock-hewn monolithic churches of Lalibela.

The name "Zagwe" is thought to derive from the ancient Ge'ez phrase Ze-Agaw, meaning "of the Agaw", in reference to the Mara Tekle Haymanot, the founder of the dynasty. This term does not appear in contemporary sources, neither in indigenous documents nor in accounts of foreign observers.

Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓንስ ፬ይ Rabaiy Yōḥānnes; horse name Abba Bezbiz also known as Kahśsai; born Lij Kahssai Mercha; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large-scale Egyptian invasion.

In his earlier years, he rebelled against Tewodros II; having risen to power in the 1860s, he maintained the policy of Tewodros, that of continued unification and also implemented a policy of touring entire regions and meetings with governors. He assisted the British in their British expedition to Abyssinia which ended in Tewodros' suicide, from which Yohannes was rewarded in ammunition and artillery. He regarded Islam as a hindrance to the stability of the state and worked to strengthen Christian dominance in Ethiopia. Its estimated that he had converted 550,000 Oromos and Jebertis to Christianity. In foreign policy, he had disagreements and military conflicts with both Isma'il Pasha of the Khedivate of Egypt and Muhammad Ahmad during the latter's Mahdist War.

Menelik II (Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ dagmawi mənilək; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው abba daññäw); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam), was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest historical extent and defeated Italian colonial forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern Ethiopian state.

A member of the Shewan branch of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik was born in Angolalla, Shewa, as Sahle Maryam, the son of Haile Melekot (Negus of Shewa). Named "Menelik" by his grandfather King Sahle Selassie after the legendary Menelik I (son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba), he was imprisoned at age 11 by Emperor Tewodros II at the fortress of Magdala following his father's death in 1855. He escaped in 1865 amid Tewodros's declining power, returned to Shewa, and was acclaimed as its rightful king. Though harboring imperial ambitions, he avoided challenging northern rivals during the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868 and submitted to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878 after failed collaboration with the Egyptians during their invasion (1875–1876).

The kings of Axum ruled an important trading state in the area which is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, from 400 BC to 960 AD.

The Najashi (Arabic: ٱلنَّجَاشِيّ, romanized: al-Najāshī) is an Arabic term, a loanword from the Ge'ez negus (Ge'ez: ንጉሥ, romanized: sovereign), and refers to the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum who reigned from 614 to 630. It is agreed by Muslim scholars that Najashi gave shelter to early Muslim refugees from Mecca, around 615–616 at Aksum.