Thursday, February 19, 2015

What Everyone Is Saying About Oromia News

By Olivia Cross


The Oromia region of Ethiopia is the second-largest country on the continent of Africa in terms of population. Located in the Horn of Africa, it is also the most populous country that is completely land-locked. It is now possible to be able to read Oromia news. Oromia is one of the nine regional states in Ethiopia.

The capital of the state of Oromia has a fascinating history and it is great to be able to read about it. Right up until the end of the second millennium, the capital city of Oromo, as it is sometimes known, was Addis Ababa. In the year 2000, the government moved it to Adama in the belief that this was more conducive to the region's development. Critics of the move regarded it is a cynical ploy to diminish Addis Ababa's influence. Eventually, in 2005, the reigns of regional power were handed back to Addis Ababa.

The fact that the news of the region is now available to the rest of the world should be heralded as a welcome change. Until recently, the Ethiopian government prided itself on its ability to hold its cards close to its chest as far as the rest of the world was concerned. The fact that we can now read about repression of the media is a huge step.

Oromo is also known as Finfinne. The Finfinne Tribune writes about the supposed origins of the Abyssinian Solomonic dynasty. In the Old Testament, we read about King Solomon hosting a visit from the Queen of Sheba. What we do not read about in the books of Kings and 2 Chronicles is the birth of Minilik I, the product of a romantic union between the two monarchs. This baby grew up to become a king of Ethiopia/Abyssinia.

Illicit relationships are nothing unusual in the Bible. King Solomon himself was the result of a romance between his father, King David, and Bathsheba, who was also married to Uriah, a Hittite soldier in David's army who was conveniently killed in battle. In any event, Minilik's birth is not mentioned in the Bible.

What is more likely is that the royal heritage of Minilik I was claimed by himself. Rulers in ancient times would often claim some mythical, mystical origins in order to distinguish themselves from ordinary mortals. Their mystical roots were then used to justify the use of unlimited power over their subjects.

The notion that kings were demigods persisted right up until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Sillaasee in 1974. Sillaasee, too, was a member of the Solomonic dynasty. Born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, he served as regent of Ethiopia between 1916 and 1930 before taking over as Emperor until 1974.

It is exciting to be exposed to new stories about old countries that never seem to have a big role on the world stage, at least from a western point of view. It is unfortunate that records of the Solomonic Dynasty, kept by the Christian monks of the Ethiopian orthodoxy, were demolished when Judith I destroyed the monasteries. Following the revolution in 1974, most of the Ethiopian royal family were put in prison, later to be released and entered into exile. Today, many members of the royal family have been allowed to come back and life in Ethiopia.




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