List of wars involving Ethiopia

This is a list of wars involving the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (modern-day Ethiopia) and its predecessor states.

Ethiopian Empire (1270–1975)

See also: Ethiopian Empire
Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results
Conquests of Amda Seyon I (1316–1332) Ethiopia Victories
Badley ad-Din II's Invasion of Ethiopia
(1445) 		Ethiopian Empire Adal Sultanate Victory
Abyssinian–Adal War
(1529–1543) 		Ethiopian Empire
Portuguese Empire (1541–43) 		Adal Sultanate
Ottoman Empire (1542–43) 		Stalemate
Ottoman–Ethiopian War (1557–1589) Ethiopian Empire Ottoman Empire

Medri Bahri
Adal Sultanate

Victory
Iyasu II's Invasion of Sennar
(1738) 		Ethiopia Sennar
Supported by:
Darfur 		Defeat
  • Iyasu II's army defeated
  • Several of the Ethiopian Emperor's valuables lost
Zemene Mesafint
(1769–1855) 		Various factions Various factions Reunification of Ethiopia
Ottoman–Ethiopian border conflicts
(1832–1848) 		Ethiopian Empire Ottoman Empire Victory
British Expedition to Abyssinia
(1867–1868) 		Ethiopian Empire  United Kingdom Defeat
Ethiopian–Egyptian War
(1874–1876) 		 Ethiopia Egyptian Empire Victory
  • Egyptian Khedive defeated
  • Collapse of Egyptian Khedivate
Mahdist War
(1881–1889)

Mahdist State

Victory
Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 Ethiopian Empire Kingdom of Italy Compromise[22]
Menelik's Expansions

(Late 19th century)

Armed by:

Various polities (see List of polities involved)

Victories
First Italo-Ethiopian War (1896) Ethiopian Empire Kingdom of Italy Victory
  • Ethiopia retains independence
  • Italians defeated
Dervish War
(1900–1920)
and (1914-1915) 		Dervish movement
Supported by:
[25][26]
German Empire[27] 		Ethiopian allied victory
  • Collapse of the Dervish State
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
(1935–1937) 		 Ethiopia  Italy Defeat
East African Campaign
(1940–1941)
British Empire
Ethiopian Arbegnoch
Belgium

Free France

 Italy Ethiopian allied victory
Woyane rebellion
(1943) 		Ethiopia
United Kingdom[28] 		Woyane rebels Victory
  • Revolt crushed
Korean War
(1950–1953)
Stalemate
Congo Crisis
(1960–1964)
1960–1963:
Supported by:
1963–1964:
Supported by:
 1960–1963:
Supported by:
1960–1962:
Supported by:
1963–1964:
Supported by:
 Victory
Bale Revolt
(1963–1970) 		 Ethiopia
→  Somalia 		Victory
  • Revolt crushed, peace agreement
1964 Ethiopian–Somali War
(1964) 		 Ethiopia
Stalemate
  • Military offensive of Ethiopia repulsed, ceasefire agreement[34][35]

Communist Ethiopia (1975–1991)

Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results
Eritrean War of Independence
(1961–1991) 		1961–1974
Ethiopian Empire
Supported by:
1974–1991
Derg (1974–1987)
PDR Ethiopia (1987–1991)
Supported by:
 ELF (1961–1981)
Supported by:
EPLF (since 1973)
TPLF (since 1975)
Supported by:
 Defeat
Ogaden War
(1977–1978)
Victory
1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War
(1982) 		Derg
and allies 		Somali Democratic Republic Stalemate
  • Ethiopian invasion halted
  • Ethiopia occupies the border towns of Galdogob and Balanbale until 1988
  • United States delivers emergency military and humanitarian aid to Somalia to prevent further attacks by Ethiopia[65]
Ethiopian Civil War
(1974–1991) 		Derg (1974–1987)
PDR Ethiopia
Supported by:
Soviet Union[66][67][68] (1974–1990)
 Cuba (1974–1990)
South Yemen (1974–1990)

EPRDF

EPRP
MEISON (from 1977)
EDU
OLF
WSLF
ALF
ONLF[69]
Eritrean separatists:

Supported by:

EPLF/TPLF rebel victory

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (from 1995)

See also: Ethiopia § Federal Democratic Republic (1991–present)
Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results
Insurgency in Ogaden
(1995–2008) 		Ethiopia ONLF Stalemate
  • Peace agreement reached
Eritrean–Ethiopian War
(1998–2000) 		Ethiopia Eritrea Victory
Ethiopian occupation of Somalia
(2006–2009)

al-Shabaab

Failure
  • Collapse of the ICU
  • Withdrawal of ENDF from Mogadishu and majority of Somalia (2009)
Oromia–Somali clashes
(2016–present) 		Ethiopia
Ongoing
OLA insurgency
(2018–present) 		Ethiopia OLA Ongoing
Benishangul-Gumuz conflict
(2019–2022)
Ongoing
Tigray War
(2020–2022)

Tigray
OLA (2021–22)[75][76]

Peace agreement
2020–21 Ethiopian–Sudanese clashes
(2020–present) 		Ethiopia
  • Amhara militias
 Sudan Ongoing
  • Most of the border recaptured by Sudan
War in Amhara
(2023–present) 		Ethiopia

OLA

Fano Ongoing

Footnotes

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  4. ^ Gikes, Patrick (2002). "Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State". African Studies. 2. University of Lisbon: 89–102. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.
  6. ^ Dombrowski, Franz Amadeus. Ethiopia's Access to the Sea. Germany: Brill, 2023, p.25
  7. ^ Casale, Giancarlo. The Ottoman Age of Exploration. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2010, p.152
  8. ^ Mukhtar, Ismael Ibrahim (2023-10-12). Milestones in the History of Islam in Eritrea (in Arabic). FriesenPress. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-03-918539-5.
  9. ^ Studies on Ottoman Diplomatic History. Isis Press. 1990. p. 152.
  10. ^ Casale, Giancarlo (2010-02-25). The Ottoman Age of Exploration. Oxford University Press. pp. 107–108, 157. ISBN 978-0-19-970338-8.
  11. ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2013, p.96
  12. ^ Hassen, Mohammed (1983). "The Oromo of Ethiopia 1500-1800" (PDF). doi:10.25501/SOAS.00029226.p.206
  13. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC The Red Sea Press. ISBN 9780932415196.
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