Ethiopia (Abyssinia) is the likely site of the emergence of mankind. The oldest hominid so far discovered is 4.2 million year old whilst the most complete, known as Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago. In the Bronze age Ancient Egyptians knew it as the Land of Punt. Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem. The Ark of the Covenant may have been spirited from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. Since then ‘til recently, it had jewish connections. Christianity dates to the 1st century AD. Mohammid directed the first hijra (migration) in Islamic history due to persecution in Mecca to Abyssinia. Harar is regarded as the fourth holy city of Islam. It has 82 mosques, 3 date to the 10th century. Its history includes many powerful kingdoms (see Wikipedia) whilst its modern history includes Emperor Haile Selassie who claimed roots back to the House of Solomon. The Rastafari movement revered Haile Selassie has the returned messiah of the Bible. In 1963, he helped to found the Organisation of African Unity. The army deposed him in 1974.