ERITREA

	CLIMATE
	Summer temperatures in the coastal region can rise to 120°F (49°C), and the average annual rainfall is only 8 inches (20 centimeters). In the central highlands it is much cooler and wetter. In the western lowlands the summer can be as hot as on the coast, but the winter temperatures are cooler.

A Diversity of Peoples

The peoples of Eritrea (ehr-uh-TREE-uh) come from a variety of backgrounds, with very different religions and patterns of living. Some early inhabitants came from the Nile River area; many, particularly between the 800s and 600s B.C.E., came from southern Arabia. They formed separate groups and lived in small kingdoms.

Early in the 100s C.E. the peoples of Eritrea came under the control of the Aksum (AHK-soom) kingdom. Aksum, in the highlands of Ethiopia, was the most important state in the Red Sea region by the 500s (see ETHIOPIA). It controlled commerce over an enormous area, trading in slaves and a variety of goods, including frankincense, gold, myrrh, and ivory. Converted by missionaries from Syria, the rulers of Aksum had become Christian and spoke the language of Geez (GIH-ehz). The power of Aksum began to decline during the 600s because it was losing control of trade in the Red Sea region to Muslim Arabs. Plus, slash-and-burn agriculture had exhausted the land, and farmers were producing less food.

From the 600s to the 1300s, cultural influence in Eritrea came from the Middle East instead of Ethiopia. Some coastal regions were inhabited by Muslims, particularly the Massawa (mah-SAH-wah) region. From the 1300s onward, kings in Ethiopia occasionally made efforts to control the coastal region, but during the 1500s the Ottoman Turks took over Massawa. In the highlands, the Ethiopian kings installed military garrisons and appointed royal officials, but in the 1700s the kingdom of Tigray (TEE-grae) replaced the Ethiopians as the dominant force.