Layers of Time", true to its title, offers a well-balanced overview of Ethiopian history from the remotest past to modern times. . . . For the subsequent better-known phases of Ethiopia’s extraordinary and dramatic history, substantial coverage is also provided. The story of the rise and fall of Axum, an African world power contemporary with Rome and Byzantium, and the subsequent Zagwe and “Solomonic” kingdoms of the Ethiopian highlands are ably sketched out, with proper emphasis on the geographical and cultural elements that influenced local developments. The book concludes with a solid and original presentation exploiting the author’s own expert knowledge of the events of recent times.” (Stuart Munro-Hay, excavator of Axum and author of books on ancient and medieval Ethiopia) |
