colony · Horn and East Africa

Italian East Africa

1936 CE – 1941 CE · capital Addis Ababa

Mussolini's short-lived East African empire, created after the conquest of Ethiopia and destroyed by British and Ethiopian forces in 1941.

Origins

Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, using aircraft and poison gas, and captured Addis Ababa in May 1936. Victor Emmanuel III was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia, and Ethiopia was merged with Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland to form Italian East Africa, governed by a viceroy in Addis Ababa.

Rule and society

The empire was divided into governorates. Italian rule was harsh: after an attempt on Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani's life in February 1937, thousands were massacred in Addis Ababa, and the monastery of Debre Libanos was attacked. Italy built roads and planned settlement, but Ethiopian patriots, the arbegnoch, kept up resistance. In 1940 Italian forces occupied British Somaliland.

Decline and legacy

In 1941 British, Commonwealth and Ethiopian forces counter-attacked. Haile Selassie re-entered Addis Ababa on 5 May 1941, and the last Italian forces surrendered at Gondar in November. Eritrea and Somalia passed under British administration.

Lineage

Ethiopian Empire 1270 CE – 1974 CEItalian East AfricaEthiopian Empire 1270 CE – 1974 CE

Connections (5)

Aussa Sultanate was conquered by Italian East Africa1936 CE
Italian Eritrea was part of Italian East Africa1936 CE – 1941 CE
Italian Somaliland was part of Italian East Africa1936 CE – 1941 CE
Italian East Africa was a colony of Italian Empire1936 CE – 1941 CE
British Somaliland was conquered by Italian East Africa1940 CE – 1941 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Italian East Africa. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/italian-east-africa
MLA: “Italian East Africa.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/italian-east-africa. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Italian East Africa.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/italian-east-africa.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Italian East Africa’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/italian-east-africa (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻