Understanding Fifteenth Century Ethiopia from the Unusual Perspective of Eleni

This volume in a series of world history case studies reveals the life of an Ethiopian woman who personifies a time and place same way that Catherine de Medici does for sixteenth century France and Cixi does for nineteenth century China. Eleni served as regent three times in forty years in the fifteenth century, continually guiding her nation towards European alliances to help her resist Muslim expansion in the Horn of Africa. Eleni’s steadfast rule and vision helped her to overcome fractious court, a divided Orthodox Church, and fraught diplomatic challenges. Her life also helps us to understand an often-overlooked region of the world in a new way.

This book is a volume in the Understanding World History Through Biography series.