History and Diaspora

Today the Afar people are mostly nomadic, a way of living they have sustained for thousands of years. Some of the oldest humanoid skeletons have been found in the region. Middle Awash has been the home of many of these bones. Gona is the site of the oldest found stone tools in the world, and Hadar is the site from which Lucy was found. Lucy is a fossilized human specimen thought to have lived in the region 3.2 million years ago.

A Reconstruction of Lucy's remains

Along with Lucy there was another fossilized remains found in the region several years after her. This time the skeleton was thought to be 4.5 million years old showing that the region was one of the first places humans inhabited. Both finds were located near the river basin of the Awash river.

The word Africa and African are believed to have derived from the word Afar since the beginning of people were from the region. The Egyptians also started their trades with the people in the Afar region, importing incenses, teas, and salts from the region. Along with the Egyptians the Afar people traded with the Romans, Phoenicians, and the Persians. By the 10th century the region was starting to see well organized kingdoms take place. Each kingdom was ruled by a Sultan.

An old map depicting the boundaries in Ethiopia 

The region along with much of the Horn of Africa was victims of colonization from many European countries. In the 13th century the Portuguese attacked and during the following centuries the area was attacked by the Turkish, Egyptians, and the Abyssinian forces up until the 20th century when the country of Ethiopia was formed. During this time France and Italy sent in forces to reach an agreement with the semi-independent Sultans of Afar. They agreed to give military assistance in exchange for being allowed to use ports along the Red Sea. The Sultans trusted that the agreement would hold but France and Italy ended up splitting the region between themselves. The Afari people overtook their lands back in 1942 with the help of the Allies during WW2.

Diaspora 

Today many Afar people love within the region of Afar in Ethiopia. Some live in the capital Addis Ababa working in government jobs. Outside of the country some of the people live in the neighboring country Djibouti. These people live in a similar life style as those in Afar.