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Grade 12 History

Grade 12 History on Temari has 15 revision cards, arranged by the chapters of the Ethiopian national curriculum. Every card says when the rule applies, what each symbol in it stands for, and the mistake students most often make with it. They are free to read and need no account.

15
Cards
9
Chapters
10
Reference tables
Grade 12 History
Textbook
Free
Price
12 October 2026
Last checked

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01

Unit 1

DateEvent
1861William I is crowned King of Prussia
1864With Austria, Prussia defeats Denmark and acquires Schleswig-Holstein
1866Prussia wins the Battle of Koniggratz against Austria and forms the North German Confederation without Austria
1871Prussia defeats France; William I is proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles

When you use it

Use this for questions on the sequence of wars that unified Germany under Prussia, or on Bismarck's three military successes.

Watch out

Keep the order right: Denmark (1864) first, Austria (1866) second, France (1870-71) last. The North German Confederation of 1866 excluded Austria, and the Empire was proclaimed at Versailles in 1871.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 1-26, then checked twice before it went up

02

Africa and the Colonial Experience (1880s - 1960s)

YearEvent
1881Mahdist revolt begins in Sudan under Muhammad Ahmad
1885Mahdist forces capture Khartoum and kill Charles Gordon
1896Ethiopia defeats Italy at Adwa under Emperor Menelik II
1898Mahdists finally defeated at Omdurman by the Anglo-Egyptian army
1905Maji-Maji revolt breaks out in southern Tanganyika in July
1907Germans defeat the Ngoni warriors after a scorched-earth campaign

When you use it

Reach for this when a question asks for the order of African resistance to colonial conquest or names a year from the 1880s to 1900s.

Watch out

Omdurman (1898) was a British and Egyptian victory over the Mahadists, not an African success; Adwa (1896) was the Ethiopian victory over Italy. Keep the two apart.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 27-45, then checked twice before it went up

AspectBritishFrench
AdministrationIndirect rule, through chiefsDirect rule
Role of chiefsTraditional rulers kept where possible and given more powerLess keen on traditional rulers
Core ideaDivide and rule, stressing tribal differencesAssimilation through French language, law and civic rights

When you use it

Reach for this when a question asks how British and French colonial administration differed, or what indirect rule and direct rule meant.

Watch out

Assimilation was applied in full only in Senegal, not across French Africa; writing it as the general French policy loses the mark.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 27-45, then checked twice before it went up

03

Unit 3

DateBattleWinner
November 1852GurambaDejach Kassa
April 1853Gorgora BichenDejach Kassa
29 June 1853AyshalDejach Kassa
February 1855DeresgeKassa Hailu (Tewodros II)

When you use it

Reach for this when asked how Kassa Hailu rose to power and when the Zemene Mesafint came to an end.

Watch out

The battle of Ayshal (29 June 1853) ended Worashe rule but did not end the Zemene Mesafint. Only the battle of Deresge (February 1855), against Dejach Wube, brought the period to an end.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 46-91, then checked twice before it went up

PhaseDate
Battle of Ambalage7 December 1895
Siege of Mekelle7 to 21 January 1896
Final battle of Adwa1 March 1896

When you use it

Reach for this when asked how long the Adwa campaign lasted or on which date a particular battle of it took place.

Watch out

Adwa was not a single day's battle; it was a campaign of three phases. 1 March 1896 is only the final battle, and Ambalage came first in December 1895. The peace treaty signed on 26 October 1896 is a separate event.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 46-91, then checked twice before it went up

When you use it

Reach for this when asked why Italy claimed a protectorate over Ethiopia and what led to the Battle of Adwa.

Watch out

Do not write Article 17 as one agreed text. The Amharic version said Menilek may use Italian services in foreign dealings; the Italian version made it mandatory that all foreign contacts go through Italy. Menilek rejected the Italian version in February 1893.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 46-91, then checked twice before it went up

04

Society and Politics in the Age of World Wars, 1914

DateEvent
1935Italy launched a war of aggression against Ethiopia.
Later in the warEthiopian forces lost conventional battles but waged a nationwide struggle that confined Italian rule to the major urban centers.
June 1940Italy declared war on Britain and France, and the British then intervened in the war of liberation against the Italians.
1941Combined British and Ethiopian patriot forces defeated the Italians and expelled them from Ethiopia.

When you use it

Use this when a question asks how Italy's war against Ethiopia unfolded or how Ethiopia was liberated in 1941.

Watch out

Italian rule was confined to the major urban centers, not the whole country. Do not write that Italy controlled all of Ethiopia from 1935 to 1941.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 92-119, then checked twice before it went up

05

Unit 5

When you use it

Reach for this when asked why the United States gave aid to Western Europe after 1945: it wanted a market for American goods, to keep Western Europe from Soviet influence, and to use Germany as a buffer against Soviet expansion.

Watch out

Do not confuse the Marshall Plan (US aid, 1948, through the OEEC) with the Molotov Plan (Soviet, 1947, linked to COMECON).

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 120-156, then checked twice before it went up

06

Unit 6

Point1942 agreement1944 agreement
British minister's precedenceThe British minister had primacy over all other diplomatic representatives.This precedence was lifted.
Advisers and officialsBritish citizens held key civil and military posts and controlled the police and finance.The British right to appoint advisers and officials was lifted.
Ethiopian armyA British military mission trained the new Ethiopian army.The army was no longer controlled by British officers and command passed to the newly established Ministry of War.

When you use it

Use when a question asks how the 1942 Anglo-Ethiopian agreement limited Ethiopian sovereignty and how the 1944 agreement restored some of it.

Watch out

The 1942 agreement confirmed Ethiopia as a sovereign state in name, but almost every article showed dependence on Britain. Do not describe 1942 as full independence.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 157-208, then checked twice before it went up

07

Africa since the 1960s

When you use it

Use this when a question asks why almost all French West African colonies chose to stay tied to France in 1958, or what happened to Guinea after its No vote.

Watch out

Guinea was the only colony to vote No. Do not write that all French West African colonies became independent in 1958: the others became autonomous within the French Community and gained full independence only by November 1960.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 209-240, then checked twice before it went up

GroupPosition on political unionMember states
Casablanca groupImmediate political union of African states through federationGhana, Algeria, Guinea, Morocco, Egypt, Mali, Libya
Monrovian groupFirst economic integration, then gradual step by step political integrationEthiopia, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tunisia, Congo Kinshasa, Somalia

When you use it

Use this when a question asks how the Casablanca and Monrovian groups differed over African unity before the OAU was founded in 1963.

Watch out

Ethiopia belonged to the Monrovian group, not the Casablanca group. Haile Selassie invited both blocs to Addis Ababa, but that does not make Ethiopia a Casablanca member.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 209-240, then checked twice before it went up

08

Post 1991 Developments in Ethiopia

DateEvent
6 May 1998Eritrean forces attack the disputed territory of Badme.
13 May 1998Ethiopian forces launch a counteroffensive.
22 Feb 1999Ethiopia launches Operation Sunset to restore Badme.
25 May 1999Ethiopia declares the war over.
18 June 2000Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Isaias Afewerki agree to the Algiers Agreement and binding arbitration.
12 Dec 2000The peace agreement is signed by the two governments.
13 Apr 2002The Boundary Commission issues its verdict and awards Badme to Eritrea.

When you use it

Use this when a question asks for the sequence of events in the Ethio-Eritrean war of the 1990s or the dates of the peace agreements and the boundary verdict.

Watch out

Do not write that the Algiers Agreement or the 2002 boundary verdict brought peace. The chapter says neither did, and the two countries stayed in a state of no peace, no war for over a decade.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, pages 241-253, then checked twice before it went up

09

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Heritages of Ethiopia

When you use it

Reach for this when a question asks which Ethiopian natural site is on the UNESCO list, or how many Ethiopian sites are natural.

Watch out

Simen Mountains National Park is the only natural World Heritage Site in Ethiopia, out of nine in total. Bale Mountains National Park is a national park but is not yet registered, so do not list it as a UNESCO site.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, page 254 onwards, then checked twice before it went up

OrderCycle name
1Fulasa
2Darara
3Mogisa
4Wawasa
5Hirbora

When you use it

Reach for this when a question asks for the order of the five Luwa cycles or how long one full Luwa cycle lasts.

Watch out

Each cycle lasts about eight years, so one full cycle of five is forty years. Do not give eight years as the length of the whole cycle.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, page 254 onwards, then checked twice before it went up

When you use it

Reach for this when a question asks you to define indigenous knowledge or to say how it differs from modern science.

Watch out

Indigenous knowledge was developed outside the formal educational system, and the chapter says it does not need validation by western science. Do not describe it as primitive or static, which the chapter says modern education wrongly assumes.

Drafted from Grade 12 History, page 254 onwards, then checked twice before it went up

The Grade 12 History textbook

The student textbook for the new curriculum, free as a PDF. The cards on this page follow its chapters.

The papers these formulas are for

Real national exam questions from past years, with a worked answer for each one.

Open the past papers

The same subject in other years

An exam paper keeps asking for what the year below taught. Those cards are here too.

Questions students ask

What do the Grade 12 History cards cover?
15 cards across 9 chapters of the national textbook: Africa and the Colonial Experience (1880s - 1960s), Society and Politics in the Age of World Wars, 1914, Africa since the 1960s, Post 1991 Developments in Ethiopia, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Heritages of Ethiopia and 4 more. You can take any chapter one card at a time on the page itself.
Do these help with the Grade 12 national exam?
Yes. Grade 12 sits a national exam, and these are the History rules and formulas it expects you to know. Past papers with a worked answer behind every question are on the same site, also free.
Where do these cards come from?
They are drafted from Grade 12 History, the Ministry of Education textbook for this grade. A second pass that cannot see the chapter then re-derives every formula, constant and table row, and anything it cannot confirm is held back instead of published.
Is this free?
Yes. Every card here is free to read and the printable sheet is free to download. Neither needs an account.
When was this last checked?
12 October 2026. Cards arrive chapter by chapter, and the line under each one says when that card was last read through.

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