Ethiopia, an ancient African state, has suffered from extensive foreign looting twice in modern times. Firstly, in 1868, when the British expedition against Emperor Tewodros II looted crowns, crosses and religious manuscripts from his mountain fortress of Maqdala. The second occasion was during the Italian Fascist occupation of 1936-1941, when the invaders seized crowns, state papers, and one of the famous early fourth century obelisks of Aksum. Both acts of looting are relevant to current discussion on the return to Africa of artifacts looted during the colonial era, for which they provide precedents. The looting of Maqdala was followed, in the ensuing century, by the British Government's gradual restitution to Ethiopia of several looted artifacts though the lion's share still remains in Britain. Fascist Italy's defeat in the Second World War was followed in 1947 by an Italian Peace Treaty with the United Nations, in which Italy agreed to return all loot taken from Ethiopia. Most, but by no means all, articles were returned. The Aksum obelisk, however, remained in Rome. This led to Ethiopian, and international, agitation, after which the Italian Govemment agreed to the obelisk's return. This has, however, still to be effected. ETHIOPIA, FOR OVER A CENTURY, has been involved in what is now termed the question of the return of Africa's cultural property. The country, despite its long history of independence, was looted in the last century and a half on two notable occasions, by the British in 1868 and by the Italians in 1935-41. Ethiopia, over the years, succeeded, however, in obtaining at least partial restoration of its looted property, and further important restitution, the return of the Aksum obelisk, is expected in the near future. Ethiopia's on-going struggle for the return of its cultural heritage, though far from complete, has thus established interesting precedents of relevance to the Aftican continent as a whole. The Maqdala expedition The first of the two acts of looting under review resulted from the attempts by Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II (reigned 1855-1868) to modernize and unify his country. Faced with persistent Egyptian inroads Richard Pankhurst, founder and first Director of Addis Ababa University's Institute of Ethiopian Studies, is Research Professor of Ethiopian Studies at that Institute. He has been involved in Ethiopian historical studies for over 40 years.