Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language. It was the written language of the ancient Axumite Empire in the area encompassing present-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea; today, Ge?ez is used only as a liturgical language in various Christian churches in the area and in the Beta Israel Jewish community, although current languages used in the area more generally, Amharic, Tigrinya and Tigre, are closely related. The Christian Bible was translated into Ge?ez between the 5th and 7th centuries.
