Complex sentence: Externally, his victory over the Italians had earned him great fame: following Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia's independence by external powers was expressed in terms of diplomatic representation at the court of Menelik and delineation of Ethiopia's boundaries with the adjacent colonies.
Split into simpler sentences: Externally, his victory over the Italians had earned him great fame. Following Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia's independence by external power has expressed itself in terms of diplomatic representation at the court of Menelik and delineation of Ethiopia's boundaries with the adjacent colonies.