Mirko and Stjepan Seljan

Mirko Seljan (April 5, 1871 – c. 1913) and Stjepan Seljan (August 19, 1875 – June 7, 1936) were Croatian explorers.

Stjepan Seljan was later commonly referred to as Stevo, while his birth name was actually Štefan.

The brothers were born in Karlovac, Croatia (at the time part of Austria-Hungary). After receiving a basic education there and attending Gymnasium Karlovac, they started traveling across Europe. Older Mirko was, in 1898, known under the name Champion Globetrotter because he walked the distance between Paris, France and Saint Petersburg in Russia. It is believed that the brothers started their journey after being impressed by the books or lectures by another Croatian explorer, Dragutin Lerman, who was in Africa as leader of Henry Morton Stanley's team.'

They started in January 1899, leaving Karlovac for Trieste, Italy. They visited Alexandria and Cairo, then walked along the river Nile toward Sudan. After returning to Cairo, they headed to Port Said, Djibouti, and Aden, reaching Bab el Mandeb. After traveling to Obock back in Djibouti, they eventually ended up in Harar and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

There, on the recommendation of several influential Europeans, Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia provided them with an escort of 300 people to continue their expedition to the south. Mirko was appointed governor of the southern province of Ethiopia with his brother Stjepan as his lieutenant-governor. They spent three years defining the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, bringing the tribes under the unified government of Menelik II. Their expedition and military camps near Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) were named Seljanville and still appear on maps today.

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