Agaw people
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Ethiopia
|
764,000 |
 Eritrea
|
110,000 |
| Languages | |
| Agaw • Amharic • Tigrinya | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodox · Eritrean Orthodox · Catholic) Pagan-Hebraic · Judaism · Islam (Sunni) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afar • Amhara • Beja • Oromo • Saho • Somali • Tigray • Tigre and other Cushitic peoples. | |
The Agaw (Ge'ez: አገው? Agaw; modern Agew) are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family.
The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the 3rd-century AD Monumentum Adulitanum, an Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6th century. The inscription refers to a people called "Athagaus" (or Athagaous), perhaps from ʿAd Agaw, meaning "sons of Agaw." The Athagaous first turn up as one of the peoples conquered by the unknown king who inscribed the Monumentum Adulitanum. The Agaw are later mentioned in an inscription of the 4th-century Aksumite King Ezana and 6th-century King Kaleb. Based on this evidence, a number of experts embrace a theory first stated by Edward Ullendorff and Carlo Conti Rossini that they are the original inhabitants of much of the northern Ethiopian highlands, and were either forced out of their original settlements or assimilated by Semitic-speaking Tigray-Tigrinya and Amhara peoples. Cosmas Indicopleustes also noted in his Christian Topography that a major gold trade route passed through the region "Agau". The area referred to seems to be an area east of the Tekezé River and just south of the Semien Mountains, perhaps around Lake Tana.
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Wikipedia