Amhara people
| አማራ (Amharic) | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Ethiopia
|
19,878,199 |
 United States
|
195,260 |
 Sudan
|
103,000 |
 Kuwait
|
88,000 |
 Canada
|
18,020 |
 Germany
|
12,490 |
 Yemen
|
11,000 |
 Sweden
|
10,000 |
 United Kingdom
|
8,620 |
 Egypt
|
6,500 |
 Australia
|
4,515 |
 Djibouti
|
4,500 |
 Denmark
|
2,100 |
 New Zealand
|
1,200 |
 Finland
|
1,100 |
 Netherlands
|
1,100 |
 Belgium
|
1,000 |
 Spain
|
800 |
 Somalia
|
700 |
| Languages | |
| Amharic | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodox) • Islam (Sunni) • Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tigrayans • Tigrinyas • Tigre • Agaw • Saho • Somali • Beja • Gurage • Jeberti • Oromo • Afar | |
|
|
|
The Amhara (Amharic: አማራ?, Āmara;Ge'ez: አምሐራ, ʾÄməḥära) also known as Abyssinian are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the northern and central highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, they numbered 19,867,817 individuals, comprising 27.12% of the country's population. They are also found within the Ethiopian expatriate community, particularly in North America. The Amharas claim to orginate from Solomon and primarily adhere to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They speak Amharic, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic branch, which serves as the official language of Ethiopia.
The present name for the Amharic language and its speakers comes from the medieval province of Amhara. The latter enclave was located around Lake Tana at the headwaters of the Blue Nile, and included a slightly larger area than Ethiopia's present-day Amhara Region.
The further derivation of the name is debated. Some trace it to amari ("pleasing; beautiful; gracious") or mehare ("gracious"). The Ethiopian historian Getachew Mekonnen Hasen traces it to an ethnic name related to the Himyarites of ancient Yemen. Still others say that it derives from Ge'ez ዓም (ʿam, "people") and ሓራ (h.ara, "free" or "soldier"), although this has been dismissed by scholars such as Donald Levine as a folk etymology.
...
Wikipedia