Hamasien

Hamasien (Ge'ez ሓማሴን) was a historical province including and surrounding Asmara, part of modern Eritrea. In 1996 the province was divided and distributed largely to the modern Maekel region, with smaller parts being distributed amongst the Debub, Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka, and Anseba regions.

Hamasien's population predominantly follow Oriental Orthodox Christianity and are members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, with a considerable minority from the Sunni Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran communities. Traditionally being the center of the Kebessa (the Eritrean Highlands), it was the locality of the old palace town of Debarwa (the capital of Bahr Negus Yeshaq). The border was changed further to place Debarwa in the province of Seraye before its present status of being the capital of the Tselema district in the Debub (Southern) region.

The former province republic of Hamassien was the political and economic center of Eritrea; judging from excavations in the Sembel area outside Asmara, it has been so since at least the 9th century BC. The earliest surviving appearance of the name "Hamasien" is believed to have been the region ḤMS²M, i.e. ḤMŠ, mentioned in a Sabaic inscription of the Axumite king Ezana. The region may have been mentioned as early as Puntite times by Ancient Egyptian records as 'MSW (i.e. "Amasu"), a region of Punt.

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