SUMMARY
Amhara is the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, surpassed only by the Oromo. The Amhara population number more than 19 000 000 according to official Ethiopian census data, which equals approximately 26 percent of the country’s total population. Sometimes described as an ethnolinguistic group – rather than a purely ethnic group – the Amhara is comprised of several different groups conjoined by the use the Amharic language. Furthermore, a vast majority of the Amhara - more than 80 percent - adhere to the Orthodox Christian faith, which is the largest religion in Ethiopia. Of Ethiopia’s ethnic groups, the Amhara are most closely linked to the Tigray; for example, Tigrinya and Amharic are linguistically related, and both groups are predominantly Christian. The Amhara is considered as one of Ethiopia’s major nationalities; consequently, the group serves as the basis for one of the country’s nine ethnically based autonomous states (kililoch) created under the Constitution of 1996. This “Amhara Region” – located in the highlands around Lake Tana in northwestern Ethiopia - includes many of the Amhara people’s traditional lands, such as Wollo, Gojjam, Gonder, and northern Shoa. It should however be noted that the Amhara also reside in other Ethiopian regions, such as Oromiya. Most of the Amhara live in rural areas, where their primary means of sustenance is sedentary farming.
Historically, the Amhara has been the politically dominant ethnic group in what would become modern-day Ethiopia. That being said, political power was generally concentrated in a rather small aristocratic elite; ordinary members of the group may thus not have enjoyed this position of power. Tracing their ancestry to settlers from Arabia, the group has been present in the area for thousands of years. Starting in the 9th century, the Amhara began to gradually replace the Kingdom of Axum, which had been the first consolidated state formation in the region. During the 1200s, an Amhara royal dynasty laid the foundation for what would eventually develop into the Empire of Ethiopia, which lasted until 1974. In imperial Ethiopia, the Amhara – alongside the Tigray - was the politically dominant group, as it had close links to the ruling Solomonic Dynasty; in fact, many Ethiopian emperors where Amhara, including Haile Selassie I, who was the last person to hold the office. Haile Selassie was known for having initiated reform programs that were described as “Amharization” of the Ethiopian society; for example, he made Amharic the official language of Ethiopia, and promoted Amhara culture and traditions.
In 1974, the Imperial rule in Ethiopia was ended after a military coup ousted Haile Selassie and put a Marxist junta commonly called the “Derg” in power. Many Amhara were among those targeted by Derg-led Government of Ethiopia’s purges against opposition elements, and socialist land reforms enforced by the new regime led to the confiscation of much Amhara land. Furthermore, the Derg also forcibly resettled many Amhara to the Oromiya region after the 1984 Ethiopian famine; this led to tensions and violence between the Amhara and the Oromo. Following the EPRDF’s overthrow of the Derg in 1991, the Tigray became the politically dominant ethnic group in Ethiopia. While the Amhara as an ethnic group has not seen direct limitation of their economic and cultural rights, the post-1991 Government of Ethiopia has actively repressed Amhara-based political opposition. In general, ordinary Amhara have suffered from the same environmental and economic stress as Ethiopia’s other agriculturalist groups; droughts have taken a particularly heavy toll on Amhara livelihoods.
While it did not pursue a purely ethnic-based agenda, the Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (EPDM, eventually renamed Amhara National Democratic Movement/ANDM), an armed group active in the conflict against the Derg regime, was considered an Amhara rebel group.
