Tigray Province
Tigray (, ) is a historical region and province of Ethiopia. It encompasses most of the territories of Tigrinya-speakers (and a few minority groups closely linked with them) in Ethiopia; Tigray is separated from the northern Tigrinya territories by the River Mereb, now serving as the state border to Eritrea.
Tigray Province
The 18th century "maiordomus" of Ethiopia Mikael Səhul formed a great Tigray, which after him virtually became a separate kingdom. He was succeeded by "ras" Wolde Selassie of Enderta, who ruled Tigray independently in the "Zamane mesafent"; and he in turn by "däggiyat" Sabagadis of the "shum agame" dynasty, whose successor was his son-in-law Wube of the Amharic-speaking Semien. Rulers of Tigrayan provinces were almost always of Tigrayan origin; in this sense, Wube's rule was a new phenomenon and is often perceived in oral tradition as a period of "oppression by an outsider". However, even the rule by Tigrayan princes were often perceived as such by locals, if they did not descend from their own local dynasties; this regularly motivated popular support to numerous competing princes (e.g., Kasa Golja against Kasa Mercha, the later Yohannes IV).