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 People's Liberation Front
The TPLF is, in a way, the product of the marginalization of Tigray within Ethiopia after Menelik II of Shewa had become emperor in 1889. The Tigrayan traditional elite and peasantry had a strong regional identity and deeply resented the decline of Tigray. Memoirs of the armed revolt of 1942-43 (the "first [qädamay] "wäyyanä"") against the re-establishment of imperial rule after Italian colonialism remained alive and provided an important reference for the new generations of educated Tigrayan nationalists.