Tigray Region
Tigray Region (, "kilil Tigrāy;" Official name: , "Bəh̩erawi Kəllelawi Mängəśti Təgray", "Tigray National Regional State") is the northernmost of the nine regions ("kililat") of Ethiopia. Tigray is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples. Tigray is also known as Region 1 according to the federal constitution. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the 6th largest by area, the 5th most populous, and the 5th most densely populated of the 9 Regional States.
Tigray Province
There was no strong concept of a "pan-Tigrayan" ethnicity, local identities often being stronger. Some areas never or only rarely submitted to the rule of a Tigrayan overlord, but stayed nurd their own autonomous rulers (such as Hamasen for most of the time, Welkait, Wajjarat, Rayya, Zebul, etc.); this was in a way solved by "atse" Yohannes IV, who due to his descent from all important Tigrayan dynasties could rally support from most Tigrayan regions. After his accession to the imperial throne, Tigray was governed by his uncle Araya Selassie Demsu, who died shortly after Yohannes. Araya successor "ras" Mengesha Yohannes, the Emperor's son, was only to some degree able to keep Tigray under his control. "Atse" Menelik II used the situation to partition again Tigray along older borders between several governors, who sent into war against each other immediately after his death (e.g. Gebre Selassie Barya Gabar of Aksum and Sebhat Aregawi of the Agame dynasty).