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82-651: The daily life of Tigrayans is highly influenced by religious concepts. For example, the Christian Orthodox fasting periods are strictly observed, especially in Tigray; but also traditional local beliefs such as in spirits, are widespread. In Tigray the language of the church remains exclusively Ge’ez . Tigrayan society is marked by a strong ideal of communitarianism and, especially in the rural sphere, by egalitarian principles. This does not exclude an important role of gerontocratic rules and in some regions such as

164-579: A hot semi-arid climate ( BSh ). Ethnic groups of Mekelle in 1994 There were about 5,000 inhabitants in 1935; by 1938, the town counted approximately 12,000 inhabitants (including 100 Italians). Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 215,914 people (104,925 men and 110,989 women). The two largest ethnic groups reported in Semien Mi'irabawi were

246-604: A negarit of its own. The credit for Mekelle's growth into a regional capital goes to atse Yohannes IV who made Mekelle political capital of his expanding state. He must have chosen the place for its strategic proximity both to rich agricultural areas (of Raya Azebo ) and to the Afar salt country. Mekelle's position on the route to Shewa , the power base of Yohannes's main rival Menelik could have been another factor. Three institutions still important for modern Mekelle were founded by Yohannes. The grand palace built in 1882–84 by

328-402: A Proto-Semitic voiceless lateral fricative [ɬ] . Like Arabic, Geʽez merged Proto-Semitic š and s in ሰ (also called se-isat : the se letter used for spelling the word isāt "fire"). Apart from this, Geʽez phonology is comparably conservative; the only other Proto-Semitic phonological contrasts lost may be the interdental fricatives and ghayn . There is no evidence within

410-478: A basic correspondence with Proto-Semitic short *i and *u , /æ ~ ɐ/ with short *a , the vowels /i, u, a/ with Proto-Semitic long *ī, *ū, *ā respectively, and /e, o/ with the Proto-Semitic diphthongs *ay and *aw . In Geʽez there still exist many alternations between /o/ and /aw/ , less so between /e/ and /aj/ , e.g. ተሎኩ taloku ~ ተለውኩ talawku ("I followed"). In

492-495: A boom in hotel services for tourism and conferences due to predominant place Mekelle holds in northern Ethiopia. The development of healthcare services has greatly aided in improving the quality of life of Mekelle's inhabitants. A $ 3.5 million modern referral public health laboratory was constructed by the US CDC to serve as a training site as well as providing quality assurance for Tigray's hospitals and medical laboratories. Mekelle

574-784: A hospital. An important market was held on Mondays. Starting from May 1943, Mekelle was in the hands of the leaders of the Woyane rebellion against the then weak restored Haile Selassie government. British air bombardment of the town of September–October caused heavy damage. In October Mekelle was recaptured by the Ethiopian government forces. The third phase in Mekelle's urban development took place mainly during 1942–74. Modern urban sectors were diversified, and new administrative offices were established. The Mekelle municipality (founded 1942), telecommunications and post office, Commercial Bank and

656-649: A minority of Ahbash followers. Today, the Muslim community is concentrated mainly in urban areas. Many Jeberti in Eritrea claim that they are a separate ethnic group from the Tigrinya people in the area and consider their native languages to be both Arabic and Tigrinya , and are thus treated as a separate ethno-religious community. Tigrayans are sometimes described as “individualistic”, due to elements of competition and local conflicts. This, however, rather reflects

738-441: A pagan religion with a number of deities, including the sun god Utu , and the moon god Almaqah . Some tribes however practiced Judaism . The most prominent polytheistic kingdoms was D’mt and early Aksum . Christianity has been the predominant religion of Tigrayans since antiquity . Tigrayan Christians are mostly Oriental Orthodox with a Catholic and Pentay minority. Tigrayan Muslims are virtually all Sunni , including

820-531: A possible value for ḫ ( ኀ ). These values are tentative, but based on the reconstructed Proto-Semitic consonants that they are descended from. The following table presents the consonants of the Geʽ;ez language. The reconstructed phonetic value of a phoneme is given in IPA transcription, followed by its representation in the Geʽez script and scholarly transliteration. Geʽez consonants have

902-501: A radius of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) around the city. In response, the Derg had a number of villages around Mekelle burned on June 4 and 5, which included Addi Gera, Bahri, Goba Zena, Grarot, Issala, and Rabea. It was not until 25 February 1989 that Mekelle was also occupied by the TPLF, after the government position in Tigray had collapsed. Near the end of the civil war, Mekelle was bombed by

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984-574: A resident and two diplomats receiving information from the ground. They stated that some soldiers were wearing Eritrean uniforms, whilst others wore Ethiopian uniforms but "spoke Tigrinya with an Eritrean accent and drove trucks without license plates." On 19 December 2020, there were multiple reports that the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) were looting property from the Sur Company in Mekelle and transporting

1066-427: A stadium. Some Ethiopian Orthodox believers, upset by the display of public Adventist preaching, reportedly sparked the clashes by first throwing stones at Adventists gathered in the stadium, then by looting Adventist offices in the city. Police intervened to break up the riots, which resulted in five dead and three seriously injured. The police reported that 10 people were detained, but independent sources reported that

1148-440: A strong tendency to defend one's own community and local rights against—then widespread—interferences, be it from more powerful individuals or the state. Tigrayans communities are marked by numerous social institutions with a strong networking of character, where relations are based on mutual rights and bonds. Economic and other support is mediated by these institutions. In the urban context, the modern local government have taken over

1230-485: A triple opposition between voiceless, voiced, and ejective (or emphatic ) obstruents. The Proto-Semitic "emphasis" in Geʽez has been generalized to include emphatic p̣ /pʼ/ . Geʽez has phonologized labiovelars , descending from Proto-Semitic biphonemes. Geʽez ś ሠ Sawt (in Amharic, also called śe-nigūś , i.e. the se letter used for spelling the word nigūś "king") is reconstructed as descended from

1312-537: A whole family was killed, leaving only a little boy alive. A doctor said that he personally saw 22 bodies. It was hard to take proper care of those wounded by the artillery due to a critical shortage of medical supplies. Four planned Ethiopian Airlines flights from Addis Ababa to Mekelle were cancelled on 20 December. On 21 December 2020, Federal Police Crime Prevention Sector Head, Deputy Commissioner General Melaku Fanta, told local media in Mekelle that arrest warrants have been issued against anyone who collaborated with

1394-523: A word (regardless of gender, but often ኣን -ān if it is a male human noun), or by using an internal plural . Nouns also have two cases: the nominative, which is not marked, and the accusative, which is marked with final -a . As in other Semitic languages, there are at least two "states", absolute (unmarked) and construct (marked with -a as well). As in Classical/Standard Arabic , singular and plural nouns often take

1476-455: Is ሊቅየ liqə́ya (i.e. the accusative is not * ሊቀየ *liqáya ), but with ከ -ka ("your", masculine singular) there's a distinction between nominative ሊቅከ liqə́ka and accusative ሊቀከ liqáka , and similarly with -hu ("his") between nominative ሊቁ liqú (< *liq-ə-hu ) and accusative ሊቆ liqó (< *liqa-hu ). Internal plurals follow certain patterns. Triconsonantal nouns follow one of

1558-516: Is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia . Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray . It is located around 780 kilometres (480 mi) north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa , with an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. It

1640-408: Is a dish originating from the historical Agame and Akkele Guzai provinces. The dish is unique to these parts of both countries, but is now slowly spreading throughout the entire region. T'ihlo is made using moistened roasted barley flour that is kneaded to a certain consistency. The dough is then broken into small ball shapes and is laid out around a bowl of spicy meat stew. A two-pronged wooden fork

1722-584: Is also of great importance for conflict resolution. Tigrayans food characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes, usually in the form of tsebhi ( Tigrinya : ፀብሒ ), a thick stew, served atop injera , a large sourdough flatbread . As the vast majority of Tigrayans belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (and the minority Muslims), pork is not consumed because of religious beliefs. Meat and dairy products are not consumed on Wednesdays and Fridays, and also during

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1804-757: Is an ancient South Semitic language . The language originates from what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea . Today, Geʽez is used as the main liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Ethiopian Catholic Church , Eritrean Catholic Church , and the Beta Israel Jewish community. Hawulti Obelisk is an ancient pre-Aksumite Obelisk located in Matara , Eritrea. The monument dates to

1886-472: Is believed to have evolved from a 13th-century hamlet called Enda Meseqel (later Enda Medhane Alem), becoming a town by the early 19th century, when ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta made Antalo his seat of power, and the region of Mekelle (40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north) his recreational center. In the tax records of atse Tewodros II , Mekelle appears as a tributary district within Enderta with

1968-486: Is lost when a plural noun with a consonant-final stem has a pronoun suffix attached (generally replaced by the added -i- , as in -i-hu , "his"), thereby losing the case/state distinction, but the distinction may be retained in the case of consonant-final singular nouns. Furthermore, suffix pronouns may or may not attract stress to themselves. In the following table, pronouns without a stress mark (an acute) are not stressed, and vowel-initial suffixes have also been given

2050-493: Is often called the "economic center" of the Tigray. Mekelle special zone has been represented in the House of Peoples' Representatives by Addis Alem Balema since 2005. The climate in this area is characterized by moderately warm temperatures year-round and distinct wet and dry seasons . The Köppen type for this climate is cool semi-arid climate ( BSk ); however it borders on both a subtropical highland climate ( Cwb ) and

2132-734: Is one of Ethiopia's principal economic and educational centers. Local industry includes Mesfin Industrial Engineering, a steel fabrication and manufacturing factory, which also has car assembly line and Messebo Cement Factory, northern Ethiopia's principal cement production facility. Both companies are owned and managed by the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT). The $ 100 million Mekelle Industrial park hosts many foreign textiles companies and employs approximately 20,000 people. There has been

2214-653: Is provided by the Selam Bus Line Share Company , and its city bus service is provided by Amora buses. Mekelle is the terminal station of the electric Weldiya–Mekelle Railway (under construction), connecting Mekelle with Addis Ababa and Djibouti. The line does not touch Mekelle itself, but ends Qwiha , one of the sub-cities in the special region of Mekelle. Publicly run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public high schools in Mekelle are run by

2296-469: Is surrounded by agrarian villages that sell their crops to the urban population in the markets. Traditionally there is a market on Saturday and Monday where a wide variety of produce and livestock is available for sale, in addition to salt from Afar. The Abergelle Slaughterhouse, funded by the Dejenna Endowment, began operations in late 2008. The city council is Mekelle's legislative body and

2378-460: Is the economic, cultural, and political hub of northern Ethiopia. Mekelle has grown rapidly since 1991 with a population of 61,000 in 1984, 97,000 inhabitants in 1994 (96.5% being Tigrinya-speakers), and 170,000 in 2006 (i.e. 4% of the population of Tigray). Mekelle is the second-largest city in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa , with a population of around 545,000. It is 4 times larger than Adigrat ,

2460-467: Is the fourth most spoken language. Several Tigrinya dialects, which differ phonetically, lexically, and grammatically from place to place, are more broadly classified as Eritrean Tigrinya or Tigray (Ethiopian) dialects. No dialect appears to be accepted as a standard. Tigrinya is closely related to Amharic and Tigre (in Eritrea commonly called Tigrayit), another East African Semitic language spoken by

2542-677: Is used to spear the ball and dip it into the stew. The dish is usually served with mes , a type of honey wine. Hilbet is a vegan cream dish, made from fenugreek, lentil and fava bean powder, typically served on injera with Silsi, tomatoes cooked with berbere . Kumar, H R S et al. (2020), showed that Tigray samples from Northern Ethiopia had (~50%) of a genetic component shared with Europeans and Middle Eastern Populations. Ge%E2%80%99ez Geʽez ( / ˈ ɡ iː ɛ z / or / ɡ iː ˈ ɛ z / ; ግዕዝ Gəʽ(ə)z IPA: [ˈɡɨʕ(ɨ)z] , and sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as Classical Ethiopic )

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2624-465: The 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia , Mekelle was notorious for the seven "hunger camps" around the city. These housed 75,000 refugees with 20,000 more waiting to enter. During March 1985, 50 to 60 people died in these seven camps every day. In February 1986, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) released 1,800 political prisoners from the Mekelle prison in a daring military action. The operation

2706-620: The Ethiopian Air Force on 27 and 29 October 1989, resulting in the deaths of at least 31 people. On 5 June 1998, the Eritrean Air Force bombed Ayder School in Mekelle during the Eritrean–Ethiopian War killing twelve. A monument pays respects to this tragedy. On 29 December 2002, a riot broke out between Ethiopian Orthodox and Adventist worshippers, over an Adventist prayer service being conducted in

2788-473: The Mengistu Haile Mariam -led brutal military dictatorship ( Derg ) used the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia as government policy (by restricting food supplies) for counter-insurgency strategy (against Tigray People's Liberation Front guerrilla-soldiers), and for "social transformation" in non-insurgent areas (against people of Tigray province, Welo province and such). deliberately multiplied

2870-656: The Monumentum Adulitanum in the 3rd century; the cattle herders in Humera; the egalitarian Wajjarat of south-eastern Tigray. There are also some immigrant Tigrayans in the neighbouring country of Eritrea as well as abroad in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The decline of the Tigrayan population in Ethiopia was caused by the 1958 famine in Tigray, when over 100,000 people died. Later on,

2952-616: The TPLF . On 28 June 2021 Mekelle was recaptured by the Tigray Defense Forces . Mekelle lies at an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level (at the airport), close to the edge of the northern portion of the Ethiopian Rift Valley, on a Jurassic limestone plateau, in a semi-arid area with a mean annual rainfall of 714 millimetres (28.1 in). Except for a moderately dense eucalyptus cover on

3034-483: The Tigray (96.2%), and Amhara (2.26%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.54% of the population. Tigrinya is spoken as a first language by 95.55%, and Amharic by 3.18%; the remaining 1.27% spoke all other primary languages reported. 92.68% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians , and 6.03% were Muslim . The 1994 national census reported the population of Mekelle as 96,938 people (45,729 men and 51,209 women). The two largest ethnic groups reported were

3116-515: The Tigrayan (96.5%), the Amhara (1.59%), foreigners from Eritrea (0.99%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.98% of the population. Tigrinya was spoken as a first language by 96.26%, and 2.98% spoke Amharic ; the remaining 0.76% spoke all other primary languages reported. 91.31% of the population practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity , and 7.66% were Muslim . Concerning education , 51.75% of

3198-488: The Tigre as well as many Beja of Eritrea and Sudan . Tigrinya and Tigre, though more closely related to each other linguistically than either is to Amharic, are however not mutually intelligible. Tigrinya has traditionally been written using the same Ge'ez alphabet ( fidel ) as Amharic and Tigre . The daily life of Tigrayans are highly influenced by religion. Before the coming of Christianity, most Tigrayans followed

3280-471: The atse Yohannes Elementary (in 1952) and Secondary School (in 1960) were established. The master plan was issued in 1962. Small-scale enterprises such as oil refineries, soap mills, leather and caning bags, costumes and flour mills were established until 1974. Most of the industrial establishments, however, have declined, degraded or closed during the Ethiopian Civil War (1974-1991). During

3362-515: The "Tigrētai" then meant "the tribes near Adulis". These are believed to be the ancient people from whom the present-day Tigray, the Eritrean tribes Tigre and Tigrinya are descended from. There is no indication that the term Tigray could be explained through Ge'ez gäzärä ("subdue"), with the meaning "the submitted" (in supposed contrast to the "free" Agaziyan linked with the rulers of Aksum). According to Scottish explorer James Bruce , Abyssinia

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3444-417: The 1880s, Mekelle became Ethiopia's capital city. Among the factors that further accelerated Mekele's growth and urbanization were the establishment of residential quarters by the "nobility" and court servants, the prominence of the amole salt market and the subsequent establishment of local and foreign trading and occupational communities, and Mekelle's strategic position as a transit center for commodities of

3526-500: The Hotel called Abreha Castle) on a hill facing the grand palace, a new Saturday Market (Edaga Senbet), and a new church, Selassie, all of which were situated to the south of Mekelle proper. Likewise, he attracted various occupational groups including Muslim traders, women service vendors, and army retainers. Consequently, in the 1920s and early 1930s, Mekelle witnessed a remarkable growth in trade. Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa renovated

3608-476: The Mekelle Government. To pay for the added administrative costs, the prefecture collects municipal taxes, which would usually be levied by the city. The "three central sub-cities" of Mekelle – Kedamay Weyane, Ayder and Hawelti – are the business core of the city, with a daytime population more than seven times higher than their nighttime population. Semien is unique occupied by many major factories. It

3690-1047: The Palace in the center to use it as his seat. The second phase occurred during the Italian occupation (1935–41). The Italians, who occupied the town in November 1935, contributed considerably to its modernization. They built a military airport and a fort at Enda Eyesus (now the main compound of Mekelle University ); reorganized roads, telephone lines, offices and residences; and installed modern water pipelines, electricity, clinics, postal services, cinema hall and resort/sport centers. They also expanded Edaga Senbet by introducing corrugated iron shops. This also attracted foreign entrepreneurs (Greeks, Arabs and Armenians). Mekelle, then divided into two zones; Italian and Native, grew about twice its former size. In 1938, there were shops, two Italian-style restaurants and Hotel Amba Aradam with four rooms. There were post, telephone, and telegraph offices, and

3772-481: The Tigray Education Bureau. Mekelle also has many private schools from kindergarten through high school. Mekelle has several universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Ethiopia's most prestigious universities are in Mekelle, including Mekelle University and Mekelle Institute of Technology . Nejashi Ethio-Turkish International Schools and Closys College are private schools in

3854-531: The Tigray Region in towns including Mekelle , Adwa , Axum , Adigrat , and Shire . Huge populations of Tigrayans are also found in other large Ethiopian cities such as the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar . The Tigrayans are, despite a general impression of homogeneity, composed of numerous subgroups with their own socio-cultural traditions. Among these there are the Agame of eastern Tigray, mentioned in

3936-596: The Tigrayan engineer Engedashet Kassa Sehul (takes as an example the construction technique of other buildings present in the Tigrai at the time of the Axumite kingdom and the buildings of the peasants and sacred churches of the Tigrai) and forms the historic center of Mekelle. The large market Edaga Senuy ("Monday Market"). The church, at Debre Gennet Medhane Alem, built after the return from Raya Azebo campaign in 1871. In

4018-489: The base በ /b/ in the script. Noun phrases have the following overall order: በዛ ba-zā in-this: F ሀገር hagar city በዛ ሀገር ba-zā hagar in-this:F city in this city ንጉሥ nəguś king ክቡር kəbur glorious ንጉሥ ክቡር nəguś kəbur king glorious a/the glorious king Adjectives and determiners agree with the noun in gender and number: ዛቲ zāti this: FEM ንግሥት Mekelle Mekelle ( Tigrinya : መቐለ ), or Mek'ele ,

4100-448: The churches Enda Gabir, Enda Yesus Mekelle Bete Mengist, Mekelle Iyesus, Mekelle Maryam, Mekelle Selassie, Enda Mariam Bugsa and Mekelle Tekle Haymanot. Mekelle is divided into seven local administrations: Hawelti, Adi-Haki, Kedamay Weyane, Hadnet, Ayder, Semien and Quiha . Within each local administration there are kebeles or ketenas . The subcities of Mekelle comprise the area formerly incorporated as Mekelle City. While falling under

4182-639: The city is administered by a mayor and seven local administrators. One of Mekelle's mayors was Daniel Assega (or Daniel Assefa ). During the Tigray War , Ataklti Haile Selassie was mayor of Mekelle under the Transitional Government of Tigray from mid-December 2020 through to his resignation on 30 March 2021. Mekelle is linked by all-weather roads to Addis Ababa and Aksum, and has an airport, Ras Alula Aba Nega International Airport ( ICAO code HAMK, IATA MQX). Intercity bus service

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4264-485: The conflict, and he appointed his own governor over Enderta at Mekelle, dejazmach Tedla Abaguben, in order to check the rebellious Tigrayan princes. Three historical epochs sustained Mekelle's urbanization in the 20th century. The first was the advent of dejazmach Abreha Araya Demtsu, governor of Eastern Tigray with Mekelle as his capital. Abreha imitated his cousin Yohannes by establishing his own splendid palace (now

4346-503: The consonant transliterated ḫ . Gragg notes that it corresponds in etymology to velar or uvular fricatives in other Semitic languages, but it is pronounced exactly the same as ḥ in the traditional pronunciation. Though the use of a different letter shows that it must originally have had some other pronunciation, what that pronunciation was is not certain. The chart below lists /ɬ/ and /t͡ɬʼ/ as possible values for ś ( ሠ ) and ḍ ( ፀ ) respectively. It also lists /χ/ as

4428-640: The contemporary Tigrayans to be the successors of the Aksumite Empire . A variant of the term Tigray, first appears in a 10th-century gloss to Cosmas Indicopleustes Indicopleustes , i.e. after the Aksumite period; according to this source one of the groups of the region were the "Tigrētai" and the "Agazē" (i.e. the Agʿazi ) the latter being the Aksumites. The toponym Tigray is probably originally ethnic,

4510-547: The de facto administration of the Amhara Region , having been forcibly annexed by Amhara during the Tigray War . The Tigrayans trace their origin to early Semitic-speaking peoples whose presence in the region may date back to at least 2000 BC. According to Edward Ullendorff , the Tigrinya speakers in Eritrea and Tigray are the authentic carriers of the historical and cultural tradition of ancient Abyssinia. He regards

4592-470: The district and regional administration center of Enderta and Tigray respectively through the 20th century, and its economic role in the Ethiopian salt trade. During the Italian War of 1895–96, Mekelle became an important site in the conflict. After the fall of Adwa in spring 1895, ras Mengasha Yohannes retreated from his father's capital Mekelle following the advice of atse Menelik II. Mekelle

4674-488: The early Aksumite period and bears an example of the ancient Geʽez script. In one study, Tigre was found to have a 71% lexical similarity to Ge'ez, while Tigrinya had a 68% lexical similarity to Geʽez, followed by Amharic at 62%. Most linguists believe that Geʽez does not constitute a common ancestor of modern Ethio-Semitic languages but became a separate language early on from another hypothetical unattested common language. Historically, /ɨ/ has

4756-530: The effects of the famine left 300,000 to 1.2 million people death in Ethiopia from this famine. According to United States Agency for International Development in the fall of 1984, the hardest hit regions of the famine were Tigray, Wollo and Eritrea . Tigrayans speak Tigrinya as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Ethiopian Semitic subgroup of the Afroasiatic family. In Ethiopia, Tigrinya

4838-442: The following patterns. Quadriconsonantal and some triconsonantal nouns follow the following pattern. Triconsonantal nouns that take this pattern must have at least one "long" vowel (namely /i e o u/ ). In the independent pronouns, gender is not distinguished in the 1st person, and case is only distinguished in the 3rd person singular. Suffix pronouns attach at the end of a noun, preposition or verb. The accusative/construct -a

4920-492: The functions of traditional associations. In most rural areas, however, traditional social organizations are fully in function. All members of such an extended family are linked by strong mutual obligations. Villages are usually perceived as genealogical communities, consisting of several lineages. A remarkable heritage of Tigrayans are their customary laws. In Tigray, customary law is also still partially practiced to some degree even in political self-organization and penal cases. It

5002-406: The governor has the choice of all commodities wherewith to make his market." By the beginning of the 19th century Henry Salt , who travelled in the interior of Ethiopia, divided the Ethiopian region into three distinct and independent states. These three great divisions (based arbitrarily on Language) are Tigre, Amhara, and the province of Shewa . Salt considered Tigre as the more powerful state of

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5084-472: The graphemes ś (Geʽez ሠ ) and ḍ (Geʽez ፀ ) have merged with ሰ and ጸ respectively in the phonological system represented by the traditional pronunciation—and indeed in all modern Ethiopian Semitic. ... There is, however, no evidence either in the tradition or in Ethiopian Semitic [for] what value these consonants may have had in Geʽez." A similar problem is found for

5166-576: The hills in eastern edges of Mekelle and some exotic species of trees and shrubs lining the streets, the surrounding landscape is almost treeless. The martyrs' memorial monument pays respects to the over 60,000 TPLF fighters who died and over 100,000 fighters who were injured in the overthrow of the Marxist Derg regime in 1991. The monument is 51 metres (167 ft) tall and is located in Adi-Haki sub-city. The monument has many sculptures depicting

5248-447: The jurisdiction of Mekele Special Zone Government, each subcity is also a borough with its own administrator, like other cities of Ethiopia. These officials oversee socio-economic development and run health, education, and utilities. The sub-cities differ from other cities in having a unique administrative relationship with the regional government. Certain municipal functions, such as waterworks, sewerage, and fire-fighting, are handled by

5330-548: The latter of which is sometimes marked with the suffix ት -t , e.g. እኅት ʼəxt ("sister"). These are less strongly distinguished than in other Semitic languages, as many nouns not denoting humans can be used in either gender: in translated Christian texts there is even a tendency for nouns to follow the gender of the noun with a corresponding meaning in Greek. There are two numbers, singular and plural. The plural can be constructed either by suffixing ኣት -āt to

5412-656: The long-distance trade routes of northeastern Ethiopia, attached to the Red Sea ports, and to northern and central Ethiopia. By establishing a market in Mekelle, Yohannes could draw on the northern trade routes as well as the salt caravan routes to the town, capitalizing on his political leverage. The succession of atse Menelik II of Shewa signaled a trading reorientation from northern to southern Ethiopia (centered in Shewa). The new capital Addis Ababa quickly outstripped Mekelle, which, however, retained its political importance as

5494-462: The loot to Addis Ababa. On the same day, police and TPLF absence led to lawlessness in Mekelle. Youth were especially targeted by ENDF soldiers. Civil servants in Mekelle were ordered back to work by the Transitional Government of Tigray ; few reported to work. On 20 December 2020, witnesses from Mekelle stated that artillery shelling had taken place before 28 November. The shelling destroyed houses in residential areas and killed civilians. In one case,

5576-520: The number was much larger. The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) headquarters was established in Mekelle in 2000 following the end of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War and continued until 30 July 2008. During the Tigray War , attacks were carried out on Mekelle by joint Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, including aerial bombardments. On 19 December 2020, an EEPA report stated that Eritrean soldiers were in Mekelle, according to

5658-488: The population of Ethiopia and are largely small holding farmers inhabiting small communal villages. The Tigrayans constitute the fourth largest ethnic group in the country after the Oromo , Amhara and Somali . They are mainly Christian and members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church with a small minority of Muslims, Catholics and Protestants. The predominantly Tigrayan populated urban centers in Ethiopia are found within

5740-505: The population were considered literate, which is more than the Zone average of 15.71%; 91.11% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 17.73% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; and 52.13% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning sanitary conditions , about 88% of the urban houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census, and about 51% had toilet facilities. Mekelle

5822-402: The same final inflectional affixes for case and state, as number morphology is achieved via attaching a suffix to the stem and/or an internal change in the stem. There is some morphological interaction between consonant-final nouns and a pronoun suffix (see the table of suffix pronouns below). For example, when followed by የ -ya ("my"), in both nominative and accusative the resulting form

5904-463: The script of stress rules in the ancient period, but stress patterns exist within the liturgical tradition(s). Accounts of these patterns are, however, contradictory. One early 20th-century account may be broadly summarized as follows: As one example of a discrepancy, a different late 19th-century account says the masculine singular imperative is stressed on the ultima (e.g. ንግር nəgə́r , "speak!"), and that, in some patterns, words can be stressed on

5986-425: The second-largest regional center. The majority of the population of Mekelle depends on government employment, commerce, and small-scale enterprises. In 2007, Mekelle had new engineering, cement, and textile factories, producing for the local and foreign markets. Mekelle University developed out of the pre-1991 Arid Agricultural College, and about a dozen other governmental and private colleges were created. Mekelle

6068-407: The seven compulsory fasts. Because of this reason, many vegan meals are present. Eating around a shared food basket, mäsob ( Tigrinya : መሶብ ) is a custom in the Tigray region and is usually done so with families and guests. The food is eaten using no cutlery, using only the fingers ( of the right hand ) and sourdough flatbread to grab the contents on the bread. T'ihlo ( Tigrinya : ጥሕሎ , ṭïḥlo )

6150-570: The struggle of the peasants and fighters against the Derg soldiers. Emperor Yohannes IV in the 19th century became Negus and built a castle and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo churches in the city. The castle was constructed by Ethiopian engineer Lij Ingidashet and Italian engineer Giacomo Naretti . The castle complex now serves as a museum where the Emperor's throne, royal bed, ceremonial dress, rifles, and many other valuable historical collections can be seen. Other notable landmarks include

6232-454: The third-, fourth- or even fifth-to-last syllable (e.g. በረከተ bárakata ). Due to the high predictability of stress location in most words, textbooks, dictionaries and grammars generally do not mark it. Minimal pairs do exist, however, such as yənaggərā́ ("he speaks to her", with the pronoun suffix -(h)ā́ "her") vs. yənaggə́rā ("they speak", feminine plural), both written ይነግራ . Geʽez distinguishes two genders, masculine and feminine,

6314-590: The three; a circumstance arising from the natural strength of the country, the warlike disposition of its inhabitants, and its vicinity to the sea coast; an advantage that allowed it to secure a monopoly on all the muskets imported into the country. He divided the Tigre kingdom into several provinces with the seat of the state, a region around Adwa, being referred as Tigre proper. The other Provinces of this kingdom includes Raya , Enderta , Agame , Wojjerat , Tembien , and Shire . Tigrayans constitute approximately 6.1% of

6396-548: The transcription employed by the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica , which is widely employed in academia, the contrast here represented as a/ā is represented as ä/a. Geʽez is transliterated according to the following system (see the phoneme table below for IPA values): Because Geʽez is no longer spoken in daily life by large communities, the early pronunciation of some consonants is not completely certain. Gragg writes that "[t]he consonants corresponding to

6478-412: The wider Adwa area, formerly the prevalence of feudal lords, who, however, still had to respect the local land rights. Tigrayans are branched out across the world in diaspora communities but are native residence of Tigray. Areas where Tigrayans have strong ancestral links are: Enderta , Agame , Tembien , Kilite Awlalo , Axum , Raya, Humera, Welkait, and Tsegede. The latter three areas are now under

6560-459: Was geographically divided into two provinces; "Tigré, which extends from the Red Sea to the river Tacazzé; and Amhara, from that river westward to the Galla, which inclose Abyssinia proper on all sides except the north-west." Tigray he notes, "is a large and important province, of great wealth and power. All the merchandise destined to cross the Red Sea to Arabia must pass through this province, so that

6642-464: Was named Agazi, after one of the founding fighters of the TPLF, who had been killed in the second year of the Ethiopian Civil War . In a series of offensives launched on 25 February 1988, TPLF fighters bypassed Mekelle but took control of Maychew , Korem and other places along the Dessie-Mekelle road. By June 1988, TPLF controlled all of Tigray except the city of Mekelle and the territory

6724-831: Was occupied by the Italians without a shot and integrated into the Colonia Eritrea ; from here the Italians extended their occupation south, up to Ambalage. The Italian army established their fort near the Enda Eyesus church above Mekelle in October 1895. After the re-occupation of Ambalage in late 1895, the fort was besieged by Ethiopian troops, who cut the Italians' water supply. When the Italians surrendered in January 1896, Menelik allowed them to retreat to their stronghold Adigrat , probably hoping to prevent an escalation of

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