Habesha people

The term Habesha (Ge'ez ሐበሻ ḥabaśā, Amh. hābešā, Tgn., ḥābešā; sometimes Amh. Abesha, አበሻ `ābešā; Arabic. al-ḥabašah الحبشية) refers to a Semitic-speaking group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to the tribes of the Axumite (Habasha) and the Pre-Islamic South Arabian Kingdoms. Today they include the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya ethnic groups of Ethiopia and Eritrea who are predominantly Orthodox Christians. The Amhara and Tigray ethnicities combined make up about 36% of Ethiopia's population (ca. 23 million Amhara, 4.5 million Tigray) while Tigrinyas make up about half of Eritrea's population (ca. 2.25 of 4.5 million). It should be noted, however, that a broader definition of this term may include some segments of the Semitic-speaking Gurage groups (in the southwest) and the Harari (in the east/southeast), as well, because of their strong historical links to the Amhara and Tigray. In the broadest sense, the word "Habesha" may refer to anyone from Ethiopia or Eritrea, while some would exclude themselves from this association.
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