AY Honors/African Lore/Answer Key

Amhara (አማራ) is an ethnicity of people in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 15 million, 27% of the country's population. They speak Amharic, which appertains to the South-Western Semitic languages Their predominant religion is Christianity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Historians generally consider the Amhara to have been Ethiopia's ruling elite for centuries, represented by the line of emperors ending in Haile Selassie. Commentator Marcos Lemma disputes the accuracy of such a statement, arguing that other ethnic groups have always been active in the country's politics. One possible source of confusion for this stems from the mislabeling of Amharic speakers as "Amhara," and the fact that many people from other ethnic groups have Amharic names.

External links

• Lemma, Marcos (MD, PhD). Template:Web reference