An amba ( ''āmbā'', ''imbā'') is a characteristic

landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is a steep-sided, flat-topped mountain, often the site of villages, wells, and their surrounding farmland. Such settlements were frequently located on these amba

plateaus In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Oft ...

because they were very defensible and often virtually inaccessible from the ground. The original term in Amharic indicates a mountain fortress.

Amba Geshen Amba Geshen is the name of a mountain in northern Ethiopia. It is in Ambassel, South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, northwest of Dessie, at a latitude and a longitude of . Part of Ambassel woreda, Amba Geshen is one of the mountains of Ethiopi ...

, for example, is a historically significant amba where members of royal families were kept under guard for their safety and to prevent their participation in plots against the sitting

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. Other noted Ambas include

Amba Aradam Amba Aradam is a table mountain in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, between Mek'ele and Addis Abeba, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of . The name in Tigrinya is ...

and Amba Alagi, sites of famous battles during the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

Notable ambas

: A historic prison or detention location for royal family members. *

Debre Damo Debre Dammo (), Däbrä Dammo (with the geminated -''mm''-) in Tigrinya or Däbrä Damo in later Amharic appellations (also spelled Debre Damo, Dabra Dāmmo or Däbrä Dammo), is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th-century mo ...

: The name of both an Amba and historic Ethiopian Church. *

Magdala Magdala (; ; ) was an ancient Jews, Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya (), and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea (). It is belie ...

: Emperor Tewodros's capitol before his death during the

British Expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, ...

. * Amba Alagi: Site of three battles, in both Italo-Ethiopian Wars. In 2008, a scientific mission identified on an amba near

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

, the

Kundudo Kundudo (also spelt as Kondudo or Qundudo) is a flat-top mountain (or '' amba'') in the Misraq Hararghe Zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Part of the range that bears its name, its summit lies east of the walled city of Harar, with a hei ...

, one of just two

feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and thes ...

populations in Africa.

References

Sources

*Munro-Hay, Stuart, ''Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide'', Contributor Pamala Taor, Published 2002 by I. B. Tauris, 384 pages, Fortifications in Ethiopia Fortifications by type Landforms of Ethiopia Mesas Slope landforms {{Ethiopia-geo-stub

Notable ambas

See also

References

Sources