Angot (

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: አንጎት, translated as "Neck," possibly referring to the province geography) was a historical region in northern Ethiopia. It was bordered on the west by

Bugna Bugna (Amharic: ቡግና ''būgnā'', ''not'' pronounced "buña") is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named after the former district. Located in the northwest corner of the Semien Wollo Zone, Bugna is bordered on the south by Meket, o ...

and the Afar lowlands to the east and southeast,

Ambassel Ambassel () is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, and an '' amba'', or mountain fortress, located in the woreda. The word Ambasel is derived from two words "Amba" from the Amharic word for plateau, and “Asel” from the Arabic language, which ...

to the southwest and

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

to the north. Portuguese explorer

Francisco Álvares Francisco Álvares ( – 1536–1541) was a Portugal, Portuguese missionary and exploration, explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Mateus (Ethiopia), Ethi ...

wrote that the boundary between Angot and Tigray was the Sabalete River which is the modern Ala River.

Axumite History

Under the reign of Degna Djan, during the 10th century, the empire kept expanding south, and sent troops into the modern-day region of

Ennarea Ennarea, also known as E(n)narya or In(n)arya ( Gonga: Hinnario), was a kingdom in the Gibe region in what is now western Ethiopia. It became independent from the kingdom of Damot in the 14th century and would be the most powerful kingdom in t ...

, while at the same time undertaking missionary activity into Angot. Emperor

Dil Na'od Dil Na'od was the last King of Aksum before the Zagwe dynasty. He lived in either the 9th or 10th century. Dil Na'od was the younger son of Ged'a Jan (or Degna Djan), and succeeded his older brother 'Anbasa Wedem as ''negus''. According to E. ...

is said to have relocated the capital to Ku'bar on the shore of

Lake Hayq Lake Hayq (Amharic: ሐይቅ ሐይቅ, ) is a freshwater lake of Ethiopia. It is located north of Dessie, in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region. The town of Hayq is to the west of the lake. Lake Hayq is 6.7 km long and 6 km w ...

, south of Angot, and built the Istifanos Monastery.

Aksum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Regi ...

by that time was no longer the center of the Christian kingdom, and was instead a frontier town, threatened from the west and south by the rising Bete Israel and from the north by invading Beja tribes. Angot was a much more defensible position, a decision that proved wise when Beta Israel captured Aksum during Queen

Gudit Gudit () is the Classical Ethiopic name for a personage also known as Yodit in Tigrinya, and Amharic, but also Isato in Amharic, and Ga'wa in Ţilţal. The person behind these various alternative names is portrayed as a powerful female rul ...

's invasion. The capital, called Ku'bar or Jarmi, was probably located in southern

or Angot, however the exact location of this city is currently unknown.

Later history

Angot is mentioned as being north of Bete Amhara in the medieval period.Taddesse Tamrat, ''Church and State in Ethiopia'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 53. Angot was on the front line between Abyssinia and the Afar lowlands, and after multiple wars, was occupied by the Oromo tribes of Raya, Wollo and Yejju. In more recent times, it became part of

Wollo Province Wollo (Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia. During the Middle Ages this province name was Bete Amhara and it was the centre of the Solomonic emperors. Bete Amhara had an illustrious place in Ethiopian political and ...

and from 1994 it got split between Amhara and

regions. The northern parts of Angot ( Raya Azebo) become part of Tigray, and the rest became part of the Amhara Region under the

North Wollo Zone North Wollo (Amharic: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by South Wollo, on the west by South Gondar, on the north by Wag Hemra, on the northeast by Tigray Region, ...

References

{{coord missing, Ethiopia Former provinces of Ethiopia