Shewa

This article is about the area in Ethiopia. For the town in Pakistan, see Shewa Adda. For the Hebrew vowel sign, see Shva.
Shewa as a province during the reign of Haile Selassie.

Shewa (Amharic: ሸዋ; Oromo: Shawaa; Somali: Shawa; Arabic: شيوا), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (Scioà in Italian[1]), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at its center.

The towns of Debre Berhan, Antsokia, Ankober, Entoto and, after Shewa became a province of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa have all served as the capital of Shewa at various times. Most of northern Shewa, made up of the districts of Menz, Tegulet, Yifat, Menjar and Bulga, is populated by Christian Amharas, while southern Shewa, despite being historically inhabited by Amhara, is currently inhabited by the Gurages, Oromo and Argobba Muslim populations. The monastery of Debre Libanos, founded by Saint Tekle Haymanot, is located in the district of Silalish, Shewa[2] Modern Shewa includes the historical Endagabatan province.[3]

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Shoa" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 991.
  2. ^ "Niras in Ethiopia". www.niras.com. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  3. ^ Hassan, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia (PDF). University of London. p. 234.