Coordinates: 14°16′N 39°27′E

Adigrat
Adigrat (Tigrinya: ዓዲግራት, ʿaddigrat, also called ʿAddi Grat) is a
city and separate woreda in the Tigray Regional State of Ethiopia. It Adigrat
is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude 14°16′N ዓዲግራት
39°27′E, with an elevation of 2,457 metres (8,061 ft) above sea level City
and below a high ridge to the west. Adigrat is the last important
Ethiopian city south of the border with Eritrea, and is considered to
be a strategically important gateway to Eritrea and the Red Sea.
Adigrat was part of Ganta Afeshum woreda before a separate
woreda was created for the city. Currently, Adigrat serves as the
capital of the Eastern Tigray zone.

Adigrat is one of the most important cities of Tigray, which evolved

from earlier political centers and camps of regional governors.
Antalo, Aläqot and Adigrat were a few of them. The decline of
Antalo was followed by the rise of Adigrat as another prominent, yet
short-lived, capital of Tigray.[3] It used to serve as the capital of
Agame.

Contents Clockwise from top: Adigrat panoramic

view, Cathedral of the Holy Savior,
History Debre Damo Monastery, typical street,
Origins downtown.
17th-18th century
19th Century
20th Century
Main sights Flag
Cityscape
Adigrat
Demographics
Geography
Climate
Economy
Arts and culture
Religion and sources of knowledge
Food
Sports Location within Ethiopia
Transportation Coordinates: 14°16′N 39°27′E
Education Country Ethiopia
Notable inhabitants Region Tigray
Zone Misraqawi (Eastern)
References Woreda Adigrat
External links Area
• Total 18.77 km2 (7.25 sq mi)
 Elevation 2,457 m (8,061 ft)
History
Population (2013)
• Total 76,400[1]
Origins • Density 3,703/km2 (9,590/sq mi)
Time UTC+03:00 (EAT)
Tradition attributes the origin of the name Adigrat, which means "the zone
country of farmland", to the then popular Tigrayan chief Akhadom. Post 20[2]
Adigrat seems to have been under cultivation for a long time. It has a Code
settlement history dating back at least to the 14th century.[4] Area (+251) 34
code(s)
Adigrat appears on indigenous maps of the northern Horn of Africa
Website www.adigratcity.org.et (htt
in the 15th Century under the name Agame.[5][6]
p://www.adigratcity.org.et/)

17th-18th century

Adigrat became the center of the Tigrayan chief, dejazmach Kafle Wahid, the viceroy of atse Fasilides during the
first half of the 17th century.[7]

19th Century

Adigrat emerged as the political capital of Tigray when dejazmach Sabagadis Woldu of Agame assumed the
governorship of the region in the period 1822-30. Sabagadis set up some palaces, churches and markets. This
increasingly attracted both natives and foreigners to establish permanent residences and a few shops in the town.
Adigrat was an important market-center for salt, which was mined in the Afar districts of Areho and Berale in
eastern Tigray. However, it declined after the death of its patron, Sabagadis, in 1830. It was repeatedly attacked,
sacked and plundered by the lowlanders and political rivals of Sabagadis.[4][7] Samuel Gobat had joined countless
Ethiopians in fleeing there for safety in the days immediately after Sabagadis' death.[8]

When the missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf passed through Adigrat in April 1842, "almost the whole is in ruins",
and observed that a nearby village, Kersaber, was "much larger than Adigrat."[9] In the late 1860s the town had a
rural appearance and much of it is still under cultivation today.

During the First Italian-Abyssinian War, the Italians occupied Adigrat on 25 March 1895, and used it as a base to
support their advance south to Mek'ele. General Antonio Baldissera refortified the settlement after the Italian
defeat at the Battle of Adowa, but Emperor Menelik II insisted on its surrender at the beginning of the peace talks
that concluded the war; Baldissera was ordered to evacuate Adigrat, which he did 18 May 1896. Augustus B.
Wylde a few years later described Adigrat as having a Saturday market of medium size.[10]

20th Century

Lazarists introduced perhaps the first modern school of northern Ethiopia in Adigrat at the turn of the 20th century.
However, like most Ethiopian towns, Adigrat increased its commercial and administrative importance during the
period of the Italian occupation. The Italians introduced the first elements of modern infrastructure, including
stronger fortresses, restaurants, residential houses, a health center, schools, roads, piped water, an electric
generator, etc.[3]

The Italians again occupied Adigrat at the beginning of the Second Italian-Abyssinian War 7 October 1935. The
Italians were met there on the 11th by Ras Haile Selassie Gugsa, who had been courted by the Italians to ignite a
widespread defection of the Tigrayan aristocracy; instead, he had been soundly defeated a few days before by
Dejazmach Haile Kebbede of Wag, and presented himself to the invaders with only 1200 followers. Anthony
Mockler notes that despite the fact the young Ras shook Ethiopian morale, "this was the first and last open
defection to the Italians of an important noble and his men."[11]

In 1938, there were shops and hotel-restaurants (“Bologna”, “Piemontese”, “Centrale”). There was also a post,
telephone and telegraph office, a health post and a Catholic Apostolic Prefecture.[12]

Adigrat was captured by rebels in the Woyane rebellion 25 September 1943, forcing the Ethiopian government
administrators to flee to neighboring Eritrea. By 1958 the city was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First
Class Township.[8]

During the 1970s, Agazi Comprehensive High School, and together with
the town's Catholic junior high school, they became centers of anti-
government dissent.[13] The presence outside of town of a large military
base, served as a focus for protesting students, and also as a source for
their hopes of a military coup.

Adigrat's dependence on merchandising and trade meant that the Derg's

imposition of commercial and transport restrictions were strongly felt and
resented.[13] Under the Derg business licenses became progressively
more difficult to get, and traders' trucks were requisitioned for the
transport of war-related materials to army bases in Eritrea. Permits of
travel were required; convoys were introduced by 1976; and the road
links to Asmara were virtually broken, largely by the ELF, by the late
1970s.

Street scene. During the first years of the Ethiopian Civil War, the fledgling Tigrayan
People's Liberation Front drew support from these groups.[8] Derg forces
took Adigrat during their Operation Adwa in summer 1988. The same
day that the Third Revolutionary Army was crushed at Battle of Shire, 19 February 1989, government troops and
officials evacuated Adigrat.[14] According to Africa Watch they caused widespread destruction in the town before
they left.[8] A pharmaceutical factory which became operational in 1997, was set up in the town.

Main sights
There are different sights near Adigrat can be visited by tourists like:-

Debre Damo is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th-century monastery in northern Ethiopia.
The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape, about 1000 by 400 m in dimension. It is north-west
of Adigrat, in the Mehakelegnaw Zone of the Tigray Region, close to the border with Eritrea.

Gunda Gunde is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery located to the south of Adigrat in the Misraqawi
(Eastern) Zone of the northern Tigray Region in Ethiopia. It is known for its prolific scriptorium, as well as its
library of Ge'ez manuscripts. This collection of over 220 volumes, all but one dating from before the 16th century,
is one of the largest collections of its kind in Ethiopia.

Cityscape
Adigrat, the capital of the Agamé district, has a rich aristocratic and political history. In town are the remnants of
two castles from the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of Princes"),(ዘመነ መሳፍንት) one owned by Dej Desta, the other by
the Ras Sebhat Aregawi. Other sites of interest:
 19th century Adigrat Chirkos - was strategically built on a hill
near Dej Desta's castle, so that Desta could see the church
from his bedroom balcony.
A few years after World War II land was obtained in the center
of Adigrat at a site called "Welwalo". In view of the possibility
that one day it might become a church, the "Holy Saviour" was
built and used regularly as a parish church. After the
establishment of the Ethiopian Catholic hierarchy in 1961 that
church was destined to become the cathedral of the Eparchy
of Adigrat. After appropriate modifications were made the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour
formal and official consecration of the Cathedral Catholic of
the Holy Saviour took place on 19 April 1969. It has an Italian
design, but incorporates work by Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle.[15]
Italian War cemetery commemorates some 765 Italian soldiers who died between 1935 and
1938.[15]
Adigrat also hosts a market, and a newly constructed community park.

Demographics
In 1938, the town counted 4296 inhabitants (including 137 Italians).[12]

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical

Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 57,588, of
whom 26,010 are men and 31,578 women. The majority of the
inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with
94.01% reporting that as their religion, while 3.02% of the population
were Catholics, and 2.68% were Muslim.[16]

The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 37,417 of whom Adigrat downtown
17,352 were men and 20,065 were women.

Geography
Surrounded by a range of mountains (the peak of which is Alaqwa), Adigrat held a strategic position at the
junction of the crossroads between Adwa in the west, Asmara and Massawa in the north and Mekelle in the south.
Towards the east, it is delimited by the spectacular edge of the north-eastern Ethiopian escarpment dropping into
the lowlands. Adigrat was interconnected with the prominent trade routes linking Tigray and the Red Sea, on the
one hand, and such old market-towns as Adwa, Hawzen, Antalo and Mekelle, on the other.

The Huga river runs through Adigrat.[17] The city is spread widely on both banks of the river. Adigrat is located at
altitude ranges from 2000 to 3000 m above sea level. The city has several prominent hills; one of the most
prominent is Debre Damo which has a monastery at its peak.

Climate

Adigrat has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). The overall climate throughout the year
is mild and dry. The annual rainfall ranges between 400 and 600 mm, with most of the rain falling in the rainy
season (June up to September).[18]
 Climate data for Adigrat

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average
24.1 24.6 26.0 27.0 25.8 26.9 23.3 22.8 23.6 22.3 22.1 22.0 24.2
high °C
(75.4) (76.3) (78.8) (80.6) (78.4) (80.4) (73.9) (73.0) (74.5) (72.1) (71.8) (71.6) (75.6)
(°F)

Daily
14.8 15.9 16.6 18.8 17.6 18.0 17.1 16.3 15.8 14.8 13.8 12.8 16.0
mean
(58.6) (60.6) (61.9) (65.8) (63.7) (64.4) (62.8) (61.3) (60.4) (58.6) (56.8) (55.0) (60.8)
°C (°F)

Average
4.9 6.6 7.3 10.6 9.4 9.2 10.7 9.8 8.1 7.3 5.7 3.6 7.8
low °C
(40.8) (43.9) (45.1) (51.1) (48.9) (48.6) (51.3) (49.6) (46.6) (45.1) (42.3) (38.5) (46.0)
(°F)

Average
rainfall 6 5 42 54 42 38 139 154 17 14 31 10 552
mm (0.2) (0.2) (1.7) (2.1) (1.7) (1.5) (5.5) (6.1) (0.7) (0.6) (1.2) (0.4) (21.9)
(inches)

Source: http://www.levoyageur.net/weather-city-ADIGRAT.html

Economy
Addis Pharmaceuticals Factory has been operational since 1997. The city has a branch offices of Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia,[19] Dashen, Awash, Wegagen, and Ambessa.[20] Adigrat's Chamber of Commerce actively
organizes many of the business in the town.[21] A modern water supply system was built at a cost of 126.4 million
birr and was inaugurated on 27 June 2017.[22]

Arts and culture

Since 1961 it has been the center of the Adigrat Eparchy of the Vicariate Apostolic of Abyssinia.[23]

In Adigrat Meskel is special. It is celebrated with carnival and lighting of damera.

Religion and sources of knowledge

It has been known also the Gunda-Gundi monastery, from the 14th century up to its present existence for its
source of peculiar type of religious manuscripts, innovation of medicine and medications/treatment of different
sicknesses or curing from different diseases, the starting of small technologies like the fabrication or producing of
oils, and other cosmetics for human uses using technologies, and it is a testimonial for other religious and other
modernization activities and practices.

Food

Tihlo is a dish unique to Adigrat. It is prepared by making kneading barley flour into soft balls and preparing a
meat stew with berbere, an Ethiopian spice, onions, tomato paste, water and salt.[24] The dish is eaten using a fork
shaped utensil, which is unique in Ethiopian cuisine.

The beles, a cactus pear, grown in Adigrat is considered to be of high-quality.[25]

The city is renowned for its white honey and tej, an Ethiopian honey-wine.[26]

Sports
The city is represented in the Ethiopian premier league by Welwalo Adigrat University FC.

Transportation
Adigrat is located along Ethiopian Highway 2, which connects the city with Addis Abeba and Mekelle. In
Adigrat, Ethiopian Highway 2, turns off the main highway to the west in the direction of Adwa. To the north of
Adigrat, Ethiopian Highway 20 connects the city to Kokobay and to Asmara in Eritrea.[27]

Education
The education system in Adigrat engages thousands of students in public
and private schools. The first high school in Adigrat is Agazi
Comprehensive High School which was established in the 1950s.[28] As
of 2013 there were 13 public schools and 7 private schools.[29]

Adigrat is home to the Adigrat University which serves over 14,000

students.[30] The technical school in Adigrat include TVET and
Polytechnic College. There are two private colleges, namely, Ethio-lmage
and New Millennium College.[29] The Adigrat University grounds

The city has a public library with approximately 20,000 books.

Notable inhabitants
Tedros Adhanom, Director General of WHO's
Yohannes Haile-Selassie, paleoanthropologist
Miruts Yifter, Olympic gold medal winning long distance runner
Seyoum Mesfin, politician and diplomat
Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-born middle-distance runner
Tewolde GebreMariam, chief Executive of Ethiopian Air Lines

References
1. "Adigrat City Population" (http://www.citypopulation.de/Ethiopia.html). City Population. Retrieved
16 July 2015.
2. "Adigrat Postal Code" (http://www.geopostcodes.com/Ganta_Afeshum). Geopost Codes.
Retrieved 16 July 2015.
3. Gebrelibanos, Tsegay (2003). "Addigrat". In Uhlig, Siegbert (ed.). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. 1.
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
4. Hagos, Kebede (1988). The History of Addigrat, c. 1644-1974. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa
University.
5. Nyssen, J., Tesfaalem Ghebreyohannes, Hailemariam Meaza, Dondeyne, S., 2020. Exploration of
a medieval African map (Aksum, Ethiopia) – How do historical maps fit with topography? In: De
Ryck, M., Nyssen, J., Van Acker, K., Van Roy, W., Liber Amicorum: Philippe De Maeyer In Kaart.
Wachtebeke (Belgium): University Press: 165-178.
6. Smidt W (2003) Cartography, in: Uhlig S (ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, vol. 1: 688-691
7. Berhe, Tsegay (1996). A History of Agamä, 1822-1914. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University.
 8. Undahl, Bernhard (2020-02-04). "Local history of Ethiopia – Files of 2005 (primary) 3. Adi–Aero" (h
ttps://nai.uu.se/download/18.39fca04516faedec8b248c0c/1580827182829/ORTADI05.pdf) (PDF).
Nordic Africa Institute. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20201028224356/https://nai.uu.se/do
wnload/18.39fca04516faedec8b248c0c/1580827182829/ORTADI05.pdf) (PDF) from the original
on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-10. Full compilation: Local history of Ethiopia (https://nai.uu.se/l
ibrary/resources/thematic-resources/local-history-of-ethiopia.html)
9. Journals of the Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf, Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society,
Detailing their proceedings in the kingdom of Shoa, and journeys in other parts of Abyssinia, in the
years 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1842 (https://archive.org/stream/journalsofrevmes00isen/journalsofrev
mes00isen_djvu.txt), (London, 1843), p. 513
10. Augustus B. Wylde, Modern Abyssinia (London: Methuen, 1901), p. 494
11. Mockler, Anthony (2003) [1984]. Haile Selassie's War. New York: Olive Branch. pp. 61ff. ISBN 1-
56656-473-5.
12. Consociazione turistica Italiana. Guida dell'Africa orientale Italiana (http://www.petitesondes.net/G
uida-AOI.htm). Milano. p. 298.
13. Young, John (1997). Peasant Revolution in Ethiopia. Cambridge University Press. p. 94.
ISBN 0521591988.
14. Gebru Tareke, The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa (New Haven: Yale University,
2009), p. 284
15. Frances Linzee Gordon, Jean Bernard Carillet Ethiopia and Eritrea (Lonely Planet, 2003) pp. 168f.
16. Census 2007 Tables: Tigray Region (http://www.csa.gov.et/index.php?option=com_rubberdoc&vie
w=doc&id=275&format=raw&Itemid=521) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2010111401030
0/http://www.csa.gov.et/index.php?option=com_rubberdoc&view=doc&id=275&format=raw&Itemid
=521) 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5 and 3.4.
17. Mpofu, Thomas (May 2011). "An evaluation of the effectiveness of flood disaster mitigation
measures in the city of Adigrat, Tigray region, Ethiopia". Journal of Disaster Risk Studies. 3 (2):
384–400.
18. Assefa, Alembrhan (October 2013). "Major causes of organ condemnation and economic loss in
cattle slaughtered at Adigrat municipal abattoir, northern Ethiopia". Veterinary World. 6 (10): 734–
738. doi:10.14202/vetworld.2013.734-738 (https://doi.org/10.14202%2Fvetworld.2013.734-738).
19. "Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Branch Offices" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150624042116/htt
p://www.combanketh.et/More/BranchLocator.aspx). www.combanketh.et/. Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia. Archived from the original (http://www.combanketh.et/More/BranchLocator.aspx) on 24
June 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
20. Prasad, Durga (2017). "The Impact of Workforce Diversity on Organizational Effectiveness: (A
Study of Selected Banks in Tigray Region of Ethiopia)". International Journal of Science and
Research (IJSR). 6: 430.
21. "Residents of Ethiopia's Adigrat Hope Peace Will Bring Improved Economy, Better Life" (https://w
ww.voanews.com/a/a-13-bkg-majtenyi-ethiopia-eritrea/398896.html). VOA. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
22. Abdisa, Hawi (24 June 2017). "Ministry Completes 1b Br Worth Water Projects" (https://addisfortun
e.net/articles/ministry-completes-1b-br-worth-water-projects/). Addis Fortune. Retrieved 29 June
2017.
23. O'Mahoney, Kevin (1982). a History of the Vicarte of Abyssinia, 1839-1890. Asmara.
24. Gebrehiwot, Bereket (16 June 2009). "Tihlo" (http://nutritionfortheworld.wikifoundry.com/page/Tihl
o). Nutrition for the World. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
25. Hailesilasse, Asmeret (11 August 2013). "Beles comes to Town" (https://addisfortune.net/articles/b
eles-comes-to-town/). Addis Fortune. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
26. Gebremariam, Tadesse; Brhane, Gebregziabher (2014). "Determination Of Quality And
Adulteration Effects Of Honey From Adigrat And Its Surrounding Areas" (http://www.ijteee.org/final-
print/oct2014/Determination-Of-Quality-And-Adulteration-Effects-Of-Honey-From-Adigrat-And-Its-S
urrounding-Areas.pdf) (PDF). International Journal of Technology Enhancements and Emerging
Engineering Research. 2 (10): 71–76.
27. "Google Maps" (https://www.google.com/maps/@14.3588922,39.4392774,11.27z). Google Maps.
Retrieved 2017-06-20.
28. "Agazi School Alumni Association" (http://www.agazi.net/page/about_us.htm). Agazi School
Alumni Association-North America. Agazi School Alumni Association. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
29. World Bank (February 2013). "Adigrat Sanitary Landfill Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment Report". World Bank Group.
30. "Adigrat University" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150710100158/http://www.adu.edu.et/index.ph
p/site-map/46-adigrat-university-s-brief-profile-2007ec). adu.edu.et. Adigrat University. Archived
from the original (http://www.adu.edu.et/index.php/site-map/46-adigrat-university-s-brief-profile-200
7ec) on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.

External links
Media related to Adigrat at Wikimedia Commons

John Graham, "Tigray - Axum and Adua - Part 1" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070607172228/ht

tp://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2000/12/01-12-00/Travl.htm) (Addis Tribune)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adigrat&oldid=993916183"

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