Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: Where is the Tigray Region?
Tigray Region (Amharic: ክልል ትግራይ, kilil Tigrāy; Official name: Amharic: ብሔራዊ ክልላዊ መንግሥቲ ትግራይ, Bəh̩erawi Kəllelawi Mängəśti Təgray, "Tigray National Regional State") is the northernmost of the nine regions (kililat) of Ethiopia. Tigray is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples. Tigray is also known as Region 1 according to the federal constitution. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the 6th largest by area, the 5th most populous, and the 5th most densely populated of the 9 Regional States.
During the Middle Ages, the position of Tigray Mekonnen ("Governor of Tigray") was established to rule over the area. Other districts included Akele Guzay (now part of Eritrea), and the kingdom of the Bahr negus, who ruled much of what is now Eritrea and Shire district and town in Western Tigray. At the time when Tigray Mekonnen existed simultaneously with that of Bahr negus, their frontier seems to have been the Mareb River, which is currently constitutes the border between the Ethiopian province of Tigray and Eritrea.
Like other Regions in Ethiopia, Tigray is subdivided into administrative zones
Looting has become a major issue in the Tigray Region, as archaeological sites have become sources for construction materials and ancient artifacts used for everyday purposes by local populations.[33]
Debretsion Gebremichael () is the current Chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the acting President of Tigray Region.
Central Tigray East Tigray North West Tigray South Tigray South East Tigray West Tigray Mekelle (special zone)
Other Tigray cities functioning as centers of Ethiopian metropolitan areas include:
Tigray is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, the Afar Region to the east, and the Amhara Region to the south and southwest.[5] Besides Mekelle, major cities include Adigrat, Aksum, Shire, Humera, Adwa, Alamata, Wukro, Maychew, Sheraro, Abiy Adi, Korem, Qwiha, Hawzen, Mekoni and Zalambessa. There is also the historically significant town of Yeha.
Tigray (, ) is a historical region and province of Ethiopia. It encompasses most of the territories of Tigrinya-speakers (and a few minority groups closely linked with them) in Ethiopia; Tigray is separated from the northern Tigrinya territories by the River Mereb, now serving as the state border to Eritrea.
Dima is a town in northern Ethiopia. It is located in the Mirabawi Zone of the Tigray Region. 
Tigray is represented by 38 representatives in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia House of Peoples' Representatives.
Tigray's official language is Tigrigna. Tigray is situated between 12°–15° N and 36° 30' – 40° 30' E and comprises 53,638 square kilometres (20,710sqmi)[4] Tigray has ca. 5.3 million inhabitants. The greatest part of the population (ca. 80%) are agriculturalists, contributing 46% to the regional gross domestic product (2002/03). The highlands (11.5% dəgʷəa, 40.5% wäyna däga) have the highest population density, specially in eastern and central Tigray. The much less densely populated lowlands of Tigray (qʷälla) comprise 48% of Tigray.
Tigray was densely populated since ancient times; research in Lake sediments of Ashenge show that ecological change started with first dense settlements ca. 4,000 years ago. Today's Tigray region is the result of a complex process of internal migrations, cultural assimilation and also expansion (in western Tigray), as well as of unification, separation, and re-unification of diverse Tigrinya sub-groups and provides; starting from an early age Tigray was marked by dynamics of interaction between Cushitic-speaking groups (probably the most ancient population of Tigray) and Semitic-speakers, whose language and political culture makes Tigray deeply. Place names are usually of Cushitic and Semitic origin; several of the latter can be linked with toponyms in southern Arabia. Pre-Aksumite inscriptions show that Tigray was marked by a Sabaic-influenced kingdom (D'mt), which had merged with a local culture. In later Aksumite times migration again linked both sides of the Red Sea, with Aksumite settlements also on the Arabian side. Toponyms indicate that the Tigray highlands had an important (Pre-) Agaw population in ancient times (the house-style specific for Agaw regions reaching up to Aksum, in a region with Agaw toponyms); north of Tigray there was a Beja migration after the fall of Aksum, and later several migrations of Agaw groups.
Tigray is home to Ethiopia's most extensive church libraries that are found in the eastern and central zones of the region. There are several ongoing digitization projects to preserve previous historical texts.
A distinctive feature of Tigray are its rock-hewn churches. Similar in design to those of Lalibela in the Amhara Region, these churches are found in four or five clusters – Gheralta, Teka-Tesfay, Atsbi and Tembien – with Wukro sometimes included. Some of the churches are considered earlier than those of Lalibela, perhaps dating from the eighth century. Mostly monolithic, with designs partly inspired by classical architecture, they are often located at the top of cliffs or steep hills, for security. For example, Tigray's ancient Debre Damo monastery is accessible only by climbing a rope 25 meters up a sheer cliff.
In the 14th century the Tigrinya-speaking lands (Tigray-Mereb Melash) were divided into two provinces, separated by the Mereb River by the newly enthroned Amhara Emperors. The governor of the northern province received the title Bahre Negash (Ruler of the sea), whereas the governor of the southern province was given the title of Tigray Mekonen (Lord of Tigray). The Portuguese Jesuit, Emanuele Baradas' work titled "Do reino de Tigr" and written in 1633-34 states that the "reino de Tigr" extended from Hamasien to Temben, from the borders of Dankel to the Adwa mountain. He also stated that Tigray-Mereb Melash was divided into twenty-four smaller political units (principalities), twelve of which were located south of the Mereb and governed by the Tigray Mekonen based in Enderta.[20] The other twelve were located north of the Mereb under the authority of the Bahre Negash, based in the district of Serae.[20]
At the regional level, the Tigray Education Bureau governs primary and secondary educational institutions. At the municipal level, there are approximately 300 school districts region-wide.
The highest-ranking court, the Tigray Supreme Court, is Tigray's "court of last resort".[42] A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters. The chief judge is called the President of Tigray Supreme Court (W/ro Hirity Miheretab).
vt Largest cities or towns in Tigray Region Source:[23]RankDistrictPop. Adigrat1MekelleEnderta219,818 Axum2AdigratGanta Afeshum76,4003AxumLaelay Maychew56,5004Shire Inda SelassieTahtay Koraro47,2845HumeraKafta Humera41,6536AdwaAdwa40,5007AlamataAlamata33,2148WukroKelete Awelallo30,2109MaychewEndamehony23,41910SheraroTahtay Adiyabo17,045
In November 2017, Debretsion was elected to be the chairman of the TPLF. In January 2018, he was also elected to become the Deputy President of Tigray Region. As Debretsion is not member of the Tigray Regional parliament, he could not become President. Nonetheless, as the post of the President became vacant, the Deputy President will be the President of Tigray Region in an acting capacity.
Tigray went through numerous administrative changes in the course of its history. In 1991 Tigray was radically reshaped. During the reign of Haile Selassie I and also the following Derg period, Tigray did not yet encompass Welqayt (until 1991 having been part of Begemder), while Enderta in eastern Tigray extended over large Afar areas including the salt plains, which were given to Afar "kəlləl". Still in the 1930s the regions south of Enderta, i.e. Wajjarat and Angot, formed the separate governorate called "Southern Tigray". Modern Tigray is the result of a merger of diverse historical northern provinces (with Tigrinya and Agaw speakers), which were often independent from each other.
Today's unity of Tigrayan territories south of the Mereb river is a rather modern phenomenon. Most northern provinces were ruled by their own governors, often descending from local dynasties and preserving a high degree of autonomy within the empire, e.g., in legal and judicial issues, taxation etc. Only rarely these territories were unified under one ruler.
Tigrinya, often written as Tigrigna (, "tigriñā",) is an Afro-Asiatic language, belonging to the family's Semitic branch. It is spoken by ethnic Tigray-Tigrinya in the Horn of Africa. Tigrinya speakers primarily inhabit the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia (96%), where its speakers are called "Tigrawot" ("Tigrāweyti"(female ) or "Tigraway"(male) -singular- and "Tegaru" -plural-), as well as the contiguous borders of southern and central Eritrea (57%), where speakers are known as the Tigrinya. Tigrinya is also spoken by groups of emigrants from these regions, including some Beta Israel.
- Dam Building in Tigray by David Mercer by Elizabeth Blunt, BBC News, 20 December 2007 - the son of Mohamed Amin covers sustainable agriculture in Tigray following the Horn of Africa drought in 2011.
This is a list of the 35 rural woredas, or districts, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, compiled from material on the Central Statistical Agency website. There are also urban woredas that are not included.
Tigray was of strategic importance, both symbolically, as it included the sacred town of Aksum, and economically, due to important trade routes from the east (i.e. Agame and Enderta) and the north. It included fertile plains (e.g.. to the west of Aksum), and strategically important mountains. "The one who controlled Amba Enda Seyon controlled Tigray" said Markham in 1869. Still in the 20th century, Tigray proper was a province of its own in the framework of a wider homonymous province, also called Tigray. Even if well before the 20th century occasionally the term Tigray already extended over areas outside of Tigray proper, local parlance preserved the old provincial names, and the term Tigray is still used by rural people of Tigray as referring only to Adwa awrajja, while other regions of modern Tigray are still considered to be "outside Tigray" by elders and rural people.