Debre Markos (Amharic: ደብረ ማርቆስ, romanized: Däbrä Marḳos lit: Mount of St. Mark) is a city, separate woreda, and administrative seat of the East Gojjam Zone in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

[3] Originally named Manqwarar (lit: Cold Place)[note 1], the town was founded in 1853 by Dejazmach Tedla Gwalu, the then ruler of Gojjam.

[4][3][5] In the early 1860s, Debre Markos (then Manqwarar) served as the seat of government for Dejazmach Tedla Gwalu, the governor of Gojjam under Emperor Tewodros II.

[6] In 1869, Debre Markos then became the seat of the provincial ruler, Ras Adal, who later assumed the name Tekle Haymanot and title Negus of Gojjam.

During the reign of Tekle Haymanot, Richard Pankhurst notes, the population of Debre Markos "fluctuated greatly with the presence of absence of the army" of the Negus.

[7] The explorer Pellegrino Matteucci arrived at what was at that time named Manqwarar on 3 June 1879, he found Ras Adal's restored palace atop a hill overlooking a vast area.

In 1906, Felix Rosen wrote admiringly of Debre Markos' many flowering bushes, which filled the air with the scent of honey.

[5] In 1968 locals in Debre Markos and surrounding districts rebelled against the regional administration after series of accumulated burdens on civilians.

The population resisted the tax assessors, sent the customary petitions to the emperor to reverse the order and, when no response was forthcoming, rose in rebellion.

[3][4][10] Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Debre Markos had a population of 62,497, of whom 29,921 were men and 32,576 women.

Debre Markos is located close to a strategic mountain, Mount Chokea, which is one of the major sources for the water tower of Africa.

It is close to historical traditional schools, including Dima Giorgis Orthodox church, The Emperor Asrat, The Mysterious religion, and The Palace.

[4] Construction on Africa's first electric bus manufacturing factory began on 43 hectares of land in Debre Markos in January, 2007 by Rus Afro Trolleybus, a joint Russian-Ethiopian partnership.

CEO and major shareholder Getachew Eshetu predicted that the factory would have the capacity to manufacture 500 trolley buses per year, and employ 5,000 people.