Tembien

[2] Tembien holds numerous prehistoric sites, which have been dated to the Middle Stone Age in Ayninbirkekin,[3] or Pastoral Neolithic in Aregen and Menachek.

[7] The border between Tigray proper (area surrounding Aksum and Adwa) and Tembien traditionally was the Wer’i river.

[7] As evidenced by the numerous monolithic churches in Tembien, the socio-political organisation is based on Oriental Orthodox Christianity since ancient times.

There is an important pilgrimage every year to the Abba Selama monastery, situated on an almost inaccessible rock that can only be reached at the peril of one's life.

After Aksum, this would be the oldest church of Ethiopia, established by the first Syrian missionary, Frumentius, commonly named “Abba Selama”.

The first written source that mentions Tembien is about a war expedition of one of its late-Aksumite rulers against the Nubian Alodia kingdom.

[13] However, Emperor Yohannes IV did not establish his capital in Tembien (due to relative inaccessibility), but in Mekelle and Adwa - these towns were well connected to the Red Sea and to inner Ethiopia.

However Yohannes’ kept strong links with Tembien, as indicated by the establishment of a (locally paved) horse-track between Melfa and Mekelle, passing through the V-notched Ksad Mederbai.

Some of the better-known 19th century higher ranked leaders of Tembien were: In 1935 and 1936, the Italians invaded Ethiopia, coming from the north (Eritrea).

However, at the end of February, a turning point came when the Italians targeted the counterattacking Tembien troops from the north and the south, with air force support and large-scale use of mustard gas.

[17] Souvenirs of this period are still vivid, and particularly the people know the caves and other places where their grandparents went hiding for the Italian bomb and gas attacks.

[7] The traditions of autonomy, the historical role in Tigrayan politics, and relative isolation on top of a massif made Tembien a centre of resistance after the Italian retreat.

[19] For a long time, Melfa, west of Hagere Selam, was the capital of Tembien;[1] later on, the administration was established in Abiy Addi, as it was easier of access.

Both during the reign of Emperor Haile Sillasie and that of the military Derg regime, Tembien was marginalised, despite its closeness to Mekelle.

From these underground rooms and offices cut out in sandstone cliffs, the TPLF carried out its political activities, including a major land reform; it was from here that the offensives were organised till the conquest of Addis Ababa in 1991.