The great majority of inhabitants were Orthodox Christians (95.5% in 1994), with the exception of a small, but important Muslim subgroup (Jeberti) and a few Catholics (mainly Irob).
Despite a general impression of ethnic and cultural homogeneity, there were a few ethnic minorities, especially at the borders of Tigray, belonging to a non-Tigrinya groups, such as the Saho-speaking Irob at the north-eastern border to Eritrea, the people|Raya in the south-east, the Agaw-speaking H̬amta in Abergele north of Wag, a few Kunama in the Habesha Kunama woreda east of Humera, and scattered peripheral groups in the western lowlands across the tekeze, such as the Chare of the Sellim Bet (related with the Gumuz) and Tukrir in the Humera area.
[citation needed] Tigray is the result of a merger of diverse historical northern provinces (with Tigrinya and Agaw speakers), which were often independent from each other.
Most northern provinces were ruled by their 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.
Usually it controlled adjacent territories, which might be the reason why the term Tigray basically encompassed only Adwa, Aksum and Yeha, and regularly extended over Hawzen (with Amba Enda Seyon) and Enticho.
Historical provinces are Shire, Adyabo, Haramat (with Hawzen), Geralta, Tembien (or Weri mallash, its border river Weri separating it from Tigray proper), Agame (including the Irob mountains), Sira (in the 20th century replaced by the Kelette Awlealo awrajja), Wemberta (with Asbi and Dara), Enderta (historically including the Arho saltplains of the Afar lowlands, with the Balgada, the controller of the salt trade), Sehart, Selewa, Wejjarat, Rayya Azebo (submitted only in the 19th century by atse Yohannes IV), and in the west Sellemt and Wälqayt (originally encompassing only the Western Tigray highlands), and finally, the Mezega lowlands including the former Muslim sultanate in the west successively included into the sphere of influence of Welqayt.
Even if being formally under the rulership of the central province (Tigray proper), the town enjoyed a special status, as a free city with its self-government.
Its administrators were the nəburä əd, a governor appointed by the Ethiopian ruler, and the qarigeta, the mayor elected by the male members of the seven "Aksumite clans" of Aksum, Mäläkya, Ak̠sum, Bägio, Fərhəba, Kudukʷi, Wäldmaybih, Ak̠oround Näfas.
Aksum as the guardian of the Tables of the Law (s̩əlatä muse, also identified as tabotä s̩əyon; Ark of Covenant) was regarded as "a church".
On this ground, its priests did not allow atse Yohannes IV to permanently establish his royal kätäma (camp) there, who therefore used Mekelle as his capital.
The city population managed to defend their traditional self-government - with the qarigeta being independent from the nəburä əd - even throughout the 20th century politics of centralization by atse Haile Selassie I.
The oldest inscriptions and texts referring to the population of the Aksumite kingdom and its neighbors do not know the term Tigray yet; they show an ethnic diversity, which has partially disappeared today.
Pre-Aksumite inscriptions show that Tigray was marked by a Sabaean-influenced kingdom (D'mt), which had merged with local culture.
Haile Sellasie's harsh measures to establish control by the central government, however, quickly led to local resistance.
Tigray hosts the UNESCO world heritage site of the Aksum stelae park, numerous medieval rock-hewn churches, with a special concentration in eastern Tigray and other church buildings dating from the ancient Aksumite period (such as Debre Damo monastery), often richly painted.
Most important for the reconstruction of the history of regional interrelations, political and genealogical alliances and dependencies, governors, and ancient administrative structure are land charters, documenting g'əlti and rəst rights.
In addition, during the 16th century a group of Portuguese soldiers together with Jesuit missionaries founded the settlements of Fəremona, which included a Catholic church.
Temporarily, the northern provinces were unified under one or two rulers, since at least the 14th century, mainly the Təgre Mäkännən, usually seated in the Hawzen or Adwa area (i.e. Tigray proper), and, further north, the kingdom of Mdre Bahri (bahər nägash), who controlled the trade routes to the Red Sea.
He was succeeded by Ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta, who ruled Tigray independently in the Zamane mesafent; and he in turn by däggiyat Sabagadis of the shum agame dynasty, whose successor was his son-in-law Wube of the Amharic-speaking Semien.
Some areas never or only rarely submitted to the rule of a Tigrayan overlord, but remained under their autonomous rulers (such as Hamassien and Serae for most of the time, Wajjarat, Zebul, etc.
After his accession to the imperial throne, Tigray was governed by his uncle Araya Selassie Demsu, who died shortly after Yohannes.
Atse Menelik II used the situation to partition again Tigray along older borders between several governors, who sent into war against each other immediately after his death (e.g. Gebre Selassie Barya Gabar of Aksum and Sebhat Aregawi of the Agame dynasty).
In a brief attempt to exploit Tigrayan discontent with Shewan rule for his power interests, Haile Selassie Gugsa from that dynasty allied with the Italians in the war of 1935–1936 to become ruler of a more autonomous Tigray.
Only when the fortune of the Italian occupants changed in World War II, they placed negus Seyoum Mengasha as their governor over Tigray.
After that, he was involved in the formation of the armed Ethiopian Democratic Union in the western lowlands, together with General Iyasu Mengasha.
[23] Also the history of titles and ranks in Tigray shows interesting features and reflects the complex local systems of government.
Some are remnants of an ancient administrative system (many of these old titles have vanished today, e.g., the hasgwa and aqqabe sensen of Enderta), others are expressions of local cultural and socio-political structures (e.g., abba gaz; hanta, etc.