Emfraz
Encyclopedia
Emfraz or Enfraz is a historic town and district in northern Ethiopia
. Located in the mountainous area overlooking the northeast shore of Lake Tana
in the Semien Gondar Zone
of the Amhara Region
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 12°15′30"N 37°37′45"E.
Emfranz is located on the all-weather asphalt road which connects Bahir Dar
to Gondar
. With improvements to this road, and the advent of electrical service, since 2005 Emfranz has become an important market center for fish from Lake Tana.
, founded a monastery there. The Imam Ahmad Gragn camped there during the rainy season of 1543, after he defeated Cristovão da Gama
at the Battle of Wofla
. The Emperor Menas
later used it as his camp during the rainy season of 1559, and thereafter it was favored as an administrative center by the succeeding Emperors: Sarsa Dengel
spent the rainy season there three times between 1571 and 1580, then every rainy season for four years beginning with 1585, eventually building a stone castle there, possibly modelled on the Ottoman
fort at Debarwa
.
Despite the move of the capital to Gondar
, Emfraz still retained some importance in the following years. When the European traveller Charles Poncet visited the town around 1700, he compared it favorably to Gondar. He describes how it was an important marketplace for slaves and civet
, favored by Ethiopian Muslim
s because there they could openly practice their religion, unlike in Gondar. The Emperor Tewoflos
held his coronation in Emfraz a few years later.
While over the next fifty years Emfraz declined in importance, when James Bruce
visited the town he remarked on its trade in blue Surat cloth with the Oromo
.
Records at the Nordic Africa Institute website records that by 1967 the Ethiopian Telecommunications Company had a pay telephone station in this town, but no telephone subscribers.
in 2005, Emfraz has an estimated total population of 9,162, of whom 4,375 were males and 4,787 were females. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 5,302 of whom 2,302 were males and 3,000 were females. It is one of four towns in Gondar Zuria
woreda
.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the mountainous area overlooking the northeast shore of Lake Tana
Lake Tana
Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia...
in the Semien Gondar Zone
Semien Gondar Zone
Semien Gondar is a Zone in the Ethiopian Amhara Region. This Zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century, which has often been used as a name for the 20th century province of Begemder....
of the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 12°15′30"N 37°37′45"E.
Emfranz is located on the all-weather asphalt road which connects Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia. It is the capital of the Amhara Region .Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities , and cities like Debre Marqos and Dessie, which are...
to Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
. With improvements to this road, and the advent of electrical service, since 2005 Emfranz has become an important market center for fish from Lake Tana.
History
The earliest notice of Emfraz was in the 14th century, when Gebre Iyasu, a disciple of EwostatewosEwostatewos
Ewosṭatewos was an important religious leader of the Ethiopian Church. He was a forceful advocate for the Ethiopian form of observing the Sabbath...
, founded a monastery there. The Imam Ahmad Gragn camped there during the rainy season of 1543, after he defeated Cristovão da Gama
Cristovão da Gama
Cristóvão da Gama was a Portuguese soldier, who led a Portuguese army of 400 musketeers on a crusade in Ethiopia and Somalia against the far larger Somali Muslim army of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi aided by the Ottoman Empire...
at the Battle of Wofla
Battle of Wofla
The Battle of Wofla was fought on August 28, 1542 near Lake Ashenge in Wofla in the modern Ethiopian Region of Tigray , between the Portuguese under Cristóvão da Gama and the forces of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi...
. The Emperor Menas
Menas of Ethiopia
Menas , throne name Admas Sagad I was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
later used it as his camp during the rainy season of 1559, and thereafter it was favored as an administrative center by the succeeding Emperors: Sarsa Dengel
Sarsa Dengel
Sarsa Dengel was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
spent the rainy season there three times between 1571 and 1580, then every rainy season for four years beginning with 1585, eventually building a stone castle there, possibly modelled on the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
fort at Debarwa
Debarwa
Debarwa is a market town with a population of about 25,000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. It is the capital of the Debarwa district in the Debub administrative region...
.
Despite the move of the capital to Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
, Emfraz still retained some importance in the following years. When the European traveller Charles Poncet visited the town around 1700, he compared it favorably to Gondar. He describes how it was an important marketplace for slaves and civet
Civet cat
Civet cat is an imprecise term that is used for a variety of cat-like creatures including:*Civets, of the families Viverridae and Nandiniidae*Ring-tailed Cat or North American Civet Cat , related to the raccoons...
, favored by Ethiopian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s because there they could openly practice their religion, unlike in Gondar. The Emperor Tewoflos
Tewoflos of Ethiopia
Tewoflos or Theophilus was of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
held his coronation in Emfraz a few years later.
While over the next fifty years Emfraz declined in importance, when James Bruce
James Bruce
James Bruce was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia, where he traced the origins of the Blue Nile.-Youth:...
visited the town he remarked on its trade in blue Surat cloth with the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
.
Records at the Nordic Africa Institute website records that by 1967 the Ethiopian Telecommunications Company had a pay telephone station in this town, but no telephone subscribers.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Emfraz has an estimated total population of 9,162, of whom 4,375 were males and 4,787 were females. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 5,302 of whom 2,302 were males and 3,000 were females. It is one of four towns in Gondar Zuria
Gondar Zuria
Gondar Zuria is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Gondar Zuria is bordered on the south by the Debub Gondar Zone, on the southwest by Lake Tana, on the west by Dembiya, on the north by Lay Armachiho, on the northeast by Wegera, and on the...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.