Negash is a village in the Tigray Region

Tigray Region

Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...

 (or kilil

Regions of Ethiopia

||Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions and two chartered cities...

) of Ethiopia

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...

, which straddles the Adigrat

Adigrat

Adigrat is a city in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude with an elevation of 2457 meters above sea level, below a high ridge to the west, Adigrat is the last important Ethiopian city south of the border with Eritrea, and is considered to be a...

-Mekele road 10 kilometers north of Wukro

Wukro

Wukro is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi zone of the Tigray region on the Asmara-Addis Ababa highway, it is the administrative center of the district named after the town.- Overview :The rock-hewn churches around Wukro are the town's most distinctive landmarks; in the early...

. Located in Wukro

Wukro (woreda)

Wukro woreda, also known as Kilte Awulaelo, is one of the 36 woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Wukro is bordered on the south by the Debubawi Zone, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw Zone, on the north by Hawzen, and on the east by Atsbi Wenberta. Wukro is 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...

, this settlement has a longitude and latitude of 13°53′N 39°36′E.

Negash is known as the earliest Muslim

Islam in Ethiopia

According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...

 settlement in Africa; a seventh century cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 has been excavated inside the village boundaries. The Futuh al-Habasha records Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi

Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi "the Conqueror" was an Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia and defeated several Ethiopian emperors, wreaking much damage on that kingdom...

 visited the tomb of Ashama ibn Abjar

Ashama ibn Abjar

According to Arabic sources, Aṣḥama ibn Abjar was Emperor or al-Najashi of Aksum at the time of Muhammad, and gave refuge to several Muslims in the Kingdom of Aksum. The term "al-Najashi" has the variant al-Negashi; it corresponds to the ancient Aksumite title Negus, with the variant Negash...

 in Negash during his invasion of the province of Tigray

Tigray Province

Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...

 (around 1537). Negash is also known for the Negash Amedin Mesgid mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

.

In the statistical tables of the 2007 census published by the Central Statistical Agency

Central 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...

, the kebele

Kebele

A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...

Negash is located in is reported to have a total population of 7,753 of whom 3,607 are men and 4,146 women; they are distributed amongst 1,689 households in 1,626 housing units.