Chercher (

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ጨርጨር) sometimes spelled as Charchar was a former province in Eastern Ethiopia in what is now eastern

Oromia Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

. Also known as Ahmar and West Hararghe, chercher is the name given mainly to the eastern escarpment highland areas of Oromia state's West Hararaghe Zone, where the chains of Checher or Ahmar mountains rise and extend inland from the Great Rift Valley in its northwest. The capital of the former Chercher province was Chiro.

Etymology

Chercher may originate from ''carcar'', the

Harari language Harari is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken by the Harari people of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 Ethiopian census, it is spoken by 25,810 people. Most of its speakers are multilingual in Amharic and/or Eastern Oromo. Harari is closely rel ...

meaning ridge that leads to a ravine.

History

In the year 1923 regent

Ras Tafari Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

appointed ''Fit′awrari''

Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam ( Amharic: ተክለ ሐዋርዓት ተክለ ማሪያም; June 1884 – April 1977) was an Ethiopian politician, an Amhara aristocrat and intellectual of the Japanizer school of thought. He was the primary a ...

as governor of Chercher, a year later governor Tekle Hawariat founded the town of Chiro (known then under its old name ''Asebe Tafari.'') and the new capital of the province. Later the Chercher province merged into

Hararghe province Hararghe ( am, ሐረርጌ ''Harärge''; Harari: ሀረርጌይ ''Harärgeyi'', Oromo: Harargee, so, Xararge) was a province of eastern Ethiopia with its capital in Harar. History Hararghe translates to "land of the Hararis". The region co ...

References

{{coord missing, Ethiopia History of Ethiopia Provinces of Ethiopia