Hazega ( ti, ሃዘጋ) is a small village in Central

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

located in the Maekel/Central Region or the former province of

Hamasien The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Overview In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into e ...

. It is located approximately north-west from the capital city,

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

, and south-east of Keren. It is an entirely

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

village inhabited by the Tigrinya speaking people of

. The village is located some kilometres west of

Emba Derho Emba may refer to: *Emba, town in Kazakhstan, see Embi *Emba-5, a Soviet former military installation near Embi, now Zhem, Kazakhstan, a town *The Emba River, in Kazakhstan * Emba (village), a village in Cyprus The acronym EMBA may refer to: *An E ...

close to the

Anseba river The Anseba River (, ) is a tributary of the Barka River in Eritrea with a length of 346 kilometers. It rises in the Eritrean Highlands outside Asmara and flows in a northwestern direction through Keren. It merges with the Barka River near the b ...

and east of

Tsazega {{refimprove, date=June 2012 Tseazega (Tigrinya: ጸዓዘጋ) is a village in Central Eritrea located in the former province of Hamasien. It is 5.6 miles (9 km) north-west from the capital city, Asmara. It is an entirely Christian village i ...

at an altitude of 2323m. In the village there are two churches, one

Evangelical church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

, one

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

History

It was formerly the capital of the Minabe Zerai district of

. The village has historical importance as it was challenging its neighbouring village, Tsazega:ጸዓዘጋ to gain rule over the former Province of Hamasien during the 18th and 19th century. However, its brief success in the middle of the 19th century under Raesi Woldemichael Solomon ended with the fall of both Houses, first to Tigrean rule under Raesi Alula and then to the Italians. During the Italian period it seems that the importance of Hazega was rather small, almost no information on the village can be found in the literature of that time. During the

Eritrean War for Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991. Eritrea was an Italian colony from the 1880s until the ...

the town was held by the ELF during 1974-1977 and by the EPLF until 1978, when the Dergi broke through Eritrean lines at the neighbouring village of Adi Yaqob. Today Hazega is a small village of approximately two thousand inhabitants.

Notable residents

* Raesi Woldemichael Solomon, 19th century Eritrean Nobleman *

Zerai Deres Zerai Deres ( Ge'ez: ዘርኣይ ደረስ; 1 March 1915 – 6 July 1945) was an Eritrean translator and patriotic revolutionary. In 1938, he engaged in an act of public devotion to an important symbol of his native country, the Monument to th ...

, Eritrean martyr * Bereket Mengisteab, musician * Tadesse Abraham, athlete * Teklemariam Medhin Woldeselassie, athlete *

Aron Kifle Aron Kifle Teklu (born 20 February 1998) is an Eritrean long-distance runner. He is the bronze medallist from the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia. Aron is also the silver medallist in the 10000m from both the 2016 World U20 ...

, athlete *

Yemane Haileselassie Yemane Haileselassie (born 21 February 1998) is an Eritrean male steeplechase runner. He is the national record holder at 8:22.52 minutes and represented his country at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He made his international debut at the 2015 IAAF W ...

, athlete *Tekle Tesfazghi, musician Villages in Eritrea {{Eritrea-geo-stub