Sayint (), also known as Amhara Sayint (), is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is named after the historical district of Amhara Sayint which was located in the same area. Part of the

South Wollo Zone South Wollo ( Amharic: ደቡብ ወሎ) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It acquired its name from the former province of Wollo. South Wollo is bordered on the south by North Shewa and the Oromia Special Zone (Amhara), on the we ...

, Sayint is bordered on the south by Debre Sina and Mehal Sayint, on the west by the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

that separates it from the East Gojjam Zone, on the northwest by the

Bashilo River The Bashilo River (less often known as the Beshitta) is located in Ethiopia. Known for its canyon, which one source describes as almost as extensive as the canyon of its parent the Abay River, Abay, also known as the Blue Nile, the river originate ...

that separates it from the

South Gondar Zone South Gondar or Debub Gondar (Amharic: ደቡብ ጎንደር), is one of Zones in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. This zone is named for the city of Gondar, which was the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century, and has often been used as a n ...

, on the north by

Magdala Magdala (; ; ) was an ancient Jews, Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya (), and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea (). It is belie ...

, on the east by Tenta and on the southeast by Legambo. The major town in Amhara Sayint is Ajibar. Mehal Sayint was created by separating it from the historic Amhara Sayint woreda. The altitude of this district ranges from above sea level at the bottom of the canyon of the Abay to ; the highest point in this district, as well as in the South Wollo Zone, is

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( ; ; ), sometimes spelled Mount Thabor, is a large hill of biblical significance in Lower Galilee, Northern District (Israel), northern Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bi ...

, which lies on the border with Legambo. The Abay is crossable at Daga ford, which connects this woreda with Enbise Sar Midir in Misraq Gojjam. Notable landmarks include the monastery of Tadbaba Maryam, which was founded during the reign of emperor Minilik I. Holding the ''

tabot ''Tabot'' (, sometimes spelled ''tabout'') is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and represents the presence of God, in Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches. ''Tabot'' may variously refer to an inscribed altar tablet (''tsel ...

'' of Tadbaba Mariam, Emperor

Gelawdewos Galawdewos (, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559), also known as Mar Gelawdewos (), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Atsnaph Sagad I (Ge'ez: አጽናፍ � ...

defeated the Imam

Ahmad Gragn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ; 21 July 1506 – 10 February 1543) was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named Ahmed ''Gragn'' in Amharic and ''Gurey'' in Somali, ...

in the

Battle of Wayna Daga The Battle of Wayna Daga was a large-scale battle between the Ethiopian forces and the Portuguese Empire and the forces of the Adal Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire in the east of Lake Tana in Ethiopia on 21 February 1543. The available sources ...

, near Dembiya woreda in Begemdir. According to

Hormuzd Rassam Hormuzd Rassam (; ; 182616 September 1910) was an Assyriologist and author. He is known for making a number of important archaeological discoveries from 1877 to 1882, including the clay tablets that contained the ''Epic of Gilgamesh,'' the world ...

Tewodros II Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to ...

's mother, Atitegeb Wondbewossen, was a native of Amhara Sayint.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 144,972, a decrease of 25.12% over the 1994 census, of whom 71,979 are men and 72,993 women; 5,474 or 3.78% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,437.30 square kilometers, Amhara Sayint has a population density of 100.86, which is less than the Zone average of 147.58 persons per square kilometer. A total of 34,999 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.14 persons to a household, and 33,604 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced

Orthodox Tewahedo Orthodox Tewahedo refers to three Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches with shared beliefs, liturgy, and history. The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon is common to all churches, as is Orthodox Tewahedo music. * The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Ch ...

, with 98% reporting that as their religion, while 2% of the population were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 193,616 in 47,189 households, of whom 96,754 were men and 96,862 were women; 2,068 or 1.07% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Amhara Sayint were the

Amharas Amharas (; ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amh ...

(99.96%).

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

was spoken as a first language by 99.97%. The majority of the inhabitants professed Orthodox Tewahedo, with 98% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 2% of the population said they were Muslim.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2 (accessed 9 April 2009)

Notes

{{Districts of the Amhara Region Districts of Amhara Region