Agaw

(noun)

An ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. They are credited with establishing first settlements in the territory that later became the Kingdom of Aksum.

Related Terms

Examples of Agaw in the following topics:

  • Kingdom of Aksum

    • However, most scholars now agree that prior to the arrival of Sabaeans, an African settlement by the Agaw people and other Ethiopian groups had already existed in the territory.

  • Ethiopia and Eritrea

    • At one point during the next century, the last of Yodit's successors were overthrown by an Agaw lord named Mara Takla Haymanot, who founded the Zagwe dynasty in 1137—the year that marks the beginning of the Ethiopian Empire, known also as Abyssinia.