Database: Western Tigray in 96 historical and ten ethno-linguistic maps (1607-2009)

There is a wide array of historical maps and records which jointly reveal that the territorial organisation of northern Ethiopia has tremendously changed over the last four centuries. Historical maps representing the Western Zone of the Tigray Region have been retrieved from specialised online repositories. Only maps prepared in the same period (co-eval maps) were used; all maps are formally kept in well-established repositories. Each map was screened for representation of internal borders, indicating territorial control. Out of 96 maps, spanning the period 1607-1967, 87 were precise enough to be analysed, of which 58 display territorial control. Descriptive statistics on the dataset as a whole are presented. Starting from the early 18^th C., internal boundaries are clearly shown, with 32 maps (between 1683 and 1935) displaying a boundary that is located well south of the Tekeze River, or even south of Simien. Welkait is explicitly included within a larger Tigray confederation (periods 1707-1789; 1841-1886; and 1939-1941); it is briefly mapped as part of Amhara in 1891-1894 and part of Gondar from 1944-1990. At other periods it appears independent or part of a larger Mezaga (“dark earth”) region. The Amhara/Gondar – Tigray border is mapped on the Tekeze River at short intervals in 1844-1847 and 1891-1894 and then more permanently between 1944 and 1990. The meta-analyis of the historical maps shows that for the larger part of the last 300 years or more, Western Tigray has been under Tigray jurisdiction, with a border running along or across the Simien massif. However, at times of upheaval, the territory has been briefly reorganized under either the Amhara polities or was autonomous. These maps demonstrate that the argument that Welkait was <em>always</em> a part of Begemdir, or else Amhara, is not based on evidence, apart from a territorial reorganisation in the mid-twentieth century. In contrast, contemporary Tigray is a valid territory, whose legitimacy stems from modern federalism's faculty to create a region away from concepts of the Ethiopian empire-state. In 1991-4, when the boundaries of the Tigray Region were established as part of federal Ethiopia, local self-determination was way more important than historical maps. Remarkably, except for one, all 20^th C. ethno-linguistic maps of the Ethiopian state sustain the current extent of the Tigray region. In other words: the Amhara nationalist narrative that there was continuous ancestral ownership of Western Tigray is not confirmed by a meta-analysis of the historical map database. We conclude with the suggestion to especially consider the recent and subrecent actual world, including language maps.海量历史地图与档案资料共同揭示，过去四个世纪以来，埃塞俄比亚北部的领土建制发生了翻天覆地的变化。研究团队从专业在线资料库中获取提格雷（Tigray）地区西部辖区的历史地图，仅采用同一时期绘制的地图（同期地图，co-eval maps），且所有地图均由正规成熟的资料库正式收藏。每幅地图均经过筛查，以确认其是否标注了体现领土管控权的内部边界。本次研究涵盖1607年至1967年的96幅地图，其中87幅精度足以开展分析，58幅清晰展示了领土管控情况。本研究对数据集整体进行了描述性统计分析。自18世纪早期起，内部边界的标注逐渐清晰：在1683年至1935年间的32幅地图中，其标注的边界均位于特克泽河（Tekeze River）以南，甚至更靠南至塞米恩山地（Simien）以南区域。韦尔凯特（Welkait）曾明确被纳入更大范围的提格雷邦联（分别为1707-1789年、1841-1886年及1939-1941年三个时期）；1891-1894年，它曾短暂被标注为阿姆哈拉（Amhara）的一部分，1944-1990年则被划入贡德尔（Gondar）辖区。其余时期，它要么呈现为独立实体，要么属于更大范围的梅扎加（“黑土”，Mezaga）区域。阿姆哈拉/贡德尔与提格雷的边界在1844-1847年及1891-1894年曾短暂标注为沿特克泽河划定，1944-1990年则长期以此河为界。历史地图元分析结果显示，在过去300余年的大部分时间里，提格雷西部均隶属于提格雷管辖，边界沿塞米恩山地或横穿该山地划定。但在社会动荡时期，该区域曾短暂被划归阿姆哈拉政权管辖，或获得自治地位。这些地图表明，所谓“韦尔凯特始终属于贝格姆迪尔（Begemdir）或阿姆哈拉”的论调并无实证支撑，仅在20世纪中期的领土重组中存在例外。与之形成对比的是，当代提格雷是合法的行政区域，其合法性源自现代联邦制下脱离埃塞俄比亚帝国国家概念的区域创设机制。1991-1994年，作为埃塞俄比亚联邦成员的提格雷地区边界正式划定，当时地方自决原则的优先级远高于历史地图依据。值得注意的是，除1幅外，所有20世纪埃塞俄比亚民族语言地图均支持提格雷地区当前的疆域范围。换言之，阿姆哈拉民族主义所称“西方提格雷始终属于阿姆哈拉祖产”的论调，并未得到历史地图数据库元分析结果的佐证。本研究最后建议，应重点考量近期及近当代的实际历史语境，其中包括语言地图。