Dataset: Western Tigray in 101 historical and 18 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 (Welkait and adjacent districts) 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 101 maps, spanning the period 1607-1967, 92 were precise enough to be analysed, of which 62 display territorial control. Descriptive statistics on the dataset as a whole are presented. Starting from the late 17^th C., internal boundaries are clearly shown, with 35 maps (between 1683 and 1941) 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 1707-1794; 1840-1886; 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，埃塞俄比亚北部的行政区划在过去四个世纪中发生了翻天覆地的变化。本研究从专业在线馆藏库中获取了提格雷地区（Tigray Region）西部区域（韦莱凯特（Welkait）及周边区县）的历史地图；本次研究仅使用同期绘制的地图（同期地图（co-eval maps）），且所有地图均正式馆藏于成熟可靠的专业馆藏机构中。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年期间的101幅地图，其中92幅精度满足分析要求，62幅标注了领土管控相关的边界信息。本数据集整体的描述性统计结果已在文中呈现。自17世纪末起，地图开始清晰标注内部边界：其中35幅绘制于1683年至1941年的地图，显示边界位于特克泽河（Tekeze River）以南甚远，甚至在西米恩山（Simien）以南。韦莱凯特（Welkait）曾明确被纳入更大范围的提格雷联盟管辖（对应时段为1707-1794年、1840-1886年以及1939-1941年）；1891-1894年，它曾短暂被标注为阿姆哈拉（Amhara）辖区的一部分，1944-1990年则被划入贡德尔（Gondar）辖区。在其余时段，韦莱凯特或处于独立状态，或被纳入更大范围的梅扎加（Mezaga，意为“黑土地”）区域。阿姆哈拉/贡德尔与提格雷的边界在1844-1847年及1891-1894年曾断续以特克泽河为界，1944-1990年则长期以此河为界。对这批历史地图的元分析（meta-analysis）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体系，边界沿西米恩山地或横穿该山地延伸。但在政局动荡时期，该区域曾短暂被划入阿姆哈拉政权辖下，或获得自治地位。这些地图证明，所谓‘韦莱凯特始终属于贝格姆迪尔（Begemdir）或阿姆哈拉辖区’的论调并无实证支撑，仅在20世纪中期的行政区划调整中存在过例外情况。与之相对，当代提格雷作为合法行政区域，其合法性源于现代联邦制度的权限：埃塞俄比亚联邦制可脱离帝国时代的国家概念，自主创设行政区域。1991-1994年，埃塞俄比亚联邦框架下的提格雷地区边界正式确立，当时地方自决权的优先级远高于历史地图依据。值得注意的是，除一幅地图外，所有20世纪埃塞俄比亚民族语言地图均支持当前提格雷地区的疆域范围。换言之，‘阿姆哈拉民族主义者所称的西提格雷始终属于阿姆哈拉祖传领地’的论调，无法通过本次历史地图数据库的元分析得到证实。最后，本文建议应尤其重视近期及近当代的真实世界资料，其中包括民族语言地图。