People of the Ethiopian central highlands.
The Amhara number some 18 million and compose almost three-tenths of Ethiopia's population. Their language is Amharic, a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family, and their religion is Ethiopian Orthodox . The Amhara, who have dominated the history of their country, descend from ancient Semitic conquerors who mingled with indigenous Cushitic peoples. They are agriculturalists and place great value on land ownership.