Dembiya (Amharic: ደምቢያ Dembīyā; also transliterated Dembea, Dambya, Dembya, Dambiya, etc.) is a historic region of Ethiopia, intimately linked with Lake Tana. Dembiya was bounded on the north-east by Wogera, on the east by Begemder, on South by Gojjam, and on the West by the Agaws of Achefer and Tanqha. Alexander Murray, in his preface to the third volume of Bruce's account, further describes it as "on the east it includes Foggora, Dara, and Alata; on the north-east Gondar, the metropolis, and the rich district beneath it; on the southwest, the district of Bed (the plain barren country) and, on the west, the lands around Waindaga and Dingleber."Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, (1805 edition), vol. 3 p. 9
Dembiya was incorporated into the Begemder province (which previously only included lands to the east of Lake Tana) during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, and in 1996 became a woreda of the Amhara Region. History 16th century In his 26th years of his reign, Emperor Lebna Dengal spent the rainy season Dembiya.G.W.B. Huntingford, The Historical Geography of Ethiopia (London: The British Academy, 1989), p. 112 Adal Occupation During the Muslim occupation Adalites under Ahmed ibn Ibrahim burnt the monastery in Gelila Zakarias island on 19th March 1537.G.W.B. Huntingford, The Historical Geography of Ethiopia (London: The British Academy, 1989), p. 133-134Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 383
Zemene Mesafint During the Zemene Mesafint period Dembiya was governed by Dejazmach Meru and later his nephew Dejazmach Kinfu. Both were famous for taking tribute from Galabat who for long in the past had paid annual tribute to the governors of Dembiya. Dejazmach Kinfu become especially famous for Defeating a large Egyptian force who had tried to invade Ethiopia.
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