The Amhara enjoyed a privileged status under numerous Ethiopian emperors from the Amhara and Tigray ethnic groups. They had served the emperors, and, more importantly, increased their group's power in the mid-19th century. Particularly under the rule of Emperor Menelik, the Amharic language and religion (Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity) were officially imposed throughout the country.
   Although the Amhara did not constitute a majority of the population, their feudal and tribal leaders made up the empire's state bureaucratic positions. Emperor Haile Selassie also focused on Amharization (i.e. implementation of the Amharic language, culture, religion, and tradition) within the country. Haile Selassie consolidated the feudal-bureaucratic ruling mechanism but failed to establish the political unity of the entire country. Many remote regions, with various ethnic minorities, had little connection with the central government.
   The Amhara live north and east of Lake Tana. They are farmers and have their own language, also named Amhara. The language is semitic and is the official language of the state (not of the liturgy). One can quite safely say that all Amhara are Christians. They know circumcision for boys and excision for girls, performed on resp. the eighth and seventh day after birth. Federal government now tries to abandon excision. Amhara Christian names often sound familiar to Europeans: Salomon, Mikael, Miriyam. The not so familiar names are usually quite poetic, like Miskab, the light, and Selassie, the trinity.