Menz

Former province in northern Ethiopia
the historic Ethiopian province
Menz or Manz (, romanized: Mänz) is a former subdivision of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region. William Cornwallis Harris described Menz as lying "westward" of Gedem but between that former province and Marra Biete. Donald Levine explains that Menz was divided into three parts: Mama Meder in the center; Lalo Meder in the south; and Gera Meder in the north. Further, he defines its boundaries as "the Mofar River in the south, the Adabay and Wanchet rivers in the west, the Qechene River in the north, and in the east a long chain of mountains which pour forth the waters that drain across Manz and which divide it from the lowlands of Efrata, Gedem, and Qawat." This would roughly equate to the modern woredas of Gera Midirna Keya Gebriel and Mam Midrina Lalo Midir.

The Shewa Amhara came to prominence later in the history of the Ethiopian Empire than other provinces, but were instrumental in shaping the history and culture of the Ethiopian state during the 19th and 20th centuries. Menz especially is of anthropological interest because the culture of Menz differs in certain respects from the standard culture of the Amhara people. Menz is known as the "legends home" or in Amharic, "jegnoch hager". For example, Menelik II came from Menz. Menz is first mentioned in the Glorious Victories of Amda Seyon (who ruled in the early 14th century) as a Muslim province, where it is called "Manzehel", and mentioned again in the Royal Chronicles of Baeda Maryam. This small province came to form the core of the autonomous Ethiopian state of Shewa. Negasi Krestos, a leading warlord of Menz, extended his power to the south by conquest, proclaimed himself ruler of Shewa, and defeated all of his rivals. Afterwards Menz, along with Merhabete became birthplaces of a line of rulers which culminated in the Shewan branch of the Imperial family of Ethiopia. It is for these reasons that Shoans often refer to Menz as "ye Amara mentch',"the source of the Amhara, with "Menze" having historically been used by southern populations as a catch all term for all "Abyssinian" settlers during the late 19th century Ethiopian imperial expansions.