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Welcome to the AAO website page!

The Amhara Association of Oregon (AAO), established in 2015, is a registered nonprofit Amhara community organization founded in Oregon, U.S.A. The Association mobilizes all Amharas in the state of Oregon in order to stand stronger together and support the Amhara people in Ethiopia.

Amharas are semitic-speaking people indigenous to Ethiopia. The Amhara people speak Amharic which is the official language of Ethiopia. Amhara Region is rich with traditions, natural resources, and tourist attraction sites.

Tewodros II (Amharic: ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ), baptized as Kassa, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes). Tewodros was destined to restore the glories of the Ethiopian Empire.
Ethiopian Patriots (Amharic: ዐርበኞች) were Ethiopian anti-fascist World War II resistance fighters from 1936 until 1941 who fought against Fascist Italy’s invasion of the Ethiopian Empire. The Patriot movement was primarily based in the rural Shewa, Gondar and Gojjam provinces, though it drew support from all over Ethiopia regions. In 1937/1938, there were an estimated of 25,000 active Patriots in Ethiopia.
Menelik II (Amharic: ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ), baptised as Sahle Maryam, was King of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and crowned King of Kings, and Emperor of Ethiopia on November 3, 1889 until his death in 1913. The Ethiopian Empire was transformed under Emperor Menelik’s period: the major signposts of modernisation were put in place during his time. Externally, Menelik led Ethiopian troops against Italian invaders in the First Italo-Ethiopian War; following a decisive victory at the Battle of Adwa. It is his role in the history of Ethiopia for which Menelik II is most revered to this day, for it was he who defeated a European nation – Italy – on the field of battle, to defend Ethiopian independence.