An amba is a characteristic geologic form in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. It is a steep sided, flat topped mountain, often the site of villages, wells and their surrounding farmland. These settlements were located there because they were very defensible and often virtually inaccessible plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

s.
The original term in Amharic

Amharic language

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...

 indicates a mountain fortress

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

. Amba Geshen

Amba Geshen

Amba Geshen is the name of a mountain in northern Ethiopia.It is located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, northwest of Dessie, and sits at a latitude and longitude of . Part of Ambassel woreda, it is one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male heirs to the Emperor of...

, for example, is an historically significant amba where members of royal families were kept under guard for their safety and to prevent their participation in plots against the sitting emperor

Emperor of Ethiopia

The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...

. Other noted Ambas include Amba Aradam

Amba Aradam

Amba Aradam is a mountain in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, between Mek'ele and Addis Abeba, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of...

 and Amba Alagi

Amba Alagi

Amba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles...

, sites of famous battles during the first

First Italo-Abyssinian War

The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. Ethiopia's military victory over Italy secured it the distinction of being the only African nation to successfully resist European colonialism with a decisive show of force.-Background:On March 25, 1889, the...

 and second Italo-Abyssinian War

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

s. In Tigrinya, the term is "Emba" (also spelled "Imba").

In 2008, a scientific mission identified on an amba near Harar

Harar

Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...

, the Kondudo, one of just two feral horse populations in Africa.

Source

• Munro-Hay, Stuart, Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide, Contributor Pamala Taor, Published 2002 by I. B. Tauris, 384 pages, ISBN 1-86064-744-8