Soqota

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Soqota
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pushpin_label_position = bottom
pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ethiopia
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Ethiopia
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Amhara
subdivision_type2 = Zone
subdivision_name2 = Wag Hemra Zone
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population_total = 13,700
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timezone = EAT
utc_offset = +3
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latd=12 |latm=38 |latNS=N
longd=39 |longm=02 |longEW=E
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Soqota (also transliterated Sekota and related variations) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located the Wag Hemra Zone of the Amhara Region, Soqota has a latitude and longitude of coord|12|38|N|39|02|E. It is the largest settlement in the woreda of Soqota.

Soqota is the historic seat of the Wagshum, the former ruler of Lasta, who could trace an unbroken succession back to the last king of the Zagwe dynasty. However, this town is not mentioned in the surviving records until 1746, when the soldiers of Emperor Iyasu II burned it down. [Richard P.K. Pankhurst, "History of Ethiopian Towns" (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), p. 182] About 6 kilometers from Soqota is the church Wukro Meskal Kristos, where the mummified corpses of several Wagshums lie. [Camerapix, "Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia" (New York: Interlink Books, 2000), p. 117] Philip Briggs speculates that this town may be identified with the mysterious Ku'bar, said by al-Ya'qubi and al-Masudi to have succeeded Axum as the capital of Ethiopia. [Philip Briggs, "Ethiopia: the Bradt Travel Guide", third edition (London: Bradt, 2002), p. 302. The problem of Ku'bar is discussed by Taddesse Tamrat, "Church and State in Ethiopia" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 37.]

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 13,700, of whom 6,606 were males and 7,094 were females. [ [http://www.statsethiopia.org/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.3] The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 7,922 of whom 3,476 were males and 4,446 were females.

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