Gojjam ( gōjjām, originally ጐዛም gʷazzam, later ጐዣም gʷažžām, ጎዣም gōžžām) is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. Gojjam's earliest western boundary extended up unto the triangle to ancient Meroë in Sudan. By 1700, Gojjam's western neighbors were Agawmeder in the southwest and Qwara in the northwest. Agawmeder, never an organized political entity, was gradually absorbed by Gojjam until it reached west to the Sultanate of Gubba; Juan Maria Schuver noted in his journeys in Agawmeder (September 1882) that in three prior months, "the Abyssinians considerably advanced their frontier towards the West, effacing what was left of the independent regions." Gubba acknowledged its dependence to Emperor Menelik II in 1898, but by 1942 was absorbed into Gojjam. Dek Island in Lake Tana was administratively part of Gojjam until 1987. History The ancient history of Gojjam is mostly associated with religion. During the pre-Christianity era Mertule Maryam and Gish Abay, which were located in the eastern and central parts of Gojjam respectively, were places of worship. Along with Tana Qirqos on Lake Tana, the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Tigray, and Tadbaba Maryam in Wollo Province, Mertule Maryam was a place where animal sacrifices were made for worship. Gish Abay is also considered a sacred place for being the source of the Blue Nile or Abay, also called Felege Ghion in Geʽez. Ghion is believed to be the Biblical name of the Nile mentioned in the Book of Genesis as one of the four rivers which flow out of Eden and encompasses the land of Ethiopia. Considering its location within the bend of the Abay River, the province of Gojjam is also referred to, especially by the church community, as Ghion or Felege Ghion. The first church in Gojjam was built at Mertule Maryam, which became the first church in Ethiopia. The earliest recorded mention of Gojjam was during the medieval period, in a note in a manuscript of Amda Seyon's military campaigns there and in Damot in 1309 EC (1316/7 CE), during which time it was incorporated into Ethiopia. It was also referenced on the Egyptus Novello map, (c. 1451), where it is described as a kingdom (though it had by this time long been subject to the Emperor of Ethiopia). Emperor Dawit II, in his letter to the King of Portugal (1526), also described Gojjam as a kingdom but