Historically, the term Habesha represented northern Ethiopian Highlands Orthodox Christians, while the Oromos and Shanqella ethnic groups, as well as Muslims, were considered outside the periphery. Predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the Eritrean Highlands such as the Tigre have historically opposed the name Habesha; Muslim Tigrinya-speakers are usually referred to as Jeberti people. At the turn of the 20th century, elites of the Solomonic dynasty employed the conversion of various ethnic groups to Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and the imposition of the Amharic and Tigrinya languages to spread a common Habesha national identity.