Sahel province, Eritrea

In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into eight provinces (administrative regions) called Akele Guzay (its capital, Adikeyh), Barka (Agordat), Denkalia (Assab), Hamasien (Asmara), Sahel (Nakfa), Semhar (Massawa), Senhit (Keren) and Serae (Mendefera). These administrative regions relied heavily upon the historical political boundaries in the region, including, but not exclusively, that of local nobility. These provinces of Eritrea were also used by the Federated Eritrean Government from 1952 to 1962 and as districts (awrajja) in Eritrea when it was annexed by Ethiopia from 1962 to 1991.

After independence, the Provisional Government of Eritrea converted the original eight provinces of Eritrea (from the Italian colonial period) to nine provinces by splitting the Barka province in two (the north known as Barka Province and the south as Gash-Setit Province), while at the same time separating Asmara from the rest of Hamasien. On April 15, 1996, the Government of Eritrea converted the then-nine provinces of Eritrea into six administrative regions.