Gurage (/ɡʊəˈrɑːɡeɪ/, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They inhabit the Gurage Zone and East Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in Central Ethiopia Regional State, about 125 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, bordering the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River, a tributary of the Omo River, to the southwest, and Hora-Dambal in the east.

According to the 2007 Ethiopian national census, the Gurage can also be found in substantial numbers in Addis Ababa, Oromia Region, Harari Region and Dire Dawa.

According to the linguist Marcel Cohen, the Gurage are likely the descendants of a very isolated group of ancient Semitic-speaking South Arabian settlers who established themselves around the Lake Zway region and mixed with the indigenous peoples. However other historians have raised the complexity of seeing Gurage peoples as a singular group. For example, Ulrich Braukhamper states that the eastern Gurage (Siltʼe, Wolane, Zay) were probably an extension of the Harla and they often cite kinship with Hararis. Oral traditions also states that Emperor Amda Seyon established a military colony in northern Gurage (Aymellel) of soldiers from Akele Guzai led by Azmach Sebhat. This is evidenced by the establishment of several medieval churches in the Gurage region (Moher Eyesus Gedam, Midre Kebd AbuneYe Gedam and others) from the 12th and 13th centuries. Thus, historically the Gurage peoples may be the product of a complex mixture of Abyssinian and Harla groups.

The Gurage first appear in the Royal Chronicle of Emperor Amda Seyon I where it claims that Sabr ad-Din I appointed a governor for the Alamalé region (i.e. Aymellel, part of the "Guragé country"). Sabr ad-Din appears to have gained some Gurage support, as according to the chronicle his forces included 12 "Geragi" (Gurage) and 3 "Seltogi" (Siltʼe) leaders. By the 15th century, the Gurage region had become an established part of the Ethiopian Empire, the Ennemor were recorded during the reign of Emperor Yeshaq I as paying tribute in horses. Emperor Baeda Maryam visited Aymellel where his chronicle claims that he loved the area and planted "all kinds of sweet-smelling plants".

The first explicit mention of the Gurages comes from the Portuguese traveller and priest Francisco Alvares who visited Ethiopia in the 1520s. According to Alvares, the Gurages were a fiercely independent people who resented the Christian Ethiopians, as he claims that they would "let themselves die, or kill themselves, sooner than serve the Christians." The Gurages also had a very bad reputation as being robbers who regularly attacked the royal camp (katama) of Lebna Dengel. This was particularly serious for Behtweded, the Emperor's favorite courtier, whose quarters were situated on the left of the camp and were prone to attacks. Alvares claims that the attacks were so common "they were few days when it was not said: 'Last night the Gorages killed fifteen to twenty people of the people of great Betudede."

The next time the Gurages were mentioned is in the Futuh al-Habasa, the history of the conquests of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Many Christian Gurages participated in the war. After the Muslim victory at Antokya, Emperor Lebna Dengel’s courtier, Wasan Sagad, sent a message to Imam Ahmad claiming that the imperial army had been reinforced by contingents from Gurage, Gafat, Damot, Jimma, and Enarya. When the envoy arrived with the message, the Imam, though ill, met him personally to prevent news of his illness from emboldening his enemies. One of the Muslims, Balaw ‘Abdu, dismissed the Gurage and other vassal peoples, claiming that they are primarily agricultural laborers unfamiliar with warfare. He told the messenger: ‘Tell your master this: “With regard to what you have to say about the matter of the vassals - the people of Damot and Gurage - we know their capabilities only too well: they are nothing more than cultivators of the soil, tree-cutters and carriers of fire-wood in our country. They know nothing of fighting; they have never seen it. So you can’t frighten us with the vassals: they are well-known to us. And if you are as powerful as you claim, since you can see that we occupy your country and your land, then fight for your country and your land”. The Imam’s forces occupied the Gurage region with minimal opposition; many, including Muslims, had been hostile to Lebna Dengel’s rule. However, the islands of Lake Zway remained under Christian control and preserved many valuable manuscripts during the war. The Adal occupation of Gurage was short-lived and effectively ended soon after the Imam died in 1543. Some elements of the Gurage, such as the Wolane, claim to be descendants of the soldiers of Imam Ahmad al-Ghazi who fled to the Gurage area after their disastrous defeat at Wayna Daga. Several clans of the Kistane Gurage are also recorded to have been descended from Amharas, as well as Tigrayans who migrated to the area to escape Gragn's invasions and which are attested in their ancestral lineages (i.e. Fasil, Timhirtemeskel).

Emperor Susenyos I was much involved in the Gurage country. Prior to his coronation as Emperor he marched into the province, where the Christian Gurages asked him to support them against Sidi Mohammed, the Muslim ruler of Hadiya. The chronicler describes the Gurages as a largely Christian people who were "superior in arms" to Oromo and Amhara warriors. The Portuguese Jesuit Manuel de Almeida described them as "heathens and Moors", who did not often obey the Emperor. Their country was situated, he says, on the important trade route between Gojjam and Ennarea, and their warriors included horsemen, as well as men skilled in the use of bows and arrows.

The Gurages typically had very hostile relations with the neighboring Oromos, as the Gurages were often raided for slaves by the Oromos. The traffic of Gurage slaves substantially increased in the mid-19th century. Many Gurages had desperately appealed to Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa to protect them from Oromo attacks. Karl Wilhelm Isenberg witnessed Gurage slaves begging at the feet of the Negus, attesting that when they go to Shewa they are often nearly naked as Oromos frequently ambush and rob them. In response, Sahle Selassie gifted them new clothes, knowing that the Oromos, fearing his wrath, would not dare rob them again. Despite these incidents, many Oromos also peacefully intermarried with the Gurages, with many of the latter speaking the language of the former and adopting Oromo names. Many Oromos adopted traditional Gurage customs and cultures, this is most present with the Jida and Abado clans of the Tulama branch, as well as the Geto who are mostly indistinguishable from the Gurages customs or tradition.