Battle of Amba Sel | |||||||||
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Part of the Ethiopian–Adal war | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Ethiopian Empire | Adal Sultanate | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Dawit II | Ahmad ibn Ibrahim Garad Matan Ahmed Girri Garad Hirabu | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
3,000 killed 200 captured | Unknown |
The Battle of Amba Sel was fought on 28 October 1531, between the Ethiopians under their Emperor Dawit II, and the forces of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate. [1]
The Battle of Amba Sel was one of the bloodiest battles waged in the whole war. The two armies fought fiercely and bravely until Addalu fell and was promptly beheaded by the Adalite soldiers. His men therefore fled, pursued by the Adalites who killed many Christians and took many others captives. Thousands of Christians were killed, including innumerable nobles and 3,000 cavalrymen, and some 200 noble men who were seized. The land was covered with corspes and blood ran like streams according to Arab Faqīh. The Imam then ordered all of the inhabitants of Bali to embrace Islam or be killed. Arab Faqih states that the entire land therefore embraced Islam and the Imam appointed a certain Umar as the province's governor. [2]
The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire or Bar Saʿad dīn, was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on the Harar plateau in Adal after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat. The kingdom flourished c. 1415 to 1577. At its height, the polity under Sultan Badlay controlled the territory stretching from Cape Guardafui in Somalia to the port city of Suakin in Sudan. The Adal Empire maintained a robust commercial and political relationship with the Ottoman Empire. Sultanate of Adal was alternatively known as the federation of Zeila.
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named Ahmed Gragn in Amharic and Gurey in Somali, both meaning the left-handed, he led the invasion and conquest of Abyssinia from the Sultanate of Adal during the Ethiopian-Adal War. He is often referred to as the "King of Zeila" in medieval texts.
Dawit II, also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad, better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1508 to 1540, whose political center and palace was in Shewa.
Galawdewos, also known as Mar Gelawdewos, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Atsnaph Sagad I. A male line descendant of medieval Amhara kings, he was a younger son of Dawit II and Seble Wongel.
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The Battle of Wayna Daga was a large-scale battle between the Ethiopian forces and the Portuguese Empire and the forces of the Adal Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire in the east of Lake Tana in Ethiopia on 21 February 1543. The available sources give different dates for the battle. Led by the Emperor Galawdewos, the combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated the Adal-Ottoman army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Imam Ahmad was killed in the battle and his followers were utterly routed.
The Battle of Gomit or Battle of Egubba was fought in 1445 between the Ethiopian Empire and a powerful Muslim army under the Adal Sultanate. The Ethiopians were led by Emperor Zara Yaqob, while the forces of Adal were led by Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The Ethiopian army was victorious, and Badlay was slain.
The Battle of Shimbra Kure was fought on 9 March 1529 between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II. It was the first major battle of the Ethiopian–Adal War.
Cristóvão da Gama, anglicised as Christopher da Gama, was a Portuguese military commander who led a Portuguese army of 400 musketeers to assist Ethiopia that faced Islamic Jihad from the Adal Sultanate led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.
Nur al-Din or Nur ibn Mujahidibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al Dhuhi Suha was an Emir of Harar who ruled over the Adal Sultanate. He was known for marrying his uncle's widow, Bati del Wambara, and also succeeding Imam Ahmad as the leader of the Muslim forces fighting Christian Ethiopia. He is often known as the "King of Adel" in medieval texts.
The Ethiopian–Adal War or Abyssinian–Adal War, also known in Arabic as Futūḥ Al-Ḥabaša, was a military conflict between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Muslim Adal Sultanate from 1529 to 1543. The Christian Ethiopian troops consisted of the Amhara, Tigrayans, Tigrinya and Agaw people, and at the closing of the war, supported by the Portuguese Empire with no less than four hundred musketeers. The Adal forces were composed of Harla, Somali, Afar, as well as Arab and Turkish gunmen. Both sides would see the Maya mercenaries at times join their ranks.
Slavery in Ethiopia existed for centuries, going as far back as 1495 BC and ending in 1942. There are also sources indicating the export of slaves from the Aksumite Empire. The practice formed an integral part of Ethiopian society. Slaves were traditionally drawn from the Nilotic groups inhabiting Ethiopia's southern hinterland and Oromos. War captives were another source of slaves, though the perception, treatment and duties of these prisoners was markedly different. Religious law banned Christian slave masters from taking christians as slaves, slaves were from Muslim and other non-Christian groups.
The Jaarso, Giarso or Jaarsoo is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family They largely live in Ethiopia, in the Oromo Region and the Somali Region, especially in and around the ancient cities of Chinaksen, Harar and Jigjiga
Dawaro or Doaro was a Muslim principality which laid near Hadiya. The state was originally independent until becoming a vassal and later a province due its subjugation by Emperor Amda Seyon I in the early 14th century. The region was situated east of Hadiya and north of Bali which covered much of Ethiopia's Arsi Province. The capital of Dawaro was called Sabboch
The Geri Koombe is a sub-clan of Darod, a prominent Somali clan with the earliest records of Garadship. They belong to one of the major Somali groups, the Darod. The Geri live in the Somali Region of Ethiopia between Harar and Jigjiga, in Wardheer zone, in Bale, Bay, the Kismayo regions and in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya.
Matan ibn Uthman Bin Khalid born c. early 1490 – 28 October 1531, also known as Garad Matan, was a Somali military commander and Adalite general that served the Adal Sultanate. He led key and decisive battles, famously in charge of the Somali divisions. He was also the brother-in-law of Imam Ahmed and his right-hand man. Garad Matan played a very prominent role in the campaigns against the Abyssinians, killing the son of Lebna Dengel, Victor. Garad Matan hailed from the Geri Koombe clan and was also appointed the chieftain. He was regarded as one of the most courageous military generals in East Africa, well documented in the Futuh Al Habash.
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Abbas ibn Abogn ibn Ibrahim also known as Wazir Abbas was an Adalite General who became Grand Vizier of the Adal Sultanate in 1535. The nephew of Ahmed Gurey, he led the Adalite conquest of Medri Bahri and was briefly the Bahr Negash. He was also the father of the Sultan Talha ibn Abbas.
Bale, also known as Bali, was a historical Muslim region located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia. It bordered the Dawaro to the north, Hadiya in the west, and Adal in the east and its core areas were located around the Shebelle River. However, the borders of Bale during the medieval period are unclear - it is usually placed around the Wabe Shebelle river, another river that shaped its borders was the Wabe River. Overall, borders of historical Bale corresponded to the modern districts of Goba, Sinana-Dinsho, Agarfa, Gasera and Goro. In the 14th century it was located between Ifat and Solomonic tributary state of Hadiya. Taddesse Tamrat locates Bale south of the Shebelle River, which separated the kingdom from Dawaro to the north and Adal to the northeast; Richard Pankhurst adds that its southern boundary was the Ganale Dorya River. Ulrich Braukämper, after discussing the evidence, states that this former dependency "occupied an area in the northeast of the province which later was named after it, between the mountain range of Urgoma and the eastern Wabi Bend."