| Battle of Das | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ethiopian Empire | Adal Mora Harla Zeila Dawaro | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Amda Seyon | Salih † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2,722 men [1] | 12,048 men (Ethiopian sources) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | ~10,000+ killed | ||||||
  Das Location of Das according to G.W.B Huntingford | |||||||
The Battle of Das was fought in 1332 between the Ethiopian Empire under the command of Emperor Amda Seyon and a large Muslim coalition led by Salih. The Ethiopian army was victorious, and Salih was slain. [2]
According to the chronicler, the Imam of Adal, Salih would assemble a large Muslim army made up of 12,048 warriors from various regions such as Gidaya, Hubat and Hargaya and form an alliance with Ifat sultan, Jamal ad-Din, who was a vassal king of Amda Seyon. Despite their alliance, tension between Ifat and Adal leaders was evident as Salih refused to wait for the arrival of Ifat's troops under sultan Jamal ad-Din I before attacking the Abyssinians in order to avoid allocating the spoils of war with Ifat. [3] [4] [5]
In July 1332, Salih and his army set out to Amda Seyon's camp, surrounding him with their troops. According to the chronicler, most of the Ethiopian army left the camp to put down a revolt of the Beta Israel and the Emperor had with him only 2,722 men. Amda Seyon was very sick and lying in bed for seven days straight without eating or drinking. Zana Yamanu, the chief of the pages, was hunting when he encountered the massive Muslim army, he then warned the king who got out of bed and mounted on his horse. The Queen then baptized Amda Seyon with water from the river Jordan, upon which the chronicler claims that his sickness departed from him and Amda Seyon recovered his strength. [6] [7] [8]
Early in the battle, upon seeing the size of the Muslim army, some Ethiopians had begun to flee. Amda Seyon then gathered a handful of horsemen and attacked the left flank of the Muslim army. According to the chronicler, Amda Seyon then took his spear and began slaying the Muslims, even killing two men with one blow. The Muslim army were forced into a ditch where upon the king dismounted from his horse, took his shield and began to strike them. The king then mounted back on his horse and pursued the fleeing enemies with his men, forbidding them from taking any loot. When the enemy's left wing was fully destroyed, Amda Seyon and his men went around to the rear of the Muslim right wing, immediately dispersing them. [9]
According to the chronicler, over 10,000 Muslims were killed in this battle, including their leader Salih. [10]
Following this victory, the Emperor went on to Ta’rak which he had massacred all who opposed him and returned to his camp. He then raided the town of Zasaye, and then destroyed it and slew the governor ‘Abd Allah; the town of Abalgi was next raided and all who resisted were massacred. 'Amda Seyon then marched into the district of Talag, where the king of Adal lived, the king of Adal was captured, and he and all his people were massacred. Then the three sons and the brother of the king of Adal came, and laying their sandals on their heads, they tendered their submission, did homage to 'Amda Seyon and begged for mercy. [11]
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Jamal ad-Din was a governor of Ifat. He was the son of Nahwi b. Mansur b. Umar Walashma and a brother of Haqq ad-Din I.
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Adal, known as Awdal or Aw Abdal was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa. Located east of Ifat and the Awash river as far as the coast, and including Harar as well as Zeila. The Zeila state often denoted Adal and other Muslim dominions in medieval texts.
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Ifat also known as Yifat, Awfat or Wafat was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa. It was located on the eastern edge of Shewa.
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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."