Battle of Hirna

Battle of Hirna
Part of Menelik's Expansions
Date October 1886 Location Hirna, Chercher, Emirate of Harar Result Harari victory
Belligerents
Shewa	Emirate of Harar
Commanders and leaders
Dejazmach Walda Gabriel	Bakri Salih

The Battle of Hirna was an engagement fought in October 1886 between the Abyssinian army of Shewa under Dejazmach Walda Gabriel and officer Bakri Salih of the Emirate of Harar. ^[1] The Shewan forces were routed. ^{[2] [3]}

Background

In response to king Menelik's orders to occupy the Emirate of Harar, in September 1886 Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel a general of Menelik invaded the Emirate of Harar and occupied the Chercher area at Hirna however his army would be ambushed by the Emirate's troops. ^[4]

Battle

According to Harold G. Marcus, his army "was in poor shape, reduced to a relatively small number by sickness and desertions." A night attack by Emir 'Abd Allah's army routed the Dejazmach's force, sending them fleeing westward towards the Awash River. ^[5] Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde calls it a decisive victory for the emirate's troops. ^[6]

Menelik's informant Asme Giyorgis, conceded the initial push towards Harar by Walda Gabryiel was a failure as the Amir's soldiers used fireworks to startle his men, forcing a retreat. ^[7] Harari records report Walda Gabryiel's army were strategically pushed into a wheat field full of spikes which pierced their feet, immobilizing them. ^[8]

See also

• Battle of Chelenqo

References

1. Ahmed, Wehib. History of Harar and Hararis (PDF). p. 93.
2. Asnake, Gossa. A History of Hirna Town from Its Foundation Up to 1991. Addis Ababa University. pp. 13–14.
3. Cerulli, Enrico. Folk-literature of the Galla of Southern Abyssinia. Peabody Museum of Harvard university.
4. Walda Gabriel. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
5. Harold G. Marcus, The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913, (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1995), p. 91
6. Zewde, Bahru. A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855–1991. Ohio University Press.
7. Chelenqo. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
8. Caulk, Richard (1971). "The Occupation of Harar: January 1887". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 9 (2): 10–11. JSTOR   41967469.