| Battle of Hirna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Menelik's Expansions | |||||||
| |||||||
| 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]
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. [3]
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. [4] Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde calls it a decisive victory for the emirate's troops. [5]
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. [6] Harari records report Walda Gabryiel's army were strategically pushed into a wheat field full of spikes which pierced their feet, immobilizing them. [7]
The Battle of Adwa was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The decisive victory thwarted the campaign of the Kingdom of Italy to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa. By the end of the 19th century, European powers had carved up almost all of Africa after the Berlin Conference; only Ethiopia and Liberia still maintained their independence. Adwa became a pre-eminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopian sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War forty years later.
Lij Iyasu was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob. Ethiopian emperors traditionally chose their regnal name on the day they were crowned, and since he was never crowned, he is usually referred to as Lij Iyasu, "Lij" meaning child, especially one born of royal blood.
Harar, known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey, is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saints.
RasMakonnen Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot, or simply Ras Makonnen, also known as Abba Qagnew, was an Ethiopian royal from Shewa, a military leader, the governor of Harar, and the father of future Emperor Haile Selassie. Described by Nikolai Gumilev as “one of the greatest leaders of Abyssinia”, he served in the First Italo-Ethiopian War, playing a key role at the Battle of Adwa.
Yohannes IV was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large scale Egyptian invasion.
Amir Abdullahi, formally Abd Allah II ibn 'Ali 'Abd ash-Shakur or Amir Hajji 'Abdu'llahi II ibn 'Ali 'Abdu's Shakur, was the last amir of Harar and ruled from late 1884 to 26 January 1887, when the state was terminated, following the defeat of the Harari troops at the Battle of Chelenqo on 9 January.
The Battle of Chelenqo was an engagement fought on 9 January 1887 between the Abyssinian army of Shewa under Negus Menelik and Emir 'Abd Allah II ibn 'Ali 'Abd ash-Shakur of Harar. The Harari forces were routed, and Negus Menelik afterwards occupied and annexed the city of Harar.
The Battle of Segale was a civil conflict in the Ethiopian Empire between the supporters of Empress regent Zewditu and Lij Iyasu on 27 October 1916, and resulted in victory for Zewditu. Paul B. Henze states that "Segale was Ethiopia's greatest battle since Adwa" (1896).
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Nasibu Zeamanuel, also Nasibu Zamanuael or Nasibu Emmanual in some texts, was an army commander of the Ethiopian Empire. Along with his brother Wasane, historian Bahru Zewde groups Nasibu "among the most colourful of the first-generation intellectuals" of Twentieth-century Ethiopia. His maternal grandfather, Azaz Emmanual Wolde Malakot, whose name both brothers came to adopt, was a notable courtier of Emperor.
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The Harari people are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which inhabits the Horn of Africa. Members of this ethnic group traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, simply called Gēy "the City" in Harari, situated in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia. They speak the Harari language, a member of the South Ethiopic grouping within the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic languages.
Hirna a town Located in the West Hararghe Zone Of Oromia, Ethiopia it has a latitude and longitude of 9°13′N41°06′E and an altitude of 1763 meters above sea level. It is the larger of the two towns in Tulo woreda.
The Emirate of Harar was a Muslim kingdom founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādan as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Aussa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud.
Chercher sometimes spelled as Charchar was a former province in Hararghe now part of Oromia. Also known as Ahmar and West Hararghe, chercher is the name given mainly to the eastern escarpment highland areas of Oromia state's West Hararaghe Zone, where the chains of Checher or Ahmar mountains rise and extend inland from the Great Rift Valley in its northwest. The capital of the former Chercher province was Chiro.
Menelik's Invasions, also known as the Agar Maqnat were a series of wars and conquests carried out by Menelik II of Shewa to expand the Ethiopian Empire.
Early history of Harar city is generally obscure, as many documents and records differ the exact date of the origin of the city. Most historical records state that Harar's history date back to 16th century, beginning with Adal Sultanate moving its capital from Dakkar to Harar during the reign of Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad. Other rudimentary oral tradition produced in 19th and 20th century stated that Harar history dated by in the 10th century or Abadir Umar ar-Rida founded the first Harar kingdom after migrating from Arabian Peninsula to spread Islam in 12th and 13th century.
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.
This is timeline of Harar, a city in eastern Ethiopia from the initial history to present.