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.
The First Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the First Italo-Abyssinian War, or simply in Italy as the Abyssinian War, was a war fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops from Italian Eritrea achieving initial successes against Tigrayan warlords at Coatit, Senafe and Debra Ailà, until they were reinforced by a large Ethiopian army led by Emperor Menelik II. The Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italian soldiers and Eritrean askaris a decisive blow and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. The war concluded with the Treaty of Addis Ababa. Because this was one of the first decisive victories by African forces over a European colonial power, this war became a preeminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopia's sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935–36.
Kassala is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2002 its population was recorded to be 957,000. Built on the banks of the Gash River, it is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. Many of its inhabitants are from the Hadendawa people.
Oreste Baratieri was an Italian military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Eritrea from 1892 to 1896.
The Battle of Curzola was a naval battle fought on 9 September 1298 between the Genoese and Venetian navies. It was a disaster for Venice, a major setback among the many battles fought in the 13th and 14th centuries between Pisa, Genoa, and Venice in a long series of wars for the control of Mediterranean and Levantine trade.
The Mahdist War was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam, and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later the forces of Britain. Eighteen years of war resulted in the creation of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956), a de jure condominium of the British Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt in which Britain had de facto control over Sudan. The Sudanese launched several unsuccessful invasions of their neighbours, expanding the scale of the conflict to include not only Britain and Egypt but also the Italian Empire, the Congo Free State and the Ethiopian Empire.
The Ten Days of Brescia was a revolt which broke out in the northern Italian city of that name, which lasted from 23 March to 1 April 1849.
Bahta Hagos, was Dejazmach of Akkele Guzay, and retrospectively considered an important leader of Eritrean resistance to foreign domination specifically against northern Ethiopian and Italian colonialism. He was born sometime between 1839 and 1850 into a rich peasant family in the town of Segheneyti and was killed in the Battle of Halai against the Italian Colonial Army on December 19, 1894. He was of the Tsena-Degle Tigrinyas, from Akele Guzay.
The Battle of Coatit was fought on 13 January 1895 between Italy and Ethiopian proxies led by Tigrayan warlord Ras Mengesha Yohannes in what is now Eritrea. It was the opening battle of the First Italo–Ethiopian War, and was a significant victory for the Italians, as they rebuffed an invasion force.
Giuseppe Galliano was an officer of the Royal Italian Army, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He perished in the Battle of Adwa and was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
The Italian colonial empire, also known as the Italian Empire between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century and it comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencies of the Kingdom of Italy. In Africa, the colonial empire included the territories of present-day Libya, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia ; outside Africa, Italy possessed the Dodecanese Islands, Albania and also had a concession in Tianjin, China.
The naval battle of Ponza was fought in early August 1435, when the Duke of Milan dispatched the Genoese navy to relieve the besieged town of Gaeta, which was currently under threat from the King of Aragon.
The Second Battle of Agordat was fought in late December 1893, between Italian colonial troops and Mahdists from Sudan. Emir Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern Sudan and led about 10,000–12,000 men east from Kassala. This force encountered 2,400 Italians and their Eritrean askaris at Agordat, west of Asmara, commanded by Colonel Arimondi. Over 1,000 Dervishes, including the Emir, were killed in severe fighting. The outcome of the battle constituted "...the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries,..."
Mereb Melash, also known as Midri Bahr, Ma'ikele Bahr or Bahr Melash was a semi-autonomous province located north of the Mareb River, in the Eritrean highlands (Kebassa) and some surrounding areas. Mereb Melash corresponds to the administrative territory ruled by the Bahr Negash in medieval times. Mereb Melash comprised the historical provinces of Hamasien and Seraye.
Giuseppe Edoardo Arimondi, OSML, OMS, OCI was an Italian general, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He was one of the few European commanders who gained a victory over the Mahdists before Kitchener's Expedition, soundly defeating them at Agordat in 1893. After a long and successful colonial service, he died in combat at Adwa, and was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
The Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 was an undeclared war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire occurring during the Italian colonization of Eritrea. The conflict ended with a treaty of friendship, which delimited the border between Ethiopia and Italian Eritrea but contained clauses whose different interpretations led to another Italo-Ethiopian war.
Pietro Toselli was a major of the Royal Italian Army. He is mainly known for his participation in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He was born in Peveragno in 1856, the youngest of three siblings. His father was Giovanni Maria Toselli, and his mother Teresa (Botasso) Toselli. His older brother Enrico Toselli was a noted psychiatrist and university professor. Pietro Toselli joined the army at a young age and was commissioned second lieutenant of artillery in 1878. After finishing the tree year curriculum for artillerymen he opted for additional training in military engineering. After finishing his education in 1880 he became a first lieutenant. In 1887 he was promoted to captain. He first came to Africa in 1888 to carry out topographical work in the new colony of Italian Eritrea. Returning to Italy he published the book Pro Africa italica under the pseudonym "Un Eritreo". In 1894 he returned to Italian Eritrea to take command of the 4th Askari Battalion of the Corpo Speciale per L'Africa. He led Italian forces to victory at the Battle of Halai on the 18 December 1894, when his troops defeated the Eritrean forces of Batha Agos, who were besieging the Italian fort at Halai. On the 13 January 1895, he commanded the 4th Askari Battalion at the Battle of Coatit under the command of Oreste Baratieri. After the Ethiopian retreat Toselli, and the 4th Askari Battalion formed the Italian vanguard that caught up with the Ethiopian forces at the Battle of Senafe.
Domenico Turitto was an Italian major who was part of the Royal Colonial Corps of Eritrea. He participated in the Mahdist War as he commanded the 1st Indigenous Infantry Battalion, occupying the city of Kassala and distinguishing himself at the Battle of Kassala. During the First Italo-Ethiopian War, Turitto commanded the vanguard of the Indigenous brigade under the command of Matteo Albertone before being killed in the battle. He was also a recipient of the Silver and Bronze Medals of Military Valor and a knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
Luigi Nava (1851-1928) was an Italian General of the Army who participated in the First Italo-Ethiopian War and World War I. He participated in the Italian colonial campaign in the Horn of Africa which lead to his participation at the Battle of Adwa, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Abyssinians. Having become Lieutenant General, at the action of the general mobilization of 1915 he was appointed commander of the 4th Army but was dismissed from the command four months after Italy entered the war.
Francesco De Rosa (1853-1896) was an Italian major of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He commanded the 1st Artillery Brigade during the Battle of Adwa and was a posthumous recipient of the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his brave service in the battle before being killed in action.
Colony of Eritrea 
Mahdist Sudan