Battle of Takusa | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Loyalists to Kassa Hailu | Yejju, Tigray, Wollo, Gojjam | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Kassa Hailu | Dejazmach Birru | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Two Dejazmaches |
The Battle of Takusa was a short military engagement fought on 12 April 1853 between the forces of Kassa Hailu, future Emperor of Ethiopia, and an alliance of several rival warlords. The forces of Kassa's enemies were led by Dejazmach Birru Aligaz and Samuel Birhanu, who was reinforced by troops sent to him by Wube Haile Maryam under the command of his son, Gwangul Wube.
According to Sven Rubenson, this battle is famous "as the battle in which he [Kassa] fought four dejazmaches and killed two, Dejazmach Birru Aligaz and Belew." [1] However, Harold G. Marcus states that Kassa defeated five Dejazmaches, and that Birru was not killed in this battle, but escaped and was captured in May 1854, to remain in captivity for the next 14 years. [2]
Tewodros II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to the decentralized Zemene Mesafint.
Yohannes III was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1840 and 1851, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Giyorgis. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the Enderase or Regent, Ras Ali II a princeling of the Yejju Dynasty. Ras Ali's mother was the Empress Menen Liben Amede.
Qwara, also spelled Quara, was a province in now Amhara region, Ethiopia, located between Lake Tana and the frontier inside present-day Sudan, and stretching from Agawmeder in the south as far north as Metemma, and as far west as Wad Madani, Sudan.
Tekle Giyorgis II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871. After being crowned, he linked himself to the last independent emperors of the Gondar line through his mother and sought support from the Ethiopian Church to strengthen his right to rule. He was wounded when fighting during the 1871 Battle of Adwa, leading to the demoralization of his troops and capture of his generals which would later lead to the unification policy and effective rule of Yohannes IV.
Yimam of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Gugsa of Yejju.
Ali II of Yejju was Ras of Begemder and the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. He was a member of a powerful Oromo dynasty known as the Yejju, which ruled much of the Ethiopian Empire during the Zemene Mesafint.
The Battle of Debre Tabor was a conflict during the Zemene Mesafint in 1842 initiated by Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam to overthrow Ras Ali II as Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia and gain control of Ethiopia. This confused battle was won by Ras Ali, but at a steep price, and this victory failed to cement his position as the most powerful nobleman of his time.
The Battle of Gur Amba was a battle fought on 27 November 1852 between the forces of the Ethiopian regent, Ras Ali II, and the rebel forces of Kassa Hailu. Kassa was victorious, and Goshu Zewde of Mota, Gojjam, the commander of the regent's forces, was killed. This was the first of a series of four victories which led to Kassa becoming Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia.
The Battle of Amba Jebelli was fought in Ethiopia in 1854 between the forces of Kassa Hailu, and the forces of Birru Goshu of Gojjam. Kassa was victorious, Birru Goshu was captured and spent the next 14 years in chains.
The Battle of Ayshal was fought on June 29, 1853, between the forces of Kassa Hailu and the forces of Ras Ali II, in Ayshal, in eastern Gojjam. Kassa's forces won the battle.
The Zemene Mesafint was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the country was ruled by a class of regional noblemen and the emperor was merely a figurehead. For the most part, the regional lords were tightly related by marriage and constituted a stable ruling elite that prevailed until the mid 20th century. In short, during the Zamana Masafint, the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.
Ethiopian forces in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War besides the Central Army were mobilized from various provinces under their local leader. According to 1935 Italian intelligence estimates of the Ethiopian provinces and their forces on the eve of hostilities, the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000 men. Strengths where known are noted followed by their leader. Modernized forces in Bold.
DejazmachBalcha Safo, popularly referred to by his horse-name Abba Nefso, was an Ethiopian military commander and lord protector of the crown, who served in both the First and Second Italo-Ethiopian Wars.
The Battle of Anchem was a battle fought between two factions of the Royal family in the Ethiopian Empire. The battle was fought to determine who would rule the empire, Empress Zewditu or King (Negus) Tafari Makonnen.
Ayalew Birru, or Ayyalaw Birru, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and a cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Dejazmach Birru Aligaz was a nobleman of 19th century Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint. As Dejazmach, he held the governorships of different districts such as Lasta and Dembiya and was made governor of Dawunt, Wollo in 1842 by Ras Ali II of Yejju. He was the son of Ras Aligaz Abba Seru Gwangul, and had a son called Dejazmach Zegeye.
Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799-1867), also called by his title Dejazmach Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’or "Oubié". Wube was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades of the Zemene Mesafint a period of regional lords vying for power, prestige and territory amid a weakened authority of the emperors.
Menen Liben Amede was Empress consort of Ethiopia by marriage to Emperor Yohannes III in 1840–1841, 1845 and 1850–1851.
Betul Haile Maryam was a member of the Semien nobility through his paternal line.
Kenfu Hailu was one of the protagonists of the Zemene Mesafint era. He was the older half brother of Emperor Tewodros II, who came up of age at his court. Kenfu is remembered for his victory over the Ottoman invaders in 1837.