| Battle of Retwa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Ethiopian Empire |
 Adal Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Unknown commander |
Muhammad Ibn Sa'ad ad-Din Harb Jaush | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
200,000 10 chiefs | Outnumbered | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Commander and numerous leaders killed all soldiers killed except for a few who escaped | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Retwa was military engagement fought between the Ethiopian Empire and the emerging Adal Empire.[1]
Prelude
After the success of Sabr ad-Din III at the Battle of Zikr Amhara and at the Battle of Serjan, an unnamed Ethiopian commander with ten chiefs each in charge of 20,000 men moved to occupy the area for a year, Sabr ad-Din's followers suffered from hunger and thirst during that period.[1]
Battle
After the Muslims regained their strength, Sultan Sabr ad-Din sent his brother Muhammad and Harb Jaush, a defector from the christian side, to attack the imperial forces at Retwa. The King's commander and many other Christian leaders fell in battle, and their soldiers were killed, except for a few who escaped. Säbr ad-Din seized a considerable amount of booty, after which he ruled the district.[1][2]
After this Sabr ad-din proceeded towards Dawit I and finally won at the Battle of Adal where he burned the King's Headquarters, he came back triomphant to his capital city with much loot and booty but ordered his followers to prolong the war.
References
- 1 2 3 Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.
- ↑ Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.