Atse Sarsa Dengel and the Rival Great Powers at His Door Steps: Vagaries of Competition and War against the Ottoman Empire, 1563-1597

Authors

  • Awegichew Amare Agonafir Department of History and Heritage Management, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20372/ajbs.2022.7.2.702

Abstract

This article reconstructs a history of competition between the Ethiopian Christian Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire over the strategic region of the Red Sea coast in the regal years of Atse Sarsa Dengel. Drawing on Ethiopian royal chronicles, travelogues, Jesuit materials, and Turkish sources, the article concludes that the establishment of the Turkish Province in Ethiopia, known to Turkish sources as Habesh Eyaleti gave a new phase to the Ottomans‟ strong presence in the Red Sea region which was originally limited to the coast. Conducting three military expeditions against the expanding realm of the Habesh Eyaleti, Atse Sarsa Dengel was successful in his experiment of recruiting Oromo warriors into the military establishment of the Ethiopian Christian kingdom. The Chewa
military regiments and units repelled the Ottoman army and its internal allies in the battles of Enticho, Addi Qorro (1578) and Debarwa (1589). The sovereign‟s strategy of integrating Oromo military units into the Chewa regimental system was adopted by successive Ethiopian sovereigns.

Keywords:

Habesh Eyaleti, Sarsa Dengel, Oromo Contingent, Ottoman Empire, Ethiopian Christian Kingdom

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Published

2022-12-31

How to Cite

Agonafir, A. A. . (2022). Atse Sarsa Dengel and the Rival Great Powers at His Door Steps: Vagaries of Competition and War against the Ottoman Empire, 1563-1597. Abyssinia Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 7(2), 24–32. https://doi.org/10.20372/ajbs.2022.7.2.702

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles