The Battle of Amba Sel was fought on 28 October 1531, between the Ethiopians under their

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Dawit II Dawit II ( gez, ዳዊት; – 2 September 1540), also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad (ወናግ ሰገድ, ''to whom the lions bow''), better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel ( am, ልብነ ድንግል, ''essence of the vi ...

, and the forces of Imam

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultan ...

of the

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din II ...

. Imam Ahmad won the battle at

Amba Sel Ambassel (Amharic: ዐምባሰል) is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, and an ''amba'', or mountain fortress, located in the woreda. The word Ambasel is derived from two words "Amba" from the Amharic word for plateau, and “Asel” from the ...

, winning him the southern part of Ethiopia. Afterwards, his troops crossed the

Walaqa River The Walaqa River is a tributary of the Blue Nile, is river in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Wegde is located to its north. Mida Woremo and Dera are to the south, while Kelala is to the northeast. The Walaqa River may have been the northern bound ...

. The Imam reportedly surprised the Emperor at the battle, where the Emperor was almost captured, a reversal, in the words of R.S. Whiteway, that left Lebna Dengel "never in a position to offer a pitched battle to his enemies."

References

Conflicts in 1531 1531 in Ethiopia 1531 in Africa

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