The Battle of Fatagar (alternatively known as Nech Sar) was a reprisal war between the participants of the previous

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 ...

and

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

in the Ethiopian-Adal war. It was fought between the forces of the

Sultanate of Harar The Sultanate of Harar was a Muslim state centered in present-day Harar, Ethiopia. It succeeded the Adal Sultanate. In this period the Harar Sultanate led by Amīr Nūr continued to carry on the struggle of the Adal leader Imām Aḥmed Gurēy ...

led by

Nur ibn Mujahid Nur ibn Mujahid ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al Dhuhi Suha ( Harari: ኑር ኢብን ሙጃሂድ, so, Nuur ibn Mujaahid, ar, نور بن مجاهد; died 1567) was a Muslim Emir of Harar who ruled Sultanate of Harar. He was the primary reason f ...

, and the

under Emperor

Gelawdewos Galawdewos ( gez, ገላውዴዎስ, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559) also known as Mar Gelawdewos ( amh, ማር ገላውዴዎስ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His ...

. The Ethiopian Emperor was killed by Adal forces in this battle.

Battle

In 1559, Nur invaded

Fatagar A medieval map of Fatagar and surrounding areas Fatagar ( Amharic: ፈጠጋር) was a historical province that separated Muslim and Christian dominions in the medieval Horn of Africa. In the eleventh century it was part of the Muslim states, the ...

to confront Gelawdewos with the

Malassay A Malassay ( Harari: መለሳይ ''Mäläsay'') was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Adal Sultanate's household troops. According to Manfred Kropp, Malassay were the Harari armed forces. Etymology Malassay appears to refer t ...

comprising eighteen hundred horsemen, five hundred riflemen, numerous sword and bow-wielding troops. The Abyssinian forces were greatly outnumbered as

had sent an army to lay siege to

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

. However, the explorer

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

tells a slightly different account, adding that Gelawdewos had been supervising the restoration of

Debre Werq Debre Werq ( Amharic: ደብረ ወርቅ) is a small town in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Gojjam of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2489 meters above sea level. The settlement is known for its ...

when he received a message from Emir Nur challenging him to combat. When the Emperor met the Emir, a priest warned that the angel Gabriel had told him Gelawdewos would needlessly risk his life—which caused most of the Ethiopian army to flee. According to Harari chronicle, Early in the battle Galawdéwos was shot, but continued struggling until encircled by numerous Harari cavalry, which gave him a death blow.

References

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