The Battle of Guté Dili was fought on 14 October 1888 between an alliance of the

Shewa Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...

n forces of ''

Ras Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

Gobana Dacche '' Ras'' Gobena Dache ( am, ራስ ጎበና, om, Goobanaa Daaccee; 1821 – July 1889) was a military commander during Menelik II's reign. He is known for campaigning against Oromo territory to incorporate more lands into the Ethiopian Empire in t ...

and Mahdist forces under governor Khalil al-Khuzani near

Nejo Nedjo (also transliterated Nejjoo) is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the West Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1821 meters above sea level. It is the administrative cente ...

in the modern

Mirab Welega Zone West Welega Zone ( om, Wallagga Lixaa) is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in the western part of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. This zone is named after the former province of Welega Province, Welega, whose western part lay in the area West Welega now occupi ...

of the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. The Mahdist forces were routed, and only Khalil and Muhammad Hassan of Fadasi, who was leading the Bela Shangul contingent, with a small group of '' Ansar'' and Berta soldiers, were able to successfully flee the battlefield. This engagement represents the high water mark of Mahdist activity in what is now southwestern

. Despite raids over the next two years, local rulers west of Lega Naqamte, such as 'Abd ar-Rahman Khojali of Qabesh, stopped paying tribute to

Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...

(the Mahdist capital) and ignored summons to present themselves there.Triulzi, "Trade, Islam", pp. 69f Further, ''Ras'' Gobana's master, (then) king

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...

of Shewa was able to continue extending his influence into the area south of the

Abay River Abay may refer to: People *Abay (name) Places * Abay District, East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan * Abay District, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan **Abay (town), the province's administrative center * Abay, Almaty, Kazakhstan * Abay, Aktobe, a village ...

, which followed Menelik and Gobena's defeat of the Gojjame army six years earlier in the

Battle of Embabo The Battle of Embabo was fought 6 June 1882, between the Shewan forces of ''Negus'' Menelik and the Gojjame forces of ''Negus'' Tekle Haymanot. The forces fought to gain control over the Oromo areas south of the Gibe River.Shinn, p. 67 The Go ...

References

1888 in Ethiopia 1888 in Sudan Battles involving Ethiopia Menelik's Expansion Campaigns Battles of the Mahdist War Battles involving Sudan Conflicts in 1888 October 1888 events {{Ethiopia-hist-stub