The Battle of Takusa was a short military engagement fought on 12 April 1853 between the forces of

Kassa Hailu , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopi ...

, future Emperor of

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 ...

, and an alliance of several rival warlords. The forces of Kassa's enemies were led by

Dejazmach Birru ''Dejazmach'' Birru Aligaz was a nobleman of 19th century Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint. As ''Dejazmach'', he held the governorships of different districts such as Lasta and Dembiya and was made governor of Dawunt, Wollo in 1842 by ''Ras'' A ...

Aligaz and Samuel Birhanu, who was reinforced by troops sent to him by

Wube Haile Maryam Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799-1867), also called by his title ''Dejazmach'' Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’. Wube was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades o ...

under the command of his son, Gwangul Wube. According to

Sven Rubenson Sven (in Danish and Norwegian, also Svend and also in Norwegian most commonly Svein) is a Scandinavian first name which is also used in the Low Countries and German-speaking countries. The name itself is Old Norse for "young man" or "young warri ...

, this battle is famous "as the battle in which he

assa Assa may refer to: Places * Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece * Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz * Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan * Assa (river), river ...

fought four ''dejazmaches'' and killed two, Dejazmach Birru Aligaz and Belew." However, Harold G. Marcus states that Kassa defeated five Dejazmaches, and that Birru was not killed in this battle, but escaped and was captured in May 1854, to remain in captivity for the next 14 years.

References

Battles involving Ethiopia Battles of the Zemene Mesafint 1853 in Ethiopia Conflicts in 1853 April 1853 events {{Ethiopia-hist-stub