The three battles of Sarbakusa were three military engagements in

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 ...

during the Zemene Mesafint that took place in May 1771. They pitted

Wand Bewossen Dejazmach Wand Bewossen (died 10 December 1777) was a prominent figure in Ethiopian history. He was governor of Lasta and later Begemeder. He was on the losing side in the Battle of Nefas Mewcha (1769), but one of the victorious generals in the T ...

and

Fasil of Damot Fasilides ( Ge'ez: ፋሲልደስ; ''Fāsīladas''; 20 November 1603 – 18 October 1667), also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides (as in the works of Edward Gibbon), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a ...

against the forces of

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), ...

Tekle Haymanot II Tekle Haymanot II ( Ge'ez: ተክለ ሃይማኖት), throne name: Admas Sagad III (Ge'ez: አድማስ ሰገድ; 1754 – 7 September 1777) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 October 1769 to 13 April 1777, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. ...

and

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 ...

Mikael Sehul, with the former prevailing. This led to the end of Mikael Sehul's hegemony in imperial politics and the marginalization of Tekle Haymanot. According to

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Europ ...

, the

Meridazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

Amha Iyasus Amha Iyasus Kidane Kale, better known as Ammehayes (reigned c. 1744 – c. 1775), was a Meridazmach of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the son of Kidane Kale, and a sister of Goshu of Amhara. The Meridazmach made a diplo ...

led 1,000 horsemen in support of Emperor Tekle Haymanot at Sarbakusa.James Bruce, ''Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile'' (London, 1790), vol. 4, p. 94

References

Sarbakusa Sarbakusa Conflicts in 1771 1771 in Africa 1771 in Ethiopia 18th century in Ethiopia {{battle-stub