Debre Zebit ( Amharic: ደብረ ዘቢጥ) is a village in northern

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 ...

. Located in the

Semien Wollo Zone North Wollo ( Amharic: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by South Wollo, on the west by South Gondar, on the north by Wag Hemra, on the northeast by Tigray Region, a ...

of the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Re ...

, about 240 kilometres north of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, this village has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2928 meters above sea level. The

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growt ...

has not published an estimate for this village's 2005 population. It is one of three towns in

Meket Meket ( Amharic: መቄት) is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.Svein Ege identifies this woreda with one otherwise known as Saron Meda"North Wälo 1:100,000. Topographic and administrative map of North Wälo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia". Tr ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

History

20th Century

Debre Zebit was the location of the

Battle of Anchem The Battle of Anchem (also Battle of Anchiem or Battle of Anchim) was a battle fought between two factions of the Royal family in the Ethiopian Empire (''Mangista Iteeyop'p'ya''). The battle was fought to determine who would rule the empire, ...

, on 31 March 1930 between (then) Ras Tafari's forces under the command of

Dejazmach 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 ...

Mulugeta Yeggazu ''Ras'' Mulugeta Yeggazu (Amharic: ሙሉጌታ ይገዙ; killed 27 February 1936) was an Ethiopian government official. He served as Imperial Fitawrari, Commander of the Mahel Sefari (Central Army) of the Ethiopian Army during the Second Italo ...

(which consisted of 20,000 riflemen with 6 cannons and about 30 machine guns) over those of Ras

Gugsa Welle Gugsa Welle (1875 – 31 March 1930), also known as Gugsa Wale, Gugsa Wolie and Gugsa Wele (cited as Ras Gugsà Oliè in Italian books and encyclopedias), was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. He represen ...

(consisting of 10,000 riflemen with 2 cannons and about 10 machine guns). Ras Gugsa was defeated and killed."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 3 December 2007)

21st Century

Tigray War

During the

Tigray War The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...

, around 15 August 2021, the

Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defense Forces ( ti, ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ, italic=no; TDF: ሓምት), colloquially ''Tigray Army'' () is a paramilitary rebel group in Tigray. It was founded by distant former generals of Ethiopia in 2020 t ...

were in control of the town for some days.Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 200 – 16 August 2021
Europe External Programme with Africa

Notes

Populated places in the Amhara Region {{Amhara-geo-stub