First Battle of Yedaya

Battle of Yedaya
Date	1422
Location	Amba Geshen, Ethiopia
Result	Adalite victory
Belligerents
Ethiopian Empire	Adal Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Dawit I †	Mansur ad-Din
Strength
Unknown	Unknown

The 1st Battle of Yedaya was a military engagement fought between the Ethiopian Empire and the Adal Empire. The Adalite army was victorious and the Ethiopian king was captured and killed.^[1]

Prelude

After his reconquest of Adal, Sabr ad-Din III died of natural causes in 1422, Sultan Mansur ad-Din succeeded the throne and enjoyed support of his brother Muhammad.

Battle

Early in his reign, Mansur ad-Din launched an expedition against King Dawit I of Ethiopia and drove him to Yedaya which was described as his royal seat. After destroying the Solomonic army, Mansur captured Dawit and killed him.^[2]^[3] The royal seat in question could have been located at the mountain of Amba Geshen^[4]

His death however, like that of many other Solomonic kings, although presumed to be an event of major importance, is not recorded by the Ethiopian Chronicles. The Ethiopian historian Taddesse Tamrat argues it's because the Ethiopian royal chronicles often deliberately attempted to suppress the violent deaths of the kings whose reigns they extol.^[5]

Mansur ad-Din also later led a two month Siege of Mukha in which he was victorious and converted 10,000 Ethiopian soldiers.

References

^ Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.
^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.
^ Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.
^ Morié, Louis-J. Auteur du texte (1904). Histoire de l'Éthiopie (Nubie et Abyssinie) : depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours. L'Abyssinie (Éthiopie moderne) / par L.-J. Morié... p. 215.
^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.

[1] Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.

[2] Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.

[3] Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.

[4] Morié, Louis-J. Auteur du texte (1904). Histoire de l'Éthiopie (Nubie et Abyssinie) : depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours. L'Abyssinie (Éthiopie moderne) / par L.-J. Morié... p. 215.

[5] Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.

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