Battle of Shimbra Kure

The Battle of Shimbra Kure ("chickpea swamp") was fought on 9 March 1529[4][5][6] between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel).

Battle of Shimbra Kure
Part of the Ethiopian–Adal War
Date9 March 1529 (9 March 1529)
Location
Shimbra Kure, Ethiopian Empire, today 130 km (80 mi) southeast of Addis Ababa
Result Adal victory[1]
Belligerents
Adal Sultanate Ethiopian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Dawit II
Strength
12,000 soldiers[2] 16,000 warriors
[3]

Arab Faqīh states many Somalis on the left flank deserted and the Abyssinians pursued killing a large number of their men, but the Harla on the right flank held their ground.[7] According to Merid Wolde Aregay the Harari cavalry or the Malassay with support from the Arab cuirassiers shifted the momentum in favor of the Adalites.[8] The army of Imam Ahmad prevailed, and were in control of the field at the end of the battle. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.[9]

Despite this success, and his desire to capture and hold the Emperor's palace at Badeqe, Imam Ahmad, in part to appease his restive men, withdrew from the highlands and did not return to directly engage the Ethiopian army for two years.[10] Enrico Cerulli asserts following the battle, the Harari troops refused Ahmed's orders to subjugate Abyssinia stating that doing so would defy the tradition of their ancestors. According to Cerulli the Harari aristocracy dreaded the potential of the Muslim base relocating to Abyssinia.[11]

Some authorities, such as Richard Pankhurst, attribute Imam Ahmad's success to the presence amongst his followers of an elite company of matchlockmen. If this is the case, then this battle was the first time Ethiopian forces had to fight against a force armed with firearms.[12]

References
  1. Pankhurst, Borderlands, p. 168
  2. Hassan, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia 1500 (PDF). University of London. p. 35.
  3. Cited in Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), p. 78
  4. "Battle of Shimbra Kure". HistorySack. 2022-01-11. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12.
  5. "Battle of Shimbra Kure". frontend. Retrieved 2022-01-11. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  6. www.coursehero.com https://www.coursehero.com/file/p1iin2t/Battle-of-Shimbra-Kure-Ethiopian-Adal-War-Ahmad-ibn-Ibrahim-al-Ghazi-Year-1529/. Retrieved 2022-01-11. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. bin 'Abd al-Qader arabfaqīh, Sihab ad-Din (30 January 2005). Futuh al-Habasha: The conquest of Ethiopia translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse. Tsehai Pub and Distributors. p. 81-82. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  8. Aregay, Merid (1980). "A Reappraisal of the Impact of Firearms in the History of Warfare in Ethiopia (C. 1500-1800)". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 14: 109. JSTOR 41965889.
  9. Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1997), p. 172
  10. Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003),p. 86
  11. Cerulli, Enrico. Islam Yesterday and Today translated by Emran Waber. pp. 376–381.
  12. Pankhurst, Borderlands, p. 168

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