The Battle of Debre Tabor was a conflict initiated by Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam to overthrow Ras Ali II as Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia and gain control of Ethiopia. This confused battle was won by Ras Ali, but at a steep price, and this victory failed to cement his position as the most powerful warlord of his time. February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Debre Tabor is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, about 100 kilometers southeast of Gondar, and 50 kilometers E of Lake Tana. ... Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Tigray region. ... Ali II of Yejju (c. ... Ethiopian aristocratic and religious titles used in Ethiopia until the end of the Monarchy in 1974. ... Ethiopian aristocratic and religious titles used in Ethiopia until the end of the Monarchy in 1974. ... Ali II of Yejju (c. ... The Emperor of Ethiopia (Amharic ንጉሠ ነገሥት, niguse negest, King of Kings) was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. ...

Dejazmach Wube's strategy against Ras Ali depended on his ability to import more firearms, which would provide him with a tactical superiority that would more than outweigh the vaunted cavalry of Ras Ali's Oromo kinsmen, and to obtain an Abuna for the Ethiopian Church, who would help unite the demoralized Christian population behind him. Wube made several appeals to obtain firearms from European governments, but did not succeed in obtaining any until the middle of 1841 when Theophile Lefebvre returned from France with a small quantity of weapons and a number of artisans who immediately began to repair a cannon Wube had obtained from Ras Wolde Selassie and manufacture war materials. About the same time, he learned that a new Abuna was on his way to Ethiopia, Abuna Salama III, who arrived in Ethiopia in the last months of 1841. With this success, the Dejazmach lost all discretion and he treated the envoys of Ras Ali with contempt, and announced that he would defeat Ras Ali, whom he claimed was still a Moslem at heart, and install Tekle Giyorgis, related to the Solomonid dynasty, on the Imperial throne in Gondar. Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome. ... The Oromo are an African ethnic group found in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Kenya. ... Abuna is the title of the metropolitan bishop or head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. ... The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Church until it was granted its own Patriarch by Cyril VI, the Coptic Pope, in 1959. ... Wolde Selassie (died May 1816) was a Ras of Ethiopia and warlord of Tigray. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The Solomonid dynasty is the traditional royal house of Ethiopia, claming descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said to have given birth to the traditional first king Menelik I after her Biblically-described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. ... Gondar (less commonly spelled Gonder) was the old imperial capital of Ethiopia and the historic Begemder province, now part of the Amhara region. ...

Once Abuna Salama arrived in Wube's camp the Dejazmach marched into Begemder, where with the help of Birru Goshu he captured Gondar, then the allies continued south against Ras Ali's army. The two forces met near Debre Tabor 7 February 1842; Ras Ali had summoned nearly 30,000 soldiers to support him, amongst whom were Wube's brother Dejazmach Merso and Ali's nephew Birru Aligaz. Mordechai Abir observes that this "was clearly a battle between the Christian Amhara and Tigrean elements and the Galla [Oromo], fighting desperately to preserve their predominant position in northern Ethiopia."¹ Begemder was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Gondar. ... Debre Tabor is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, about 100 kilometers southeast of Gondar, and 50 kilometers E of Lake Tana. ... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Amhara (አማራ) is an ethnicity of people in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 25 million, making up between 26% of the countrys population (estimates differ). ... Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Tigray region. ...

Although the two forces were equal in numbers, Dejazmach Wube's superiority in firearms carried the day. Ras Ali escaped the battlefield with a number of his followers, and with possession of the battlefield the Dejazmach and his ally Birru Goshu settled down to a feast to celebrate their victory. At that moment they were surprised by a small detachment under Birru Aligaz, who captured Dejazmach Wube and chased Birru Goshu across the Abbay River into Gojjam. Released from his imprisonment, Ras Ali grudgingly rewarded his nephew with the governorship of Daunt, a district along the border of Amhara and Wello; Dejazmach Merso was given Wube's territories in Tigray. The Abay River is a river in Ethiopia. ... Gojjam, or Gojam, was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debra Markos. ... Amhara (አማራ) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. ...

Despite this victory, Ras Ali was in a worse position than before the battle. His enemies were still operating in Gojjam, Damot, Dembea, and Lasta; the clergy was still hostile to him, and his own Christian subjects in Begemder and Amhara were even more disaffected. To secure the Abuna's help, he was forced to free Dejazmach Wube and go to war against his ally Dejazmach Merso to help Wube recover his territories. His Moslem allies in Welo, alarmed at the Christian Birru Aligaz being invested on their borders, likewise grew disaffected. Ras Ali was forced to seek help elsewhere, and sought it from the Egyptians, who at the moment were consolidating their hold on Sudan. Although in the short term a beneficial move, this only served to further erode his local support, leading to a vicious cycle leading to Ras Ali's eventual defeat by a competent rival -- the future Emperor Tewodros II.² A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Tewodros II (also known as Theodore II) (born Kassa Hailu) (1818-1868) was an emperor of Ethiopia. ...

Notes

1. Abir, The Era of the Princes: the Challenge of Islam and the Re-unification of the Christian empire, 1769-1855 (London: Longmans, 1968), p. 112.
2. This narrative is based on the account of Abir, pp. 111ff.