The Battle of Hubat was fought between the forces of Hubat principality led by Emir of Adal Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Degelhan.[1] This was the first encounter between Ahmed's forces with Abyssinians. Ahmed was known as Emir during this battle as he was yet to be given the title Imam.[2]
| Battle of Hubat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Hubat principality |
 Ethiopian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Abu Bakr Qatin |
Degelhan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown, estimates range from 4000 to 7000 | Unknown, estimates range from 4500 to 7500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Sixty horses and 400 men captured | ||||||
Battle
editUpon hearing that a rebel named Ahmed Ibrahim was in a power struggle with the Adal leaders, the Emperor of Ethiopia Dawit II sent his general Degelhan to confront him. The Abyssinian campaign originally seemed successful as large amounts of women and children of Adal were captured by Degelhan including the mother of Ahmed's commander Abu Bakr Qatin. Meanwhile Emir Ahmed had laid a trap in Hubat, splitting his unit into three, he waited for the Abyssinians to enter the region after sacking Harar and ambushed them. The remaining Abyssinian army who were not killed fled in panic, thus Ahmed's troops won decisively and were able to recover stolen booty.[3][4]
References
edit- ^ Tamrat, Tadesse. Church and state (PDF). University of London. p. 157.
- ^ Davis, Asa (1963). "THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY JIHAD IN ETHIOPIA AND THE IMPACT ON ITS CULTURE (Part One)". Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria. 2 (4): 571. JSTOR 41856679.
- ^ Budge, E.A (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. pp. 327–328.
- ^ Hassan, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia (PDF). University of London. p. 30.