Amba Mariam

Coordinates: 11°12′N 39°17′E / 11.200°N 39.283°E / 11.200; 39.283
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Ambra Mariam ("Fort Mary"), a former settlement in Ethiopia northeast of Lake Tana.
"Magdala, Ethiopia" redirects here. For the woreda, see
Magdala (woreda)
.
Amba Mariam
ዐምባ ማሪያም
Debub Wollo
Population
 (2005)
 • Total1,899 (est)

Amba Mariam (

Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, Amba Mariam has a longitude and latitude of 11°12′N 39°17′E / 11.200°N 39.283°E / 11.200; 39.283
.

Based on figures from the

woreda
.

History

British naval and support ships at the Gulf of Zula in December 1867

By the early 19th century, Magdala was a mountain stronghold, or

amba in the Wollo province of the Amhara people. When Johann Ludwig Krapf camped at its foot on 26 March 1842, it was one of the strongholds of Imam Liban of the Were Himano, a "House" or a sub-group of the Wollo Oromo.[3]

Emperor Tewodros II conquered Magdala on 22 September 1855.

British military expedition led by Sir Robert Napier, landed at the Gulf of Zula on 4 December and set up a base camp at Zula before advancing on Magdala, which they reached in April 1868. Abandoned by the nobility and his followers, and after his remaining troops engaged the British forces at the Battle of Magdala
, Tewodros withdrew into the fortress on Amba Mariam and killed himself with a pistol a few days later as the final assault began.

Amba Mariam is the exact location where Emperor Tewodros II died

The British entered the capital, where they rescued the diplomats. Before departing from Abyssinia, Sir Robert allowed his troops to loot and burn Magdala, including its churches. The expedition looted a large number of treasures and religious items such as

Haile Selassie on his visit to England in 1925. Two tabots were returned in 2002 and 2003, from Scotland and England, respectively, prompting occasions of great rejoicing in the country.[6][7][8]

As of 2009[update] little remains of Tewodros's capital; the most visible item being Tewodros's

Sebastopol
".

The abandoned fortress was occupied briefly by Lij

Afar Depression.[9]

See also

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amba Mariam.
  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Magdala" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 301.
  2. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.3 Archived November 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Journals of the Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf, Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, Detailing their proceedings in the kingdom of Shoa, and journeys in other parts of Abyssinia, in the years 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1842, (London, 1843), p. 357
  4. ^ Sven Rubenson, King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1966), p. 52
  5. ^ "The Magdala treasures in the British Museum". 22 February 2010.
  6. The Sunday Herald. Archived from the original
    on August 10, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2013.(hosted by Find Articles)
  7. ^ Odhiambo Okite, "Ethiopia: Returning a Tabot", Christianity Today, 22 April 2002. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  8. ^ Damian Zane, "Raided Lost Ark returns home", BBC News, 1 July 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  9. ^ Harold Marcus, Haile Sellassie I: The Formative Years (Lawrenceville, New Jersey: Red Sea Press, 1996), pp. 24-30
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