Battle of Jigjiga (1900)

Battle of Jigjiga
Part of Menelik II's expansions and the Ethiopian–Somali conflict

The Sayyid carrying the Dervish standard with his followers by La Tribuna Illustrata
DateMarch 5, 1900
Location
Jigjiga, Ogaden, Ethiopia
Result Dervish victory
Belligerents
Dervish Movement  Ethiopian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Muḥammad ibn 'Abdallāh Hassan Ethiopian Empire Grazmatch Bente
Strength
6,000 spearmen[1] 1,500 riflemen[2]
Casualties and losses
Disputed, see Casualties Unknown

The Battle of Jigjiga was fought on March 5, 1900 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Dervish movement.[3]

The Dervishes, led by Sayyid Muḥammad ibn 'Abdallāh Hassan, stormed a military fort at the Somali city of Jigjiga in the Ogaden region with the objective of repossessing livestock looted from locals by an Abyssinian military expedition. The clash marked the first major battle of the Dervish movement and the opening of a two decade long war against the Ethiopian Empire.[4]

The battle greatly shook the Ethiopians, and resulted in them coordinating large scale joint military operations with the British Empire against the Dervishes in the following years.[5][6]

  1. ^ Marcus, Harold G.; Hudson, Grover (1994). New Trends in Ethiopian Studies: Papers of the 12th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Michigan State University, 5-10 September 1994. Red Sea Press. ISBN 978-1-56902-013-5.
  2. ^ Douglas Jardine (1923). textsThe Mad Mullah Of Somaliland. Bellew. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-947792-43-5.
  3. ^ Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji (2003-02-25). Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Scarecrow Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-8108-6604-1.
  4. ^ Gibb, Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen (1993). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
  5. ^ BeaureGard, Erving E. (1976). "Menelik II: Another Look". Transafrican Journal of History. 5 (2): 21–31. ISSN 0251-0391. In 1900 his daring attack on the new Ethiopian fort at Jijiga greatly shook the Ethiopians. Large scale Anglo-Ethiopian operations in 1901 against the dervish followers of the Poor Man of God accomplished little.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).