Ottoman conquest of Habesh | |||||||||
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Part of the Expansion of the Ottoman Empire | |||||||||
The Ottoman Empire in 1609 with the Eyalet highlighted | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Ethiopian Empire |
Ottoman Empire Medri Bahri Adal Sultanate | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Gelawdewos Menas Sarsa Dengel Yeshaq (1557–1561) |
Özdemir Pasha Ahmad Pasha † Kedwart Pasha †[6] Yeshaq † Ga'ewa |
The Ottoman Empire conquered the Habesh (mostly covering the coastline of present-day Eritrea) starting in 1557, when Özdemir Pasha took the port city of Massawa and the adjacent city of Arqiqo, even taking Debarwa, then capital of the local ruler Bahr negus Yeshaq (ruler of Midri Bahri). They administered this area as the province of Habesh. Yeshaq sought the assistance of emperor Gelawdewos, reinforced by a large Abyssinian army, he recaptured Debarwa, taking all the gold the invaders had piled within. In 1560 Yeshaq, disillusioned with the new Emperor of Ethiopia, revolted with Ottoman support but pledged his support again with the crowning of Emperor Sarsa Dengel. However, not long after, Yeshaq revolted once again with Ottoman support but was defeated once and for all, leaving the Ottomans with domain over Massawa, Arqiqo, and some of the nearby coastal environs, which were soon transferred to the control of Beja Na'ibs (deputies).