Emperor Yohannes IV and the demise of Egyptian's dream over Nile
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Yohannes IV was Ethiopia’s emperor from 1872 to1889. He succeeded to
the Ethiopian throne on 21 January 1872 four years after the death of
Emperor Thewodros. Like his predecessor Yohannes IV was a strong,
progressive ruler, but he had to spend most of his time repelling
military threats from Egypt, Italy, and t
he
Mahdists. He was confronted by Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Egypt, who
sought to bring the entire Nile River basin under his rule in 1875. It
was difficult time for Ethiopia as there were also internal conflicts
among war lords. The Egyptians sought that as an opportunity to invade
Ethiopia but they were wrong. The Egyptians marched into northern
Ethiopia from their coastal possessions around the port of Massawa.
Yohannes pleaded with the British to stop their Egyptian allies, and
even withdrew from his own territory in order to show the Europeans that
he was the wronged party and that the Khedive was the aggressor.
However, Yohannes soon realized that the Europeans would not stop the
Khedive of Egypt and so he gathered up his armies and marched to meet
the Egyptian force. After the Egyptians had advanced into Ethiopia,
Emperor Yohannes drew them into battle. The two armies met at Gundat on
the morning of 16 November 1875. The Egyptians were tricked into
marching into a narrow and steep valley and were wiped out by Ethiopian
gunners surrounding the valley from the surrounding mountains. Virtually
the entire Egyptian force, along with its many officers of European and
North American background, were killed. Emperor Yohannes put the
Ethiopian flag on area as a reminder of the victory for all. Young men
joined his army from all parts of the country. News of this huge defeat
was suppressed in Egypt for fear that it would undermine the government
of the Khedive. A new Egyptian force was assembled and sent to avenge
the defeat at Gundat. The Egyptians were defeated again at the Battle of
Gura (March 7 – 9, 1876), where the Ethiopians were led again by the
Emperor, and general Ras Alula. His victories not only ended any
Egyptian desires on the territory, but also brought him much captured
weaponry turning his army into the first well-equipped military force in
Ethiopian history. In 1869, the Suze Canal opened in eastern Egypt and
it made it easier for European ships to effortlessly reach Ethiopia.
Italy - the next aggressor in 1885 - occupied the Red Sea port of
Massawa and began to expand inland, only to be soundly defeated by
Yohannes in 1887. Ethiopian forces, led by Emperor Yohannes, beat the
Italians at the battle of Dogali in the far north of the country. In the
same year, the Islamic revivalist Dervishes forces, gaining ground in
the Sudan, invaded Ethiopia, devastating the old Ethiopian capital city
of Gonder. Emperor Yohannes fought the Dervishes severely and at the
close of another Ethiopian victory, he was killed at the Battle of
Metema in March 1889.
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