- Gallabat
Gallabat is a village in the
Sudan ese state of Al Qadarif. It lies at one of the country's border crossing points withEthiopia ; on the other side of the border is Ethiopia's corresponding border villageMetemma .The town and district form a small ethnographical island in Al Qadarif, having been founded in the 18th century by a colony of
Takruri fromDarfur , who, finding the spot a convenient resting-place for their fellow-pilgrims on their way toMecca and back, obtained permission from theEmperor of Ethiopia to make a permanent settlement there. Lying on the main trade route from Sennar toGondar (some 90 miles to the east by south), Gallabat grew into a trade center of some importance. The Scottish explorerJames Bruce (who calls the town Hor-Cacamoot) travelled through the town in1772 .About
1870 theEgypt ians garrisoned the town, which in1886 was attacked by followers ofAbdallahi ibn Muhammad (the successor ofMuhammad Ahmad ) and sacked. From Gallabat a raiding party penetrated to Gondar, which they looted. In revenge, an Ethiopian army under Emperor Yohannes IV attacked the dervishes close to Gallabat in March 1889, in what is known as theBattle of Gallabat (or Metemma) Yohannes IV was originally successful, with theMahdists suffering many casualties, but a shot from a lone sniper killed the Emperor late in the battle, causing his army to flee and routing the attack.References
*1911
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