| Battle of Amba Sel | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ethiopian–Adal war | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Ethiopian Empire |
 Adal Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Dawit II |
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim Garad Matan Ahmed Girri Bin Hussein Al Somali | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
3,000 killed 200 captured | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Amba Sel was fought on 28 October 1531, between the Ethiopians under their Emperor Dawit II, and the forces of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate.[1]
The Battle of Amba Sel was one of the bloodiest battles waged in the whole war. The two armies fought fiercely and bravely until Addalu fell and was promptly beheaded by the Adalite soldiers. His men therefore fled, pursued by the Adalites who killed many Christians and took many others captives. Thousands of Christians were killed, including innumerable nobles and 3,000 cavalrymen, and some 200 noble men who were seized. The land was covered with corspes and blood ran like streams according to Arab Faqih. The Imam then ordered all of the inhabitants of Bali to embrace Islam or be killed. Arab Faqih states that the entire land therefore embraced Islam and the Imam appointed a certain Umar as the province's governor.[2]