Battle of Shimbra Kure

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Battle of Shimbra Kure
Part of the Ethiopian–Adal War
Date 9 March 1529 (9 March 1529) Location Dawaro, Ethiopian Empire Result Adalite victory
Belligerents
Adal Sultanate	Ethiopian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim Matan ibn Uthman Abubaker Qecchin Ahmed Girri Garad Hirabu	Dawit II Za Wengēl † Robēl  † Aqbā Mikā’īl † Jūhar  † Mendel  † Jān Balaw Rās  † Zamanjān  † ‘Amdu  † Wajāmū  † [1]
Strength
12,560 men (per Arab Faqīh)[2]	216,000+men
Casualties and losses
5,000 men	30,000 archers, 600 Horses, 114 Patricians and an uncountable amount of infantry.[3]

The Battle of Shimbra Kure was fought on 9 March 1529^[4][5] between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). It was the first major battle of the Ethiopian–Adal War.

Arab Faqīh states numerous Somalis on the left flank fled while the Abyssinians pursued killing a large number of their men, but the Harla on the right flank held their ground.^[6] According to Merid Wolde Aregay, the Harari cavalry or the Malassay in the center with support from the Arab mounted troops shifted the momentum in favor of the Adalites.^[7][8] The army of Imam Ahmad prevailed, and were in control of the field at the end of the battle. Abyssinians suffered heavy casualties.^[9]

Despite this success, and despite his desire to capture and hold the Emperor's palace at Badeqe, Imam Ahmad, in part also to appease his restive men, withdrew from the highlands and did not return to directly engage the Ethiopian army for two years.^[10] Enrico Cerulli asserts that following the battle, the Harari troops refused to carry out Imam Ahmad's orders to subjugate Abyssinia, stating that doing so would defy the tradition of their ancestors. According to Cerulli, the Harari aristocracy dreaded the potential consequences of the Muslim base relocating to Abyssinia.^[11]