As a result of this loss, northwestern Ethiopia was open to the Mahdists who entered Gondar to sack and plunder it. Joseph Ohrwalder, who witnessed the battle, stated that the forces of Tekle Haymanot fought with “the courage of lions” to protect their country and religion from the Muslim invaders, but were overwhelmed by the large and better equipped Mahdist army. Tekle Haymanot confronted them at Sar Weha (in Dembiya) on 18 January 1888, but was defeated. their objective was the Historical town of Gondar. As a revenge, the Next year, the Mahdists under the command of Abu Anga campaigned into Ethiopia with an Army the size of 81,000 men. In January 1887 Negus Tekle Haymanot (A Vassal of Emperor Yohannes) Defeated the Mahdists in a battle somewhere between Gedaref and Gallabat. These raids led to a Mahdist defeat by Ras Alula on 23 September 1885 at Kufit. The twin communities of Gallabat and Metemma were located on the trade route from the Nile to Gondar, the old Imperial capital the Mahdists used these communities as their base for attacks on Ethiopia. After that, the Mahdist Khalifa, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, considered the Ethiopians as his enemies and sent his forces to attack them. As a result, the British, who had taken over the government of Egypt, negotiated the Treaty of Adowa with Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia on 3 June 1884 whereby the Egyptian garrisons were allowed to evacuate to Massawa through Ethiopian territory. When the Mahdists rebelled against the Egyptians, many Egyptian garrisons found themselves isolated in Sudan. The fighting occurred at the site of the twin settlements of Gallabat (in modern Sudan) and Metemma (in modern Ethiopia), so both names are commonly used and either can be argued to be correct. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because Nəgusä Nägäst (or Emperor) Yohannes IV was killed in this battle, and because it was the last major battle on the Ethiopian front of the Mahdist War. The Battle of Gallabat (also called the Battle of Metemma) was an armed conflict fought on 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces.
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