Battle of Wayna Daga

Part of the Ethiopian–Adal War and Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–57)

Date	21 February 1543
Location	modern Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Result	Decisive Ethiopian-Portuguese victory

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Emperor Galawdewos

Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi †

Strength

8,000 Ethiopian infantry
500 Ethiopian cavalry
70 Portuguese musketeers
60 Portuguese cavalry

14,000 infantry
1,200 cavalry
200 Ottoman musketeers

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Extensive, but not precisely known;
160 Ottoman musketeers killed

Ethiopian Empire

Adal Sultanate

The Battle of Wayna Daga (Amharic for "grape-cultivating altitude") occurred on 21 February 1543 east of Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Led by the Emperor Galawdewos, the combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated the Adal-Ottoman army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Tradition states that Ahmad was killed by a Portuguese musketeer, who had charged alone into the Muslim lines. Once the Imam's soldiers learned of his death, they fled the battlefield.

At the Battle of Wofla (28 August 1542), Imam Ahmad had crushed the Portuguese expeditionary force, killing most of its men, capturing practically all of the firearms they had, and capturing and killing its leader, Cristóvão da Gama. By any reasonable assessment, the Imam enjoyed a decisive victory over his greatest foe; armies in the Horn of Africa melted away with the death of their leaders. He then reduced the number of the mercenary Ottoman arquebusiers to 200, and relying on his own forces retired to Emfraz near Lake Tana for the coming rainy season. Miguel de Castanhoso states that these arquebusiers left his service because they were upset that he beheaded da Gama, whom they wanted to present to the Ottoman emperor. However, Beckingham notes that a Hadhrami chronicle states that some of them threatened the Imam's life unless he gave them 10,000 ounces of gold, to which he "gave a very favorable reply". When the rest of the group learned of their success, they came to the Imam and made a similar demand; deciding that he had no further need of their services, he sent them home giving them 2,000 ounces of gold.

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