Hintalo
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Hintalo Antalo |
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 Hintalo
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| Coordinates: 13°19′N 39°27′E / 13.317°N 39.450°ECoordinates: 13°19′N 39°27′E / 13.317°N 39.450°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Tigray |
| Zone | Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) |
| Elevation | 2,050 m (6,730 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 1,179 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Hintalo, formerly known as Antalo, is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, it lies on a plateau with an elevation variously reported as 2050 or 2102 meters above sea level. It is one of three towns in Hintalo Wajirat woreda.
Hintalo lies on a plateau in the Ethiopian Highlands near its eastern escarpment. It is just south of a steep hill formerly used for defense and just north of a wide fertile plain, along the road from Shoa to Massawa, the former Ethiopian port which now lies within Eritrea.Geologically, it is surrounded by fossil-bearing limestone.
Historically, Hintalo was the capital city of Enderta Province. Located on a high plateau beneath the south face of Amba Aradam, which made the town a natural fortress. It was first mentioned in 1648 by the Yemeni ambassador Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Haymat, who described it as a "fortified town". In 1678 Hintalo was the location of a battle; some of the prominent men of Lasta intended to join a rebellion in southern Tigray, but they were defeated, and some of those from Hintalo were driven over the precipices to their deaths.
Ras Wolde Selassie, one of the most powerful overlords of the Zemene Mesafint, made Hintalo his capital. It was here that Henry Salt met the Ras in September, 1805. By March 1810, it was described as the capital of Enderta Province. A later meeting at Hintalo between Dejazmach Kassai Mercha (the future Yohannes IV) and Sir Robert Napier on 25–26 February 1868, led to the Dejazmach agreeing to deliver 15,000 kilograms of grain per week to each of the British camps at Hintalo and Adigrat used to support their 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia; for this, Dejazmach Kassai was later rewarded with a formidable quantity of supplies and material worth approximately £500,000.
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