Battle of Wayna Daga

Timeline

1. 1542–1543Highlands around Lake Tana · EthiopiaDa Gama was defeated and killed at Wofla in August 1542; about a hundred Portuguese arquebusiers and riders broke out and later joined Gelawdewos. The emperor reorganized his highland forces, preparing to decide the issue against Grân east of Lake Tana and reverse the strategic disadvantage since Shimbra Kure.
2. 1543Wayna Daga · AmharaGrân drew up about 15,000 men and some 200 Ottoman arquebusiers. The Ethiopian-Portuguese coalition was outnumbered and initially gave ground, then counterattacked with coordinated cavalry and arquebus fire. Grân rode forward to direct the battle, was shot and fell dead from his horse. The identity of the marksman is disputed in Portuguese and Ethiopian accounts, but his death caused the Adal army to collapse.
3. 1543Ethiopian Highlands to Harar · Horn of AfricaGrân's death disintegrated Adal's occupation system; his wife Bati del Wambala and his nephew Nur ibn Mujahid led the remnants toward Harar. Gelawdewos recovered the highland core, and the Solomonic dynasty, with Portuguese firearms, ended its existential crisis, reversing the balance of power in the Horn of Africa.