Battle of Wayna Daga

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.

Background

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.

Wayna

Wayna (known by the real name Woyneab Miraf Wondwossen) is an Ethiopian-born American R&B singer.

Her single "My Love" reached the Billboard R&B charts in 2008, peaking at Number 99. Wayna was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the song "Lovin You (Music)" at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

She was arrested on March 26, 2009 and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon at Bush Intercontinental Airport when she attempted to board a flight with a 24-inch collapsible police baton that she uses in her performances. A judge dismissed the charges the next day.

Discography

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