Battle of Gallabat The Battle of Gallabat ( also called the Battle of Metemma ) was fought 9 – 10 March 1889 between the Mahdi st Sudanese and Ethiopia n forces . It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because " Nəgusä Nägäst " ( or Emperor ) Yohannes IV was killed in this battle . 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 . Background . When the Mahdists rebelled against the Egypt ians , many Egyptian garrisons found themselves isolated in Sudan . 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 . After that , the Mahdist Khalifa , Abdallahi ibn Muhammad considered the Ethiopians as his enemies and sent his forces to attack them . 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 . These raids led to a Mahdist defeat by Ras Alula on 23 September 1885 at Kufit . Sack of Gondar . A few years later , the negus of Gojjam , Tekle Haymanot ( a vassal of Emperor Yohannes ) attacked the Mahdists at Metemma in January 1887 , and sacked the town . In response , that next year the Mahdists under Abu Anga campaigned out of Metemma into Ethiopia ; their objective was the town of Gondar . Tekle Haymanot confronted him at Sar Weha on 18 January 1888 , but was badly defeated . The Mahdists proceeded to Gondar , and set about ransacking the town . Churches were pillaged and burnt , and many inhabitants were carried away into slavery . Despite this damage to the historic capital , Emperor Yohannes held back from a counterattack due to his suspicions of Menelik II , then only the ruler of Shewa . He wanted to campaign against Menelik , but the clergy and his senior officers pressed him to handle the Mahdist threat first . The Abyssinians under " Ras " Gobana Dacche did defeat the Mahdists in the Battle of Guté Dili in the province of Wellega on 14 October 1888 . Following this victory the Emperor accepted the advice of his people , and according to " Alaqa " Lamlam concluded " if I come back I can fight Shoa later on when I return . And if I die at Matamma in the hands of the heathens I shall go to heaven . " Battle . In late January 1889 , Yohannes mustered a huge army of 130 , 000 infantry and 20 , 000 cavalry in Dembiya . The Sudanese gathered an army of 85 , 000 and fortified themselves in Gallabat , surrounding the town with a huge " zariba " , a barrier made of entwined thorn bushes , replicating the effect of barbed wire . On 8 March 1889 the Ethiopian army arrived within sight of Gallabat , and the attack began in earnest the next day . The wings were commanded by the Emperor ' s nephews , Ras Haile Maryam Gugsa over the left wing and Ras Mengesha the right . The Ethiopians managed to set the " zariba " alight , and , by concentrating their attack against one part of the defense managed to break through the Mahdist lines into the town . The defenders suffered heavy losses and were about to break down completely , when the battle turned unexpectedly in their favour . The Emperor Yohannes , who led his army from the front , had shrugged off one bullet wound to his hand , but a second lodged in his chest , fatally wounding him . He was carried back to his tent , where he died that night ; before he died , Yohannes commanded his nobles to recognize his natural son , Ras Mengesha , as his successor . The Ethiopians , demoralized by the death of their ruler , began to melt away , leaving the field — and victory — to the Mahdists . According to David L . Lewis , the Mahdists were unaware of the Emperor ' s death until " stench from the rapidly decaying imperial corpse alerted a spy , and the nearly beaten Sudanese thundered out of their " zariba " to scatter the downcast Ethiopians like starlings . " A few days later ( 12 March ) the forces of the Mahdist commander , Zeki Tummal , overtook Rasses Mangasha and Alula and their remaining followers near the Atbara River , who were escorting the Emperor ' s body to safety . The Mahdists inflicted heavy losses upon the Ethiopians and captured the body of the dead Emperor , whose head they cut off and sent back to Omdurman as a trophy . Aftermath . The death of the Emperor caused a period of political turmoil in Ethiopia . Although Yohannes on his deathbed named his son Ras Mengesha as his heir , and begged Ras Alula and his other nobles to support him , within a matter of weeks Menelik II was recognized throughout Ethiopia as the new emperor . For the Mahdists the consequences were severe , as many of their best soldiers had perished in the battle , seriously weakening their military strength . The Khalifa prudently decided to stop offensive actions against Ethiopia and the conflict dwindled to small - scale cross - border raiding .