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Battle of Magdala

The Battle of Magdala was the conclusion of the British Expedition to Abyssinia fought in April 1868 between British and Abyssinian forces at Magdala, 390 miles (630 km) from the Red Sea coast. The British were led by Robert Napier, while the Abyssinians were led by Emperor Tewodros II.

In March 1866, a British envoy had been dispatched to secure the release of a group of missionaries who had first been seized when a letter Tewodros II had sent to Queen Victoria requesting munitions and military experts from the British, delivered by an envoy, Captain Cameron, had gone unanswered. They were released; however, Tewodros II changed his mind and sent a force after them and they were returned to the fortress and imprisoned again, along with Captain Cameron.


The British won the battle and, rather than being subjected to capture, Tewodros committed suicide as the fortress was finally seized.

An edition of the , along with an icon of a picture of Jesus wearing the crown of thorns, returned to Emperor Yohannes IV in the 1870s

Kebra Nagast

Lady 's collection of Ethiopian manuscripts were bequeathed in 1902 to Emperor Menelik II in her will; however, shortly following her death in 1910, this was overturned.

Valerie Meux

One of the two looted crowns of Tewodros was returned to in 1924, but the more valuable gold crown was retained by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Empress Zawditu

In the 1960s, returned Tewodros' royal cap and seal to Emperor Haile Selassie while on a state visit to Ethiopia.[1]

Queen Elizabeth II

In 2019, the National Army Museum announced the return of a lock of Tewodros' hair, taken after his death in battle.[12]

[11]

In 2021, numerous items including a Coptic bible, crosses, imperial shield, a set of horn beakers and a crown were bought by a British non-profit organisation to return them to Ethiopia. The items were purchased from a British auction house and a private collector in Belgium and were described as 'the single most significant heritage restitution in Ethiopia's history'.[14][15]

[13]

In 2023, artefacts including a lock of Prince Alemayehu's hair was handed over to the Ethiopian ambassador to the UK in London. Other artefacts handed over included the Holly Tabot tablet of ‘Medhane’Alem, three silver cups with bronze plating, and a shield.

[16]

Sebastopol (cannon)

Brereton, J. M.; Savoury, A. C. S. (1993). History of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.  0-9521552-0-6.

ISBN

Ferguson, Niall. Empire: How Britain made the Modern World.