Reviews for Battle of Adwa: Assessing Ethiopia's Victory against Colonialism

The average rating for Battle of Adwa: Assessing Ethiopia's Victory against Colonialism based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-04-11 00:00:00 Thomas Rayfield Nice translation of the historical text. The book is a very good source for anyone interested in campaigns of Imam Ahmad b. Ibrahim al-Ghazi and East African history.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-11-14 00:00:00 Jeff Beerman At long last, after seven months(!) of reading on and off, I've finally completed this text. Aside from life getting in the way, it took me so long to read because it became a bit of a chore. The text details the conquest of Abyssinia by Adal Sultanate leader Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad Gurey to Somalis, Graññ to Amhara) and his soldiers as documented by an Arab follower of his. Despite how epic this may sound, the text is a bit repetitive and, as older Arab-penned histories tend to be, a bit dull. It includes details of every battle, which usually consists of the Adal army fighting the Christians of Ethiopia and conquering a territory, then taking booty and captives. I had a problem with a lot of the un-Islamic behavior Imam Ahmad used on these people, such as beheading female captives, burning churches, and other such things that would today be considered war crimes. Nonetheless, the text was somewhat enjoyable. Pick it up if you're more able to connect with a book than I currently am, but be warned that it's not exactly a page-turner.