Afawarq Walda Samayat

Afawarq Walda Samayat, or Afework Woldesemait (died 5 November 1935), was an Ethiopian administrator, and commander.[1]

Afawarq Walda Samayat
Died5 November 1935
AllegianceEthiopia
RankCommander
Battles/warsSecond Italo-Ethiopian War
Other workAdministrator

Biography

In 1935, at the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Grazmach[nb 1] and Balambaras[nb 2] Afawarq Walda Samayat was the acting Shum[nb 3] of Jijiga. He worked tirelessly to prepare the Ogaden for war on what was known as the "southern front." Prior to the Battle of Genale Doria, Balambaras Afawarq Walda Samayat was killed defending Gorahai.[2]

Gorahai was known as an old stronghold of Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (called the "Mad Mullah" by the British). With approximately three thousand fighters under his command, Afawarq Walda Samayat[nb 4] had turned Gorahai into an armed camp. Bombers of the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) regularly attacked Gorahai and Afawarq himself directed the fire of the lone anti-aircraft gun, a 37 mm Oerlikon. The gun was mounted in one of the old-style turrets of the Mad Mullah's antiquated fort.[3] Afawarq's men quickly learned how to cope with air attacks by diving into deep trenches. In addition, they had sufficient modern arms to thwart assaults on the ground and to inflict heavy losses.[4] Afawarq had even overseen the installation of a minefield around his positions.

During one of the regular bombings by the Italians, Afawarq was seriously wounded. He refused to be taken to the hospital because he feared that the morale of his men would suffer in his absence. Within 48-hours the wound became gangrenous and, on 5 November 1935, Afawarq collapsed and died. On 7 November, his fear about the morale of his men proved to be correct and they abandoned Gorahei. He was posthumously promoted to Dejazmach[5][nb 5] by Emperor Haile Selassie.[6]

See also

Notes
Footnotes
  1. Roughly equivalent to Commander of the Left Wing.
  2. Roughly equivalent to Commander of the Fortress.
  3. Roughly equivalent to Governor.
  4. Afawarq Walda Samayat is simply identified as Afewerk by A. J. Barker and as Azaye Afework by Time Magazine.
  5. Roughly equivalent to Commander of the Gate.
Citations
  1. Haile Selassie, p. 31
  2. Haile Selassie, p. 31
  3. Barker, p. 70
  4. Marcus, p. 148
  5. Pankhurst, pp. 235-236
  6. Barker, p. 70

References
  • Barker, A.J. (1971). Rape of Ethiopia, 1936. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-02462-6.
  • Haile Selassie I, Edited by Harold Marcus with others and Translated by Ezekiel Gebions with others (1999). My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Volume II. Chicago: Research Associates School Times Publications. p. 190. ISBN 0-948390-40-9.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Marcus, Harold G. (1994). A History of Ethiopia. London: University of California Press. pp. 316. ISBN 0-520-22479-5.
  • Pankhurst, Richard (2001). The Ethiopians: A History (Peoples of Africa). Wiley-Blackwell; New Ed edition. ISBN 0-631-22493-9.
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