Battle of Jigjiga (1900)

The Battle of Jigjiga was fought on March 5, 1900 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Dervish movement.

The Dervishes, led by Sayyid Muḥammad ibn 'Abdallāh Hassan, stormed a military fort at the Somali city of Jigjiga in the Ogaden region with the objective of repossessing livestock looted from locals by an Abyssinian military expedition. The clash marked the first major battle of the Dervish movement and the opening of a two decade long war against the Ethiopian Empire.

Background and battle
Between 1890 and 1899, Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II began a campaign of indiscriminate raids and attacks against the Somalis of the Ogaden region. Somali clans residing in the plains of Jigjiga were in particular targeted. The escalating frequency and violence of the raids resulted in Somalis consolidating behind the Dervish Movement under the lead of Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan. Towards the end of 1899, the Dervishes began to systemically loot Ethiopian caravans traversing the Ogaden. In response the Abyssinians sent an expedition to deal with them.

As the Ethiopian Empire began expanding into Somali territories at the start of the 1890's, Jigjiga came under intermittent military occupation until 1900. At the start of the year, Abyssinian troops occupied the town and completed construction on a fort. A well-armed Abyssinian expedition under the command of Grazmatch Bante failed to locate the Sayyid's men so instead they looted the local Somalis and retired to Jigjiga, where they constructed a large thorn zariba and stored the looted livestock.

The owners of these livestock applied to the Sayyid for help, So in response the sayyid collected 6,000 soldiers from the Muslim Somali and Oromo tribes, then attacked the Abyssinian zariba at Jigjiga. The Somali forces were composed of Dhulbahante, Habar Yoonis and Habr Je'lo clans. The Sayyid's tactics which resembled that of the Mahdi of Sudan proved to be successful, although he suffered heavy casualties, he and his dervishes stormed the zeriba and returned all the looted livestock. The Ethiopians claimed the battle had been an easy victory that had last for a few minutes. These claims were called into question by the British Vice Council in Harar, 40 miles to the east of Jigjiga, who reported:

"The Abyssinians, it seems, fear the Somalis very much. I have never seen men so afraid as they are now; they have given rifles to the children to show they have troops here." Despite these fears, the Dervishes did not press forward to launch an attack on Harar, and instead moved to effectively dominate the whole Ogaden region.

Casualties
Estimates on casualties during the battle vary widely. The Dervishes suffered 170 fatalities and many more injured. Other reports indicate that more than 2500 casualties. The Ethiopians claimed to have killed 2,800 Dervish troops during the battle, but according to Professor of African History Raphael Chijioke Njoku the veracity of the reported number of deaths is suspicious.

Legacy and aftermath
Both sides claimed victory following the battle. Although suffering heavy casualties during the attack, the Dervishes accomplished their objective of returning all the livestock confiscated by the Abyssinians. The battle had 'established without a doubt' that the Dervishes were now a force to be reckoned with. Despite losses incurred, the battle did nothing to lessen the stature of Muḥammad ibn 'Abdallāh Hassan among Somali clans.

After this engagement, the Sayyid became the virtual master of the whole Ogaden region and gained a high status among the Muslims who considered the Negus of Abyssinia their common enemy. Following this success, the Dervishes began to raid the Mahmuhd Zubeyr and Aidgalle clans of Ogaden region. After the raid, the movement had become an international problem. The battle made British colonial authorities realize the severity of the Dervish threat. Shaken and also recognizing the new threat, the Ethiopians proposed joint British-Abyssinian military operations against the Dervishes.