Hintalo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hintalo Antalo |
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  Hintalo
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Tigray |
| Zone | Debubawi (Southern) |
| Elevation | 2,050 m (6,726 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 1,179 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Hintalo (also known by the older form Antalo) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi (Southern) Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation variously reported as 2050 or 2102 meters above sea level.
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Hintalo has an estimated total population of 1,179 of whom 593 were males and 586 were females.[1] The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 676 of whom 316 were males and 360 were females. It is one of three towns in Hintalo Wajirat woreda.
[edit] History
Hintalo is located on a high plateau beneath the south face of Amba Aradam, which made the town a natural fortress. It was first mentioned in 1648 by the Yemeni ambassador Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Haymat, who described it as a "fortified town".[2] In 1678 Hintalo was the location of a battle; some of the prominent men of Lasta intended to join a rebellion in southern Tigray, but they were defeated, and some of those from Hintalo were driven over the precipices to their deaths.[3]
Ras Wolde Selassie made Hintalo his capital.[2] It was here that Henry Salt met the Ras in September, 1805, and later in March 1810 when it was described as the capital of Enderta.[4] A later meeting at Hintalo was between Dejazmach Kassai Mercha (the future Yohannes IV) and Sir Robert Napier on 25-26 February 1868, which led to the Dejazmach agreeing to deliver 15,000 kilograms of grain per week to each of the British camps at Hintalo and Adigrat used to support their 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia; for this, Dejazmach Kassai was later rewarded with a formidable quantity of supplies and material worth approximately £500,000.[3]
The Hintalo market had a trade in ivory during the 1890s; also at the market 16,000 oxen, 8,000 cows, 8,000 goats, and 17,000 sheep were sold annually On 9 October 1895, the Italian Major Ameglio with six companies and two pieces of artillery attacked Ethiopian warriors under Ras Mengesha. The Italians caught about 200 prisoners, a thousand head of cattle and many rifles. The Italian askari lost 11 dead and 30 wounded, while 16 dead Tigrayans were counted on the battle site and 60 wounded were said to have been carried from there.[3]
Hintalo was occupied by the Italian army in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War after their victory over the Ethiopians in the Battle of Enderta.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
- ^ a b Richard P.K. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), p. 201
- ^ a b c d "Local History in Ethiopia" (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 16 February 2008)
- ^ John J. Halls, The Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt, 1834 (New York: Elibron, 2005), pp. 113, 205
