Адва: История и современность города в регионе Тыграй, Эфиопия

Town in Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Adwa (; ; also spelled Adowa or Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian troops, thus being one of the few African nations to thwart European colonialism. Located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region, Adwa has a longitude and latitude of , and an elevation of 1907 meters. Adwa is surrounded by Adwa woreda. Adwa is home to several notable churches: Adwa Enda Gebri'el (built by Dejazmach Wolde Gebriel), Adwa Enda Maryam (built by Ras Anda Haymanot), Adwa Edna Medhane`Alem (built by Ras Sabagadis), Adwa Nigiste Saba /Queen of Sheba secondary school, and Adwa Enda Selasse. Near Adwa is Abba Garima Monastery, founded in the sixth century by one of the Nine Saints and known for its tenth century gospels. Also nearby is the village of Fremona, which had been the base of the 16th century Jesuits sent to convert Ethiopia to Catholicism.

According to Richard Pankhurst, Adwa derives its name from Adi Awa (or Wa), "village of the Awa". The Awa are a tribe that was mentioned in the anonymous Monumentum Adulitanum that once stood at Adulis. Francisco Alvares records that the Portuguese diplomatic mission passed Adwa, which he called "Houses of St. Michael," in August 1520.

By 1700, it had become the residence for the governor of Tigray province and grew to overshadow Debarwa, the traditional seat of the Bahr Negash, as the most important town in northern Ethiopia. Its market was important enough to need a Nagadras. The earliest known person to hold this office was the Greek immigrant Janni of Adwa, a brother of Petros, chamberlain to Emperor Iyoas I. Adwa was home to a small colony of Greek merchants into the 19th century.

Because of its location on this major trade route, it is mentioned in the memoirs of numerous 19th century Europeans visiting Ethiopia. These include Arnaud and Antoine d'Abbadie, Henry Salt, Samuel Gobat, Mansfield Parkyns and Théophile Lefebvre. After the defeat and death of Ras Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay, its inhabitants fled Adwa for safety. The town was briefly held by Emperor Tewodros II in January 1860, who had marched from the south in response to the rebellion of Agew Neguse, who had burned then fled the town. Giacomo Naretti passed through Adwa in March 1879, after it had been devastated by a typhus epidemic. It had been reduced to a shadow of itself, having about 200 inhabitants.

The Asmara Addis Ababa telegraph line, constructed by the Italians in 1902 1904, passed through Adwa and had an office there. By 1905 it was considered the third largest town in Tigray. Telephone service reached Adwa by 1935, but no phone numbers are listed for the town in 1954.

During the Tigray War, Adwa was seized by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) on 24 November 2020, it was recaptured by the TPLF on June 2021. The town was captured again by the ENDF on 18 October 2022.

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 40,500, of whom 18,307 are men and 22,193 women. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 90.27% reporting that as their religion, while 9.01% of the population were Muslim. The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 24,519 of whom 11,062 were males and 13,457 were females.

Almeda Textile Football Club (ALTEX) was promoted to the Ethiopian National Football League after winning the Ethiopian football club championships held in Mekelle. ALTEX beat Meta Beer Football Club 2 1 in the final. ALTEX is the first club from Adwa town to represent the town in Ethiopian association football history.

Adwa An African Victory (1999). Directed by Haile Gerima