Dessie

Dessie (; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it sits at a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level. Dessie is 400 km to the north of the capital Addis Ababa. It has a population of more than 200,000 people in over 30 wards.

History

Medieval history

Prior to Dessie's foundation, the major settlement in this area was Wasal, mentioned in an early 16th-century Italian itinerary.

19th century

Dessie was founded by Emperor Yohannes IV who was camping in the highlands to the west of the Chefa Valley in 1882 on an expedition to forcefully convert the Muslims who lived in the region to Christianity. As he was looking for a place to centralize his power in Wollo, he stayed overnight in a pre-existing town that is now contained within Dessie. While there, he spotted a comet. He was so impressed by the sight of it that he interpreted it to be a sign from heaven to found his capital city there. A similar story to Zara Yaqob's founding of his capital, Debre Birhan. Thus, he named it Dessie (Amharic: "My Joy"), as a reference to the elation that the comet had made him feel.

Though founded and named by Yohannes, Dessie was beyond his dominions, for already in 1878 he recognized Wollo as being under the jurisdiction of Menelik II. Menelik's writ in the province, however, was weak and in 1888 handed its governorship to Ras Mikael. In 1892, Ras Mikael married the daughter of Menelik in the town, thus further integrating Wollo and Shewa. The strategic importance of Dessie became apparent during the First Italo-Ethiopian War, when the Emperor and his forces passed through the town on their way to and from Tigray.

20th century

Dessie's location led to the telegraph line constructed between 1902 and 1904 from Asmara south to Addis Ababa, passing through the city, and giving it a local telegraph office. Also in 1904, the Italian Giuseppe Bonaiuti took part in constructing a fair-weather road connecting the city to Addis Ababa.

During the Italian invasion, Dessie was first bombed 6 December 1935; the American Hospital was one of the buildings damaged in the attack. Emperor Haile Selassie was photographed personally machine-gunning the raiding planes. The city was occupied by the Italians 15 April 1936.

21st century

On 30 October 2021 it was reported that Dessie fell to TPLF aligned forces. On December 6, 2021, the Ethiopian government announced that Dessie and Kombolcha had been retaken from the rebel fighters.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Dessie woreda had a total population of 151,174, of whom 72,932 were men and 78,242 were women; 120,095 people or 79.44% were urban inhabitants living in the town of Dessie, while the rest of the population (31,079 people) were in the rural kebeles around Dessie.

Climate

Dessie is located at an altitude of above sea level in low-shrouded mountains and hills. Dessie has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa).

Economy

Dessie is located along Ethiopian Highway 2. It has postal service (a post office was established in the 1920s), and telephone service from at least as early as 1954. The city has had electrical power since at least 1963 when a new diesel-powered electric power station with a power line to Kombolcha was completed, at a cost of Eth$ 110,000.

Ijevan, Armenia (2022)

Notable locals

Mohammed Al Amoudi, Saudi businessman who has been one of the world's richest people of African or Saudi descent