Abyssinia Gallery

The Abyssinian Expedition,1868: Battle of Arogee, on Good Friday, April 10, 1901

The Abyssinian Expedition,1868: Battle of Arogee, on Good Friday, April 10, (1901). British soldiers at Magdala in the Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia. The 1868 British Expedition to Abyssinia, a rescue mission and punitive expedition, was carried out by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire. The British laid siege to the fortress of Magdala on 13 April. The fortress can be seen in the distance, beyond the plateau of Arogye ('Arogee'). From "The Illustrated London News Record of the Glorious Reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1901: The Life and Accession of King Edward VII. and the Life of Queen Alexandra". [London, 1901]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sir Robert Napier (1791-1876), Lord Napier of Magdala, 1896

Sir Robert Napier (1791-1876), Lord Napier of Magdala, 1875. Lord Napier of Magdala. Napier was commissioned in the Bengal engineers in 1826. He served in the first and second Sikh Wars and helped in the relief of Lucknow in 1858 during the Indian mutiny. In 1867-68 he commanded what was regarded as a textbook campaign to free British prisoners in Ethiopia, culminating in the capture of Magdala, for which he was raised to the peerage. He went on to become commander in chief of the forces in India in 1870 and in 1876 was made governor of Gibraltar. From The Life and Times of The Right Honourable The Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., published by J. S. Virtue & Co. Ltd., 1896

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Caricature of Francesco Crispi, Italian politician, 1896. Artist: Henri Meyer

Caricature of Francesco Crispi, Italian politician, 1896. Satirical cartoon on the defeat of the invading Italian army at the siege of Mek'ele, Ethiopia. Crispi (1818-1901) was prime minister of Italy at the time. The humiliating outcome of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia led to his resignation. An illustration from Le Petit Journal, 9th February 1896

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