Sebastopol (mortar)
Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Infobox monument Sebastopol was the name of a large artillery mortar commissioned by the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II (1818–1868). The name was taken from the Crimean town of Sevastopol, the site of a battle during the Crimean War. The mortar weighed approximately 6.7 tons, and was capable of firing off half-ton artillery rounds.
In an attempt to speed up industrialisation, Tewodros had welcomed British and French officials and a group of German missionaries into his kingdom. In 1866, following a series of diplomatic misunderstandings and the king's increasingly erratic behaviour, all foreigners were taken prisoner. Tewodros ordered the artisan-missionaries, led by Theophilus Waldmeier, to construct a brass cannon capable of firing a Script error: No such module "convert". cannon ball. It took seven months to construct and two furnace were built for the casting. When it was transported to Magdala a special road had to be built. At times 800 men were needed to move it; the 200 mile journey took six months.[1] Meanwhile the British expedition to Abyssinia was sent to free the captives, which resulted in the Battle of Magdala.[2]
Although there are no records of the mortar being used in the battle it remains half-buried in the ground, on the plateau at Meqedela,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". near Amba Mariam. A bronze replica has been cast and displayed in the centre of a roundabout at Tewodros Square, Churchill Avenue, Addis Ababa.[3]
Gallery
-
The original mortar
-
The mortar monument on Tewodros Square, Addis Ababa
-
Ethiopian soldiers dragging the mortar
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Ten Years in Abyssinia and Sixteen Years in Syria being the Autobiography of Theophilus Waldmeier pp. 93–96
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Ethiopian Tourist Guide website, Landmarks and Monuments in Addis Ababa Template:Webarchive
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".