Sebastopol Artillery Mortar
The Sebastopol in the Wollo Province
9°1′37.37″N 38°45′6.03″E / 9.0270472°N 38.7516750°E / 9.0270472; 38.7516750
LocationAddis Ababa, Ethiopia
TypeMonument
MaterialBronze
Completion date1868

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 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.

Sebastopol, the original mortar of Emperor Tewodros II

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 1,000 pounds (450 kg) 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 government mounted an expedition to free the captives, which resulted in the Battle of Magdala.[2]

Sebastopol mortar monument. Tewodros Square, Addis Ababa

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, 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]

Tewodros II soldiers dragging the great Sebastopol cannon

References

  1. Ten Years in Abyssinia and Sixteen Years in Syria being the Autobiography of Theophilus Waldmeier pp. 93–96
  2. Clapham, Christopher (March 2006). "Ethiopian Development: The Politics of Emulation" (PDF). Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. Routledge. 44 (1): 108–118. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  3. Ethiopian Tourist Guide website, Landmarks and Monuments in Addis Ababa Archived February 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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