As a result, the British, who had taken over the government of Egypt, negotiated the Treaty of Adowa with Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia on 3 June 1884 whereby the Egyptian garrisons were allowed to evacuate to Massawa through Ethiopian territory.

[6] Joseph Ohrwalder, who witnessed the battle, stated that the forces of Tekle Haymanot fought with “the courage of lions” to protect their country and religion from the Muslim invaders, but were overwhelmed by the better disciplined Mahdist army.

Many churches were burnt and pillaged, priests were thrown down from rooves and killed, many people were massacred and hundreds of women and children were enslaved.

[8] Despite this damage to the historic capital, Emperor Yohannes held back from a counterattack due to his suspicions of Menelik II, then ruler of Shewa.

The Sudanese gathered an army of 85,000 and fortified themselves in Gallabat, surrounding the town with a huge zariba, a barrier made of entwined thorn bushes, replicating the effect of barbed wire.

Disaster struck when Ras Haile Maryam Gugsa was killed by gunfire, causing the Emperor to move forward and take personal command.

The Mahdists were unaware of the Emperor's death until "stench from the rapidly decaying imperial corpse alerted a spy, and the nearly beaten Sudanese thundered out of their zariba to scatter the downcast Ethiopians like starlings.

"[12] On 12 March, the forces of the Sudanese commander, Zeki Tummal, overtook the rearguard led by Ras Alula near the Atbara River, who were escorting the Emperor's body to safety.

The Mahdists inflicted heavy losses upon the Ethiopians and captured the body of the dead Emperor, whose head they cut off and sent back to Omdurman as a trophy.

Despite this victory, the Mahdists suffered heavy losses, Zeki Tummal's army, which before the war numbered not fewer than 87,000, could only mobilize 10,000 men in the spring of 1890.

[16]Due to the growing pressure of the colonial powers, the Khalifa was susceptible to the friendly overture of Menelik and sent small raiding parties to Italian Eritrea, but they were easily repulsed.