Located in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it sits at a latitude and longitude of 11°8′N 39°38′E / 11.133°N 39.633°E / 11.133; 39.633, with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level.

[3] 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.

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 and from Tigray.

[4] After the defeat of his father Negus Mikael, Lij Iyasu took refuge in Dessie beginning on 8 November 1916 while unsuccessfully seeking support from Ras Wolde Giyorgis and other major nobles of northern Ethiopia.

However, Ras Wolde Giyorgis used these overtures to extract concessions from the central government, then marched on Dessie which Lij Iyasu fled 10 December.

[4] Dessie became an important administrative center under the Italian occupation, and the Franciscans established, in 1937, the Latin Catholic missionary Apostolic Prefecture of Dessié, which would be suppressed in 1957 after its only prefect's death.

In 1957, Dessie had one of 9 provincial secondary schools (excluding Eritrea) in Ethiopia, named after Woizero Sehine the daughter of Negus Mikael.

Instigated by the local landlord, a large group of peasants marched on the city; troops of the Derg fired into the crowd.

[1]: 169 The 1994 national census reported a total population for Dessie of 97,314 in 20,628 households residing in 17,426 housing units, of whom 45,337 were men and 51,977 were women.

[4] Dessie is a part of the Wello region, thus having a similar style of cultural clothing, music, and dances to other cities in the former Wollo Province.

Women's traditional clothing includes a habesha kemis, which is a dress, as well as a matching scarf, sometimes two, one tied around the waist and the other over the hair.