"[4] Massawa was originally a small seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Aksum and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the south.

Ya'qubi referred to the Red Sea port in his Kitab al-Buldan as Badi, a corruption of its local Tigre name Base, while al-Masudi spoke of it in 935 as Nase.

In the early 15th century, the town then fell under the control of the Ethiopian Empire, Massawa was first mentioned in the war songs of Emperor Yeshaq I.

[6] In the mid-15th century Emperor Zara Yaqob consolidated his rule in the region and incorporated Massawa into the Christian province of Mereb Melash.

[7][8] In the struggle for domination of the Red Sea the Portuguese succeeded in establishing a foothold in Massawa (Maçua) and Arkiko[9] in 1513 by Diogo Lopes de Albergaria, a port by which they entered the allied territory of Ethiopia in the fight against the Ottomans.

Both Bruce and Plowden were sympathetic to the Emperor, but the Foreign Office, who considered the Ottomans to be a useful British ally, refused to support the proposed Ethiopian annexation.

Work began in March 1872 when a new government building and customs house was constructed, and by June a school and a hospital was also established by the Egyptians.

After the Egyptian-Ethiopian War, Emperor Yohannes IV reportedly demanded that the Egyptians should cede both Zula and Arkiko and pay Ethiopia two million pounds in reparations or, failing this sum, grant him the port of Massawa.

The population was said to have been "much alarmed" at the Ethiopian show of force, however Alula soon returned to the highlands and the Egyptian control of the coastline remained unbroken.

[18] The British, feeling that the Egyptians were in no position to hold the port, and being unwilling to occupy it themselves or see it fall into the hands of the French, concurred in its seizure by the Italians in February 1885.

In 1885–1897, Massawa (in the Italian spelling: 'Massaua') served as the capital of the region, before Governor Ferdinando Martini moved his administration to Asmara.

As a result, the quays were widened, the breakwater lengthened to enable the simultaneous discharge of five steamers and the harbour was equipped with two large cranes.

When the city fell during the East African Campaign, a large number of Italian and German ships were sunk in an attempt to block use of Massawa's harbour.

From 15 April 1942, later master diver and salvage specialist RNR Lieutenant Peter Keeble (then a complete rookie in both disciplines) was assigned to the clearing of the harbour.

The port's floating drydocks were of significant importance in maintaining and repairing Royal Navy ships and British civilian transports from the Mediterranean, which would otherwise have to travel to South Africa to reach suitable shipyards and docks.

[24] In 1945, following the end of World War II, the port of Massawa suffered damage as the occupying British either dismantled or destroyed much of the facilities.

In response, the then leader of Ethiopia Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered Massawa bombed from the air, resulting in considerable damage.

During the Eritrean–Ethiopian War the port was inactive, primarily due to the closing of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border which cut off Massawa from its traditional hinterlands.

The city receives a very low average annual rainfall amount totalling around 185 millimetres (7.28 in) and consistently experiences soaringly high temperatures during both day and night.