Magdala

Magdala, village and fortress in the Welo Kifle Hāger region, Ethiopia, on the central Ethiopian Plateau. Magdala was made the capital of Ethiopia by Theodore II, who revived the power of the monarchy after two centuries of decay. The site of Magdala on a flat-topped mountain, or amba, was well suited for defense. Theodore built a fortress here, and beginning in 1864 he imprisoned a number of Europeans, including the British consul. These events caused Britain to send a sizable Anglo-Indian army under General Sir Robert Napier. Landing at Zula on the Red Sea, Napier reached Magdala in April 1868 without much trouble. When Theodore refused to surrender, the British bombarded his fortress, whereupon the emperor committed suicide. Napier, who later became Baron Napier of Magdala, then withdrew his forces from the country. Magdala ceased thereafter to have any political importance; Theodore's successor, Yohannes IV, moved the capital to Debra Tabor.