Origin Authorities differ over the facts of its founding. Locals say
Seyfa Ared IV (
Amharic: ሰይፈ አርድ ፬ኛ) (1294–1295) discovered
Debre Tabor in the 13th century. Mordechai Abir states that it was founded by
Ras Ali I; however,
Richard Pankhurst gives a detailed account of its foundation by
Ras Gugsa, and includes the tradition that the location was selected with supernatural help. In either case, Debre Tabor was the seat of the Regents of the
Emperor in the 18th and 19th centuries, from which periods several
churches and the ruins of two
palaces survive. Debre Tabor was the capital of Ethiopia under two
Emperors:
Tewodros II and
Yohannes IV. As a result, in the 19th century the population of this town varied depending on whether the emperor was in residence. If he was present, the population could reach 30,000 as it did under Emperor Yohannes; if he was not, it would be around 5,000 people.
19th century Debre Tabor was sacked by an army from the province of
Lasta in 1835. The
Battle of Debre Tabor was fought nearby on February 6, 1842; although Dejazmach
Wube Haile Maryam and his allies defeated the armies of Ras
Ali II and sacked Debre Tabor once again, they were surprised while celebrating their victory by
Birru Aligas, an ally of Ras Ali, who captured Wube and his son and extracted concessions from them in return for their release. Ras Ali built four churches in Debre Tabor: Iyasus on the mountain to the southeast, Ennatitu Maryam and Legitu Maryam to the east, and Tegur Mikael to the north. A second palace was built for his mother, the Empress
Menen Liben Amede, which was not as large as Ras Ali's. '', 1868 Although he burnt the town in May 1853, following Ras Ali's defeat, Emperor
Tewodros used Debre Tabor as his capital until his situation weakened so badly that he was forced to abandon the town in the last year of his reign in 1867 for his stronghold on
Maqdala. The Emperor
Yohannes IV often resided at Debre Tabor, and during his reign Heruy Giyorgis church was built. Here the Emperor met with General
Gordon in October 1878, who was representing the Egyptian government, about Ethiopian demands for access to the
Red Sea. It was also in Debre Tabor that
Tekle Haymanot was crowned
Negus of
Gojjam in January 1881.
20th century When the
Bank of Ethiopia was created in 1931 it opened a branch office with two employees at Debre Tabor. During the
Second Italian-Abyssinian War, Debre Tabor was occupied by unit which advanced from
Bahir Dar on 28 April. During the
occupation, a telegraph office was opened in the town and postal service restored. The Italians also constructed a road from
Gondar via Debre Tabor to
Dessie. The first mosque in Debre Tabor was constructed and
eucalyptus planting extended. Despite these improvements, as early as August 1937, there were almost simultaneous but apparently uncoordinated attacks by
arbegnoch on garrisons near Debre Tabor and near Bahir Dar. After several months of attacks, the British convinced Colonel Angelini to surrender the town 6 July 1941, allowing the British to advance towards the organized Italian resistance around Gondar under the command of
Guglielmo Nasi, who by this point was the acting Viceroy and Governor-General of
Italian East Africa. In September 1975, after the beginning of
Derg rule, Debre Tabor was seized by a group of local landlords and their followers in opposition to the government, killing the provincial governor and expelling both a Chinese road-building team and missionaries of the Seventh Day Adventist Church who ran a local hospital. Government control was reestablished within a month.
21st century In early August 2023, Debre Tabor was the site of fierce clashes between
Fano militiamen and the
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). On February 11 2026, Fano entered Debre Tabor where they burned down the Civil Service Department, the Zonal Police Department, the Zonal Chief Administrator's guesthouse and other government intuitions. Drone strikes where then conducted, killing 4 civilians and an unknown number of Fano fighters. Fano later withdrew from the city shortly after. == Climate ==