Battle of Shimbra Kure

The Battle of Shimbra Kure was fought on 9 March 1529 between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). It was the first major battle of the Ethiopian–Adal War.

Arab Faqīh states numerous Somalis on the left flank fled while the Abyssinians pursued killing a large number of their men, but the Harla on the right flank held their ground. According to Merid Wolde Aregay, the Harari cavalry or the Malassay in the center with support from the Arab mounted troops shifted the momentum in favor of the Adalites. The army of Imam Ahmad prevailed, and were in control of the field at the end of the battle. Abyssinians suffered heavy casualties. According to William Cornwallis Harris the Adal army was given Janissaries by the Ottoman Empire from the beginning of the conflict.

Despite this success, and despite his desire to capture and hold the Emperor's palace at Badeqe, Imam Ahmad, in part also to appease his restive men, withdrew from the highlands and did not return to directly engage the Ethiopian army for two years. Enrico Cerulli asserts that following the battle, the Harari troops refused to carry out Imam Ahmad's orders to subjugate Abyssinia, stating that doing so would defy the tradition of their ancestors. According to Cerulli, the Harari aristocracy dreaded the potential consequences of the Muslim base relocating to Abyssinia.