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Concept
Massawa
Summary
Massawa or Mitsiwa (məsˈɑːwə ; məṣṣəwaʿ; ምጽዋ; مصوع; Massaua; Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries.
Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until the seat of the colonial government was moved to Asmara in 1897.
Massawa has an average temperature of nearly , which is one of the highest experienced in the world, and is "one of the hottest marine coastal areas in the world."
Massawa was originally a small seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Axum—also known as Kingdom of Zula in antiquity—and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about to the south.
Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Aksumite Empire, Abyssinia and Italian Eritrea.
Following the fall of Axum in the 8th century, the area around Massawa and the town itself fell under the occupation of the Umayyad Caliphate from 702 to 750 AD. The Beja people would also come to rule within Massawa during the Beja Kingdoms of Eritrea from the year 740 to the 14th century. Massawa was situated between the sultanates of Qata, Baqulin, and Dahlak. Midri-Bahri, a Christian region from its creation by Zara Yaqob of Abyssinia in the 14th century to its fall in the 19th century, gained leverage at various times and ruled over Massawa. The port city would also come under control of the Balaw people during the Balaw Kingdom of Eritrea (12th–15th centuries). At this time, the Sheikh Hanafi Mosque, one of the country's oldest mosques, was built on Massawa Island. The city reputedly has the oldest mosque in Africa, that is the Mosque of the Companions. It was reportedly built by companions of Muhammad who escaped persecution by Meccans.
In the struggle for domination of the Red Sea the Portuguese succeeded in conquering Massawa (Maçua) and Arkiko in 1513 by Diogo Lopes de Albergaria, a port by which they entered the allied territory of Ethiopia in the fight against the Ottomans.
Official source
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