When the Ottoman general Özdemir Pasha, who had been made governor of the Ottoman province of Habesh, crossed over from Jeddah in 1557 and occupied Massawa, Arqiqo and finally Debarwa, capital of the Bahri negassi, Yeshaq led the local peasantry against the invaders, recapturing Debarwa and seizing the "immense treasure" the invaders piled up within.
A message was sent to a company of Portuguese soldiers who had proceeded to Debarwa to find passage home, but they failed to respond in time for the coming battle.
The Japanese company Hitachi once operated a mine near Debarwa, but it was shut down in the 1960s due to the outbreak of the Eritrean War of Independence from Ethiopia.
When the Ottomans attempted to advance inland to capture Debarwa in 1588, Emperor Sarsa Dengel responded by sacking Arqiqo the following year.
Debarwa |
Traditionally being the center of the Kebessa (the Eritrean Highlands), it was the locality of the old palace town of Debarwa (the capital of Bahr Negus Yeshaq).