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).
Bahr negus Yeshaq, Bahr negus of Ethiopia during the late 16th century
Bahr negus Yeshaq first appears in history about the time the Portuguese fleet arrived at Massawa in 1541.
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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.