About
Dessie (Amharic: ደሴ, romanized: Däse; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a city and a zone in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Amhara Region, it sits at a latitude and longitude of 11°8′N 39°38′E, with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level. == History == === 16th-17th Century === Prior to Dessie's foundation, the major settlement in this area was Wasal, first mentioned in an early 16th-century Italian itinerary. === 19th Century === Emperor Yohannes IV was camping in the highlands to the west of the Chefa Valley in 1882 on an expedition to forecefully convert the Muslim Wollo who lived in the region to Christianity. As he was looking for a place to centralize his power in the newly conquered region of Wollo, he stayed overnight in a pre-existing town that is now contained within Dessie. While there, he spotted a comet. He was so impressed by the sight of it that he interpreted it to be a sign from heaven to found his capital city there. Thus, he named it Dessie (Amharic "My Joy"), as a reference to the elation that the comet had made him feel. === 20th Century === Dessie's location led to the telegraph line the Italians constructed between 1902 and 1904 from Asmara south to Addis Ababa passing through the city, and giving it a local telegraph office. Also in 1904, the Italian Giuseppe Bonaiuti took part in constructing a fair-weather road connecting the city to Addis Ababa.Dessie increased in importance when Ras Mikael Ali, son-in-law to Emperor Menelik II, made it his base. SOURCESWikipedia