Zula ግእዝ ዙላ saba ሰብኣ 𐩸𐩡 is a small town in central Eritrea. It is situated near the head of

Annesley Bay The Gulf of Zula, also known as Annesley Bay, Baia di Arafali or Zula Bahir Selat’ē, is a body of water on the Eritrean coastline on the Red Sea. Geography The Gulf lies to the east of Massawa, near the midpoint of the Eritrean coast. It is ...

(also known as the Gulf of Zula), on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

coast. Four kilometers away is the archeological site of

Adulis Adulis (Sabaean: ሰበኣ 𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, gez, ኣዱሊስ, grc, Ἄδουλις) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean city of Zula. It was the e ...

, which was an emporium and the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

of Axum.

History

The Eritrean Research Project Team composed of Eritrean,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, American,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and French scientists discovered a Paleolithic site with stone and obsidian tools dated to over 125,000 years old near the Bay of Zula south of Massawa, along the Red Sea littoral. The tools are believed to have been used by early humans to harvest marine resources like

clams Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two ...

and oystersbr>
The Kingdom of Aksum was a powerful trading empire centered in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the proto-Aksumite D'mt, Damot of the Iron Age period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD. An important

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

led from Adulis, then on the coast, to the capital of the kingdom,

Aksum Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole regio ...

, located in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...

of Ethiopia. In 1857, an agreement was entered into by the

Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

of Tigray, in revolt against

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Tewodros II of Ethiopia , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiop ...

, to cede Zula to the French. Agew Niguse was defeated by Emperor Tewodros, and the commander of a French cruiser sent to Annesley Bay in 1859 found the country in a state of anarchy. No further steps were taken by France to assert its sovereignty, and Zula with the neighbouring coast passed, nominally, to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 1866. Zula was the place where the British expedition of 1867 – 1868 against Tewodros disembarked, Annesley Bay affording safe and ample anchorage for the largest ocean-going vessels. A road was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

from Zula to

Senafe Senafe ar, صنعفى, ti, ሰንዓፈ is a market town in southern Eritrea, on the edge of the Eritrean highlands ሶይራ. The surrounding area is inhabited by the Saho people and the Tigrinya people, its well known by its cultural and r ...

in the

Eritrean Highlands The Eritrean Highlands are a mountainous region in central Eritrea. Bordered to the south by the Mareb River, it is a northern continuation of the Ethiopian Highlands. The region has seen tremendous deforestation since the colonial period, which b ...

. The authority of Egypt having lapsed over Zula, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

was proclaimed in 1888, and in 1890 the town was incorporated into the colony of Eritrea.

Geography

Zula is a village and port on the Red Sea in central Eritrea. It stands on the right bank of the River Aligede, on a narrow coastal plain on the west side of a natural inlet, the

Gulf of Zula The Gulf of Zula, also known as Annesley Bay, Baia di Arafali or Zula Bahir Selat’ē, is a body of water on the Eritrean coastline on the Red Sea. Geography The Gulf lies to the east of Massawa, near the midpoint of the Eritrean coast. It is ...

, some to the east of Asmara. The coast here is lined with mangroves, and there is an aircraft landing strip to the north. The original port of Adulis is now inland, debris washed down from the mountains having accumulated along the coastline, extending it further out to sea. At Zula, the remains of the railway tracks, laid by Napier's Expedition to haul his heavy equipment ashore, can still be seen.

References

{{Coord, 15, 15, N, 39, 40, E, region:ER_type:city, display=title Aksumite cities Populated places in Eritrea