Sebastopol, Artillery monument in Tewodros Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Sebastopol is a bronze mortar positioned in the center of a roundabout at Tewodros Square in Addis Ababa. The gun weighs around 6.7 tons and was built to fire heavy projectiles.
Emperor Tewodros II commissioned this massive gun in 1868, having European missionaries construct it as part of his drive to modernize Ethiopia's military. The project demonstrated his determination to strengthen the empire through military advancement.
The mortar takes its name from Sevastopol, a Crimean city, showing how the Ethiopian empire kept track of international conflicts in the 1860s. This awareness of distant military events reveals how connected the country was to global affairs at that time.
The bronze replica sits at Tewodros Square on Churchill Avenue where it is easy to spot and visit. The original remains at Magdala Hill in the north, which can be visited as a separate destination.
Moving the original gun was an enormous undertaking: 800 workers built a special road and spent six months transporting it over a long distance. This shows just how important the project was to the emperor and his vision.
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