The Gras in Ethiopia: Carbines of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu

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Ethiopia is a fascinating and unique example of an African nation that was able to uphold its sovereignty through force of arms, and resist become a possession of any of the European powers during the age of colonial expansion. The defining event in this history was the Battle of Adwa in 1896, when Emperor Menelik II's army thoroughly defeated an Italian expeditionary force. Menelik and his wife Empress Taytu were a talented and intelligent couple who worked together to play European powers against each other and maintain Ethiopian independence and encourage its development at the same time.
During the 1880s and 1890s, Ethiopia was particular supported by arms from Russia and France. The Russians wanted to support a fellow Orthodox nation, and the French wasn't;t to stymie Italian expansion in East Africa. The Russians supplied many Berdan rifles, and the French supplied Gras rifles and carbines. Today we are looking at a pair of Gras carbines, which are marked in Ethiopian Ge'ez script as being property of Menelik (the Gendarmerie carbine) and Tatyu (the cavalry carbine). I think they have a wonderful story to tell...
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[@1SaG]

My hairdresser I had an appointment with right after watching one of Ian's other Ethiopian videos turned out to be Ethiopian herself. Boy, oh boy was I glad for having had a little refresher on Ethiopian history when I was sitting in her chair. Needless to say that I spent way more time getting my hair cut that day than necessary .... such an interesting country with an incredible history.

[@alahos]

You could showcase one Gras rifle every Tuesday and call it Mardi Gras.

[@wazkangz955]

The amount of research Ian did on the history of this rifle is impressive, learned a lot on this one.

[@matthewspencer5086]

During Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia, the Ethiopians received support from Romanian diplomats and even from Hitler, but no discernible support from the British, French and American

[@toku7319]

I thought the Gras in Ethiopia was green.

[@joshuablair7028]

I love the Ethiopian content.

[@MGood-ij1hi]

Forgotten Weapons is a rare jewel ; most gun related channels are testosterone outlets of guys shooting guns, but here you get the mechanics , development , and related history of the guns being presented. This is often more interesting than simply watching guns go bang.

[@henrybrown8624]

Ethiopia has layer upon layer of remarkable history though very few articles or books feature it. Your video is a great start at making Ethiopian history available to a broader audience.

[@sjoormen1]

When history is even more interesting than weapon.

[@erikv.smykal5578]

to give a passing idea how deep & intricately Christian church history in Ethiopia is- an elder of their faith travelled to meet Martin Luther in Wittenburg in 1594. check out the history of 'Michael the Deacon' if you're interested.

[@hiddenhist]

A few comments:

[@jeffreylauwereys7855]

I know the answer behind the Taytu mark on the rifle.

[@Gagis]

Damn, all of the history of Ethiopia is just incredibly fascinating.

[@aaronbuckmaster7063]

Look at the slight upward an left deformation of the steel. Also note the uniform circumference on the left of the bolt at the point of impact, and the perfect uniformity of the conical shape at the point of deflection. I’ve seen many forms of metals struck by many types of projectiles and that was just in the military. I also had a career in LE as a Deputy Sheriff. That is a bullet impact for certain, which is actually very neat. With higher velocities and jacketed bullet development it almost couldn’t be anything else. That is a unique historical piece. I would like to see what it looks like after getting some TLC.

[@5anjuro]

Russia's interest in Ethiopia extended beyond just the Orthodox Church, there were other connections. For instance, one of Peter the Great's close aides, Hannibal, was a native of East Africa coast, likely an Ethiopian. One of his descendants was Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, the towering cultural figure of the early XIX c, and the founder of the modern Russian literature. Pushkin himself would often half-jokingly describe himself as an Ethiopian.

[@jasondoe2596]

This

[@keepyourbilsteins]

I cannot Express my gratitude enough for how deeply you dive into the history surrounding these pieces.

[@zaffdos]

Always happy to get some good content in the morning before real life starts!

[@nicolasb5275]

« In 1902 Ethiopia was armed with eight-tenths of Gras cartridges and two-thirds of 75. French weapons came from private factories (Saint Etienne, Le Creusot, Tulle or Châtellerault), official government suppliers and the arsenals of the Ministry of War. » (page 414)

[@scoobydoobielll5632]

Lol the next video in auto play is some Ethiopian guy I've never heard of with a flag of Ethiopia behind him and a video title in a language that won't even display on my phone. KZbin is that friend who you told once that you like Mexican food and now there's a mariachi band at your birthday party