History
The missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf visited Tenta 22 March 1842, when it was the residence of Imam Liban of the Were Himano, a "House" or a sub-group of the Wollo Oromo. The settlement was surrounded by a ditch and wall, with a single entrance for security. As for the size of Tenta, Krapf states it was "a small village, containing about 600 inhabitants. A market is held here every week, and many articles are brought for sale."
Tenta is also the birthplace of the unlucky Emperor Iyasu V, the son of Negus Mikael, who was born there 4 February 1895 or 1896. A Swedish missionary who visited Tenta in the early 1930s found the settlement to be a strange little "king's town" surrounded by meter-high stone walls in three curves inside each other. On one side having a steep rock face, no wall was necessary.
The settlement had an Italian garrison until 19 May 1941 when it surrendered to Colonel Anderson, but in its final months it was under siege by arbegnoch fighters. It was subjected to an air attack during the Ethiopian Civil War in November 1989 but escaped fatalities; however, in a second air attack on 4 January 1990 two were killed.
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