for a special burial and commemoration for Abuna Salama. Crummey quotes the words of the chronicler, "After Fasil there was no one who did for Gondar as Ase Takla Giyorgis did." Diplomatic appeals to Tekle Giyorgis' rivals failed to gain their acknowledgment of his new rank, although none of them were secure enough in their own territories to confront him. In Gojjam, Tekle Giyorgis placed replaced the head of the local branch of the Solomonic dynasty, with his own favored princeling, Ras Adal, and tied Adal more closely to him by marrying him to his sister Woizero Laqech Gebre Medhin. In Shewa, Tekle Giyorgis arranged for his half brother Hailu Wolde Kiros to marry Woizero Tisseme Darge, daughter of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie and thus first cousin to the King of Shewa, Menelik. Tekle Giyorgis himself was married to Dinqinesh Mercha, sister of his Tigrean rival Dejazmatch Kassai. None of these ties of marriage would ultimately help solidify his hold on the throne. Dejazmach Kassai enlisted the services of John Kirkham to train his army in the weapons the British had left him, and in 1870, having gained access to the sea, an advantage none of the Dejazmach'''s rivals had successfully obtained a new Abuna. Meanwhile, Menelik busied himself in Shewa, having decided according to Harold Marcus to allow his two rivals fight it out, despite Tekle Giyorgis' threatening march through Wollo to the borders of Shewa. Emperor Tekle Giyorgis knew he must stand alone against Kassai, but did not move until June 1871 when he crossed the Takazze River in Tigray. On 21 June the two armies met at Maikol'u to fight a day-long battle; although Dejazmach Kassai had the smaller force it was better disciplined, and as Kirkham later wrote, "with 12 guns and 800 musketmen the battle was won against an undisciplined lot of men with matchlock guns and spears." Tekle Giyorgis came off the worse and retreated to the Mareb River the next day. However, the Dejazmach took another route, outflanked his opponent, and forced him into a cul-de-sac at Adwa, where they fought the final battle on 11 July. "Leading a cavalry charge into the midst of Kasa's force, Tekla Giyorgis was wounded, had his mount killed under him, and was taken prisoner," Marcus recounts. "His demoralized army collapsed and all his generals were captured with thousands of soldiers and camp followers." On 21 January