Assab

Assab is a town and port at the north-western end of the Bay of Assab, on the coast of Eritrea. The surrounding country is arid and inhabited by the Afar (Danakil). It is generally identified with the ancient Sabae, described by Strabo. Its importance lies in its position opposite Mukha, and at the end of a caravan route to the Ethiopian plateau; the Red Sea and the coastal desert are both comparatively narrow at this point. ¹

Jesuit missionaries of the early seventeenth century knew Assab and described it as Ethiopian territory. European voyagers visited it from time to time to careen their ships. In 1611 an English account called it a very good road, where wood and water could be had freely. The records say that it was ruled by a Muslim "king". ¹

In 1869 the port was acquired from the Sultan of Raheita by the Italian traveller and propagandist Giuseppe Sapeto, acting for the Rubattino shipping company, which used it as a coaling station. It became an Italian colony in 1882 and was made the capital of a commissariat. In 1928 Ethiopia was granted freedom of trade at Assab, which became increasingly important commercially. ¹