ADOWA (properly ADUA)  , the capital of Tigre, northern Abyssinia, 145 M . N.E. of Gondar and 17 M . E. by N. of Axum, the ancient capital of Abyssinia . Adowa is built on the slope of a hill at an elevation of 65oo ft., in the midst of a rich agricultural district . Being on the high road from Massawa to central Abyssinia, it is a meeting-place of merchants from Arabia and the Sudan for the exchange of foreign merchandise with the products of the country . During the wars between the Italians and Abyssinia (1887-0) Adowa was on three or four occasions looted and burnt; but the churches escaped destruction . The church of the Holy Trinity, one. of the largest in Abyssinia, contains numerous wall-paintings of native art . On a hill about 22 M. north-west of Adowa are the ruins of Fremona, the headquarters of the Portuguese Jesuits who lived in Abyssinil during the 16th and 17th centuries . On the 1st of March 1896, in the hills north of the town, was fought the battle of Adowa; in which the Abyssinians inflicted a crushing defeat on the Italian forces (see ITALY, History, and ABYSSINIA, History) .