Yohannes IV of Ethiopia
Encyclopedia
Yohannes IV born Lij Kassay Mercha Ge'ez, was Emperor of Ethiopia
from 1872 until his death.
. He was the son of Mercha, Shum
(or "governor") of Tembien
, and his wife Woizero
(or "Dame") Silass Dimtsu (Amata Selassie), who was the daughter of Dejazmach (roughly equivalent to "Duke
") Dimtsu Debbab of Enderta
the nephew of the powerful Ras Wolde Selassie
of Enderta. Yohannes could claim Solomonic blood
through the line of his paternal grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, who was the granddaughter of Ras Mikael Sehul
, and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab
and her lover Melmal Iyasu.
Yohannes could also claim Solomonic descent more distantly through his father's Tembien family, also through a female link to the dynasty. Amata Selassie's father Dimtsu of Endarta belonged to the family which in late 18th and early 19th centuries had held overlordship of Tigray, and her mother descended from the aristocratic line of the Shums of Agame
.
(also known as Magdala). This helped him to control the province of Tigray
, and he became one of the three most powerful princes in Ethiopia (the others being Wagshum Gobeze of Lasta and Wag (the future Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II), as well as King (Negus
) Menelek of Shewa
the future Emperor Menelek II). All three vied to become sole ruler, and also claimed descent from the Solomonic kings. Dejazmach Kassai's rivalry with the Wagshum was further complicated by the fact that his sister, Dinqinesh Mercha
, was married to Wagshum Gobeze. Only five years earlier, Wagshum Gobeze had played the decisive military role in ensuring that Dejazmach Kassai defeated his rivals as the pre-eminent figure in Tigray. Their new rivalry was therefore awkward for both of them on a personal level.
In 1868, Wagshum Gobeze
proclaimed himself Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia at Soqota
in his district of Wag
. Because the Abuna
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had died shortly before, there was no one to crown the new Emperor. In an effort to get Kassai to recognize this title, Tekle Giyorgis gave his brother-in-law the title of "Re-ese Mekwanint", or "first among the nobles". Dejazmach Kassai promptly started using the title, but still did not recognize Tekle Giyorgis' claim to the throne and refused to pay homage to him.
Tekle Giyorgis, after consolidating support with Adal of Gojjam
and King Menelik of Shewa through marriage ties, and in Wollo by force, crossed the Takazze River into Tigray in 1871 in a campaign against Kassai. Relying on the training the British adventurer John Kirkham
had given his troops, and the considerable amount of weapons left to him by the British expedition that had defeated Emperor Tewodros II, Dejazmach Kassai met the Emperor near Adwa
on 11 July 1871, capturing and deposing him. Emperor Tekle Giyorgis died in captivity the next year. Following Tekle Giyorgis' death, his widow, Empress Dinkinesh Mercha, settled in Mekele at the court of her brother the new Emperor Yohannes IV, and continued to be accorded the title and dignity of an Empress throughout his reign.
Kassai had long prepared for this day, and had gathered the funds to pay the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria to appoint a new Archbishop over the Ethiopian Church, to replace Abuna Salama
who had died in 1867. Patriarch Cyril V
sent him Abuna Atnatewos
, who arrived June 1869.
On 12 January 1872, Atnatewos then crowned Kassai emperor at Axum
. He took the name and title of Emperor, becoming the first emperor crowned in that historic city since Fasilides
in 1632. Adal of Gojjam soon after submitted to Yohannes and recognized him as Emperor. Adal was rewarded with the titles of Ras and of King (Negus) of Gojjam. Adal was also given the new name of Tekle Haymanot Tessemma
.
of Egypt
, who sought to bring the entire Nile River basin under his rule. The Egyptians
flirted with encouraging Menelik of Shewa against the Emperor, but earned Menelik's enmity by marching from the port of Zeila
and occupying the city-state of Harar
on 11 October 1875. Both Menelik and Yohannes had regarded Harrar as a renegade province of Ethiopia, and Egyptian seizure of the Emirate was not welcome to either of them. The Egyptians then marched into northern Ethiopia from their coastal possessions around the port of Massawa
. Yohannes pleaded with the British to stop their Egyptian allies, and even withdrew from his own territory in order to show the Europeans that he was the wronged party and that the Khedive was the aggressor. However, Yohannes soon realized that the Europeans would not stop the Khedive of Egypt and so he gathered up his armies and marched to meet the Egyptian force.
The two armies met at Gundat (also called Guda-gude) on the morning of 16 November 1875. The Egyptians were tricked into marching into a narrow and steep valley and were wiped out by Ethiopian gunners surrounding the valley from the surrounding mountains. Virtually the entire Egyptian force, along with its many officers of European and North American background, were killed. News of this huge defeat was suppressed in Egypt for fear that it would undermine the government of the Khedive. A new Egyptian force was assembled and sent to avenge the defeat at Gundat. The Egyptians were defeated again at the Battle of Gura (7 – 9 March 1876), where the Ethiopians were led again by the Emperor, and his loyal general, the capable (and future Ras) Alula Engida
. This victory was followed by Menelik's submission to Yohannes on 20 March 1878, and in return Yohannes recognized Menelik's hereditary right to the title of King (Negus) of Shewa
, and re-crowned him on March 26. Yohannes took this opportunity to tie the Shewan King more closely to him by arranging for Menelik's daughter Zewditu (the future Empress of Ethiopia in her own right), to be married to his own son and heir, Ras Araya Selassie
.
Emperor Yohannes also convened a general council of the Ethiopian Church at Boru Meda later in 1878, which brought an end to the ongoing theological dispute in the local church; Christians, Muslims and pagans were given respectively two, three and five years to conform to the council's decisions. Non-Christians were forbidden from participating in the government unless they converted and were baptised; the Muslims were given three months, while the pagans had to become Christians immediately. "Having concluded that Wollo was worth a mass," as Harold Marcus wryly puts it, his retainer Ras Mohammed of Wollo became Ras (later Negus) Mikael of Wollo
, and the Emperor stood as his godfather at his baptism. The new convert was given Menelik of Shewa's other daughter, Shewarega Menelik, as his wife. Yohannes went one step further, and pressured Menelik to expel of all the Roman Catholic missionaries from Shewa.
However this time, instead of a single Archbishop, he requested that Patriarch Cyril send four to serve the large number of Christians in Ethiopia, who arrived in 1881. They were led by Abuna Petros as Archbishop, Abuna Matewos for Shewa
, Abuna Luqas for Gojjam
and Abuna Markos for Gondar
. Abuna Markos died shortly after arriving, so his diocese was included with that of Abuna Atnatewos. It was the first time that the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria had appointed four Bishops for Ethiopia.
proclaimed himself the Mahdi
, and incited Sudan
into a long and violent revolt, his followers successfully either drove the Egyptian garrisons out of Sudan, or isolated them at Suakin
and at various posts in the south. Yohannes agreed to British requests to allow these Egyptian soldiers to evacuate through his lands, with the understanding that the British Empire
would then support his claims on important ports like Massawa
on the Red Sea
to import weapons and ammunition, in the event that Egypt was forced to withdraw from them. This was formalized in a treaty signed with the British at Adwa known as the Hewett treaty
. The immediate result was that the wrath of the Mahdiyah fell upon Ethiopia: Ras Alula defeated an invading Mahdist army at the Battle of Kufit on September 23, 1885. About the same time, Italy
took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannes. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Neguses of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannes, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassals. Yohannes brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar
and burned its holy churches. He marched north from Gojjam to confront the armies of the Mahdi.
, at the Battle of Gallabat
on March 9, 1889. Mortally wounded by a sniper during the battle, he had been carried to his tent, where he announced that his nephew Ras Mengesha was actually his natural son, and named him his heir (his elder son Ras Araya Selassie had died a few years earlier). He died hours later. Although the Ethiopian army had almost annihilated their opponents in this battle, hearing that their ruler had been slain shattered their morale and allowed the Mahdists to counterattack, scattering the Ethiopian forces.
Yohannes' body was carried back to Tigray guarded by a small party, who were overtaken by the Mahdist troops of Zeki Tummal near the Atbara River and who captured the sovereign's body. Augustus B. Wylde, who claimed to have heard the story from a priest who managed to escape the slaughter, wrote how Yohannes' uncle Ras Areya stood beside the body of his dead master with "a few of his soldiers and the bravest of the king's servants, who had lost their all, and had no more prospects to live for".
According to Wylde, as he saw death come Ras Areya announced "that he was now old and done for, that his time had come, and it was useless at his age to serve another master that he knew little about, and it was better to die like a man fighting unbelievers, than like a mule in a stable." The Mahdists brought the Emperor's body back to their capital at Omdurman
, where the head was put on a pike and paraded through the streets.
Although a group of Tigrean nobles led by Ras Alula attempted to promote the claim of Ras Mengesha Yohannes
(the "natural" son of Yohannes) as Emperor, many of the dead monarch's other relatives on both the Enderta and Tembien sides of his family objected and went into open rebellion against Mengesha. Many refused to accept Ras Mengesha as the son of Yohannes, having long known him as his nephew. Tigray was torn assunder by the rebellions of various members of the Emperor's family against Mengesha and each other. Menelik of Shewa took advantage of Tigrean disorder, and after the Italians occupied Hamasien
, (a district Yohannes IV had bestowed upon Ras Alula) he was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia as Menelik II. The death of Yohannes reduced the influence of Tigrayans in the Ethiopian government and opened the way for Italians to occupy more districts previously held by Tigrayan nobles. The seizures made by the Italians at this time ultimately resulted in the creation of the colony of Eritrea
and the defeat of Italy at the Battle of Adowa
at the hands of Emperor Menelik II. The Tigrean nobility retained influence at the Imperial court of Menelik and his successors, although not at the level they enjoyed under Yohannes IV. The descendants of Yohannes ruled over Tigray as hereditary Princes until the Ethiopian Revolution and the fall of the monarchy in 1974 ended their rule.
. Araya Selassie Yohannes was born by his wife Wolete Selassie. The son of Araya Selassie Yohannes was Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie
. His son was the infamous Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa
who governed eastern Tigray in the 1930s and was married to Emperor Haile Selassie's daughter Princess Zenebework Haile Selassie
. However, following the death of his wife, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa's relationship with Emperor Haile Selassie deteriorated, and in 1936, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie became the first high ranking Ethiopian nobleman to defect to the Italians when the Fascist forces invaded Ethiopia. The people of Mekelle ransacked his house when this news was revealed. He was elevated to the title of Ras by the King of Italy. However, following the liberation of Ethiopia in 1941, Haile Selassie Gugsa was placed under house arrest and regarded as a traitor. Emperor Haile Selassie refused to acknowledge the title of Ras granted to his former son-in-law by the King of Italy, and so he reverted to the title of Dejazmatch. He was freed by the Derg
regime in 1974 following the fall of the monarchy. He died shortly thereafter. There are other descendants of Emperor Yohannes IV in this "legitimate" line, but because of the wartime actions of Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa, this branch of the family fell into disfavor at the Imperial court and lost its position and influence.
and is the better known line. Although Ras Mengesha Yohannes ended his days under house arrest for his repeated rebelling gainst against Emperor Menelik II. Ras Mengesha's son Ras Seyoum Mengesha
first became governor of western Tigray, and following the treason of his cousin Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa, became Governor (Shum) of all of Tigray in 1936. He commanded troops against the Italians, but was forced to surrender and spent most of the Italian occupation under house arrest
in Addis Ababa. Following the return of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1941, Ras Seyoum was restored to his governorate of Tigray, recognized as the hereditary Prince of that province. Ras Seyoum Mengesha was killed during the abortive coup by the Imperial Bodyguard in 1960, and was succeeded by his son Ras Mengesha Seyoum
who served as Governor and hereditary Prince of Tigray until the 1974 Revolution toppled the Ethiopian monarchy. Ras Mengesha Seyoum is married to Princess Aida Desta
, a granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie and is the current head of the Tigrean branch of the Solomonic dynasty. Mengesha Seyum is the last person alive today who bears the title of "Leul Ras".
[sic] )".
Emperor of Ethiopia
The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
from 1872 until his death.
Early life
Yohannes was born in Enderta provinceEnderta province
Enderta province or Inderta province, also known as Enderta Awraja as well as 70 Enderta is located in the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands. Enderta is bordered on the west by Tembien, on the southeast by Wag of Gondar, the south by Raya and Azebo, on the east by Afar and Aseb, and on the...
. He was the son of Mercha, Shum
Shum
Shum is a romanization of the Chinese letter 岑 in 岑献光, the non-phonetic nuance of the Cantonese language. Shum are the descendants of King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, named so after an area during the Zhou dynasty . Although not the descendent of Wu's first wife Yi Jiang , Shum is the descendent of...
(or "governor") of Tembien
Tembien
Tembien is one of the former provinces of Ethiopia. It is a mountainous area of that country.The name Tembien has also been used for:*Tembien, an Italian 600-Serie Adua class submarine sunk in World War II...
, and his wife Woizero
Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...
(or "Dame") Silass Dimtsu (Amata Selassie), who was the daughter of Dejazmach (roughly equivalent to "Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
") Dimtsu Debbab of Enderta
Enderta province
Enderta province or Inderta province, also known as Enderta Awraja as well as 70 Enderta is located in the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands. Enderta is bordered on the west by Tembien, on the southeast by Wag of Gondar, the south by Raya and Azebo, on the east by Afar and Aseb, and on the...
the nephew of the powerful Ras Wolde Selassie
Wolde Selassie
Wolde Selassie He was an Overlord of Tigray-Mereb Milash and a Ras Bitwoded of Ethiopia. He was the second son of Dejazmach Kefla Iyasus Amdamikael, hereditary chief of Enderta...
of Enderta. Yohannes could claim Solomonic blood
Solomonic dynasty
The Solomonic dynasty is the Imperial House of Abyssinia. Its members claim lineal descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the latter of whom tradition asserts gave birth to the first King Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem .-Overview:The dynasty, a...
through the line of his paternal grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, who was the granddaughter of Ras Mikael Sehul
Mikael Sehul
Mikael Sehul was a Ras or governor of Tigray 1748–71 and again from 1772 until his death...
, and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab
Mentewab
Mentewab , was Empress of Ethiopia, consort of Emperor Bakaffa, mother of Iyasu II and grandmother of Iyoas I. She was also known officially by her baptismal name of Welete Giyorgis...
and her lover Melmal Iyasu.
Yohannes could also claim Solomonic descent more distantly through his father's Tembien family, also through a female link to the dynasty. Amata Selassie's father Dimtsu of Endarta belonged to the family which in late 18th and early 19th centuries had held overlordship of Tigray, and her mother descended from the aristocratic line of the Shums of Agame
Agame
The Agame is a former province in northern Ethiopia, now part of the Tigray Region. Its inhabitants include the Irob people, a region where tradition states the legendary Makeda was born and raised...
.
Rise to power
Yohannes, then known as Commander of the Gate (Dejazmach) Kassai, was a sworn enemy of Emperor Tewodros II, and gave logistical and political support to the British forces who arrived to defeat Emperor Tewodros in 1868. In gratitude, the British gave Dejazmach Kassai, the future Yohannes, a large number of modern firearms as they withdrew following their victory at Amba MariamAmba Mariam
Amba Mariam is a village in central Ethiopia. It was known as Magdala or Meqdela during the reign of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia...
(also known as Magdala). This helped him to control the province of Tigray
Tigray Province
Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...
, and he became one of the three most powerful princes in Ethiopia (the others being Wagshum Gobeze of Lasta and Wag (the future Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II), as well as King (Negus
Negus
Negus is a title in Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic, used for a king and at times also a vassal ruler in pre-1974 Ethiopia and pre-1890 Eritrea. It is subsequently used to translate the word "king" in Biblical and other literature...
) Menelek of Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
the future Emperor Menelek II). All three vied to become sole ruler, and also claimed descent from the Solomonic kings. Dejazmach Kassai's rivalry with the Wagshum was further complicated by the fact that his sister, Dinqinesh Mercha
Dinqinesh Mercha
Dinqinesh Mercha was Empress-Consort of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia. Empress Dinqinesh was the daughter of Shum Mercha of Tembien, and his wife Woizero Silass of Enderta...
, was married to Wagshum Gobeze. Only five years earlier, Wagshum Gobeze had played the decisive military role in ensuring that Dejazmach Kassai defeated his rivals as the pre-eminent figure in Tigray. Their new rivalry was therefore awkward for both of them on a personal level.
Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia
Tekle Giyorgis II was of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1872....
proclaimed himself Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia at Soqota
Soqota
Soqota is a town in northern Ethiopia. The name is likely from the Agaw word sekut, "fortified village." Located the Wag Hemra Zone of the Amhara Region, Soqota has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2266 meters above sea level...
in his district of Wag
Wag
Wag is a traditional highland district in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, in the approximate location of the modern Wag Hemra Zone. Weld Blundell described the district as bounded on the south by the mountains of Lasta, on the east and north by the Tellare River, and the west by the Tekezé...
. Because the Abuna
Abuna
Also see Leaders of ChristianityAbun is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church...
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had died shortly before, there was no one to crown the new Emperor. In an effort to get Kassai to recognize this title, Tekle Giyorgis gave his brother-in-law the title of "Re-ese Mekwanint", or "first among the nobles". Dejazmach Kassai promptly started using the title, but still did not recognize Tekle Giyorgis' claim to the throne and refused to pay homage to him.
Tekle Giyorgis, after consolidating support with Adal of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :...
and King Menelik of Shewa through marriage ties, and in Wollo by force, crossed the Takazze River into Tigray in 1871 in a campaign against Kassai. Relying on the training the British adventurer John Kirkham
John Kirkham
John Charles Kirkham was a British adventurer, hotelier and ship's steward who fought with William Walker in Nicaragua and Charles George Gordon in China during the Taiping Rebellion before landing in Ethiopia at the beginning of the British campaign against Emperor Tewodros II in 1868...
had given his troops, and the considerable amount of weapons left to him by the British expedition that had defeated Emperor Tewodros II, Dejazmach Kassai met the Emperor near Adwa
Adwa
Adwa is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896 with Italian troops. Notably, Ethiopian soldiers won the battle, thus being the only African nation to thwart European colonialism...
on 11 July 1871, capturing and deposing him. Emperor Tekle Giyorgis died in captivity the next year. Following Tekle Giyorgis' death, his widow, Empress Dinkinesh Mercha, settled in Mekele at the court of her brother the new Emperor Yohannes IV, and continued to be accorded the title and dignity of an Empress throughout his reign.
Kassai had long prepared for this day, and had gathered the funds to pay the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria to appoint a new Archbishop over the Ethiopian Church, to replace Abuna Salama
Abuna Salama III
Salama III was Abuna, or head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church . Originally brought to Ethiopia by Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam, he afterwards attached himself to the party of Emperor Tewodros II for his help to settle the theological disputes and to gain control over the fractured church...
who had died in 1867. Patriarch Cyril V
Pope Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...
sent him Abuna Atnatewos
Abuna Atnatewos II
Abuna Atnatewos II was the Abuna or head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church . He was brought to Ethiopia by Emperor Yohannes IV, who raised the $20,000 to pay the Patriarch of Alexandria Cyril V....
, who arrived June 1869.
On 12 January 1872, Atnatewos then crowned Kassai emperor at Axum
Axum
Axum or Aksum is a city in northern Ethiopia which was the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Population 56,500 . Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century...
. He took the name and title of Emperor, becoming the first emperor crowned in that historic city since Fasilides
Fasilides of Ethiopia
Fasilides was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
in 1632. Adal of Gojjam soon after submitted to Yohannes and recognized him as Emperor. Adal was rewarded with the titles of Ras and of King (Negus) of Gojjam. Adal was also given the new name of Tekle Haymanot Tessemma
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :...
.
War with Ottoman Egypt
Throughout his reign, Yohannes was embroiled in military struggles on his northern frontiers. First was from Khedive Isma'il PashaIsma'il Pasha
Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, who sought to bring the entire Nile River basin under his rule. The Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
flirted with encouraging Menelik of Shewa against the Emperor, but earned Menelik's enmity by marching from the port of Zeila
Zeila
Zeila, also known as Zaila , is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast, situated in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia.Located near the Djibouti border, the town sits on a sandy spit surrounded by the sea. It is known for its offshore islands, coral reef and mangroves. Landward, the terrain is...
and occupying the city-state of Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
on 11 October 1875. Both Menelik and Yohannes had regarded Harrar as a renegade province of Ethiopia, and Egyptian seizure of the Emirate was not welcome to either of them. The Egyptians then marched into northern Ethiopia from their coastal possessions around the port of Massawa
Massawa
Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,...
. Yohannes pleaded with the British to stop their Egyptian allies, and even withdrew from his own territory in order to show the Europeans that he was the wronged party and that the Khedive was the aggressor. However, Yohannes soon realized that the Europeans would not stop the Khedive of Egypt and so he gathered up his armies and marched to meet the Egyptian force.
Alula Engida
Ras Alula Engida was a general and Ethiopian politician...
. This victory was followed by Menelik's submission to Yohannes on 20 March 1878, and in return Yohannes recognized Menelik's hereditary right to the title of King (Negus) of Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
, and re-crowned him on March 26. Yohannes took this opportunity to tie the Shewan King more closely to him by arranging for Menelik's daughter Zewditu (the future Empress of Ethiopia in her own right), to be married to his own son and heir, Ras Araya Selassie
Araya Selassie Yohannes
Araya Selassie Yohannes was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Leul Araya Selassie Yohannes was born in Enderta, Tigray in 1867, the legitimate son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia...
.
Emperor Yohannes also convened a general council of the Ethiopian Church at Boru Meda later in 1878, which brought an end to the ongoing theological dispute in the local church; Christians, Muslims and pagans were given respectively two, three and five years to conform to the council's decisions. Non-Christians were forbidden from participating in the government unless they converted and were baptised; the Muslims were given three months, while the pagans had to become Christians immediately. "Having concluded that Wollo was worth a mass," as Harold Marcus wryly puts it, his retainer Ras Mohammed of Wollo became Ras (later Negus) Mikael of Wollo
Mikael of Wollo
Mikael of Wollo , born Mohammed Ali, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Iyasu V. He changed his name to Mikael upon converting to Christianity.- Life :Mohammed Ali, an Oromo, was born in Wollo...
, and the Emperor stood as his godfather at his baptism. The new convert was given Menelik of Shewa's other daughter, Shewarega Menelik, as his wife. Yohannes went one step further, and pressured Menelik to expel of all the Roman Catholic missionaries from Shewa.
However this time, instead of a single Archbishop, he requested that Patriarch Cyril send four to serve the large number of Christians in Ethiopia, who arrived in 1881. They were led by Abuna Petros as Archbishop, Abuna Matewos for Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
, Abuna Luqas for Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
and Abuna Markos for Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
. Abuna Markos died shortly after arriving, so his diocese was included with that of Abuna Atnatewos. It was the first time that the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria had appointed four Bishops for Ethiopia.
War with Sudan
When Muhammad AhmadMuhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
proclaimed himself the Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
, and incited Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
into a long and violent revolt, his followers successfully either drove the Egyptian garrisons out of Sudan, or isolated them at Suakin
Suakin
Suakin or Sawakin is a port in north-eastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. In 1983 it had a population of 18,030 and the 2009 estimate is 43, 337.It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about 30 miles north. The old city built of coral is in ruins...
and at various posts in the south. Yohannes agreed to British requests to allow these Egyptian soldiers to evacuate through his lands, with the understanding that the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
would then support his claims on important ports like Massawa
Massawa
Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,...
on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
to import weapons and ammunition, in the event that Egypt was forced to withdraw from them. This was formalized in a treaty signed with the British at Adwa known as the Hewett treaty
William Nathan Wrighte Hewett
Vice Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC, KCB, KCSI was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Life:Hewett was born at Brighton to Dr. William Hewett,...
. The immediate result was that the wrath of the Mahdiyah fell upon Ethiopia: Ras Alula defeated an invading Mahdist army at the Battle of Kufit on September 23, 1885. About the same time, Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannes. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Neguses of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannes, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassals. Yohannes brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
and burned its holy churches. He marched north from Gojjam to confront the armies of the Mahdi.
Death and descendants
Yohannes' life came to an end while he was dealing with another invasion by the followers of Muhammad Ahmad's successor, Abdallahi ibn MuhammadAbdallahi ibn Muhammad
Abdullah Ibn-Mohammed or Abdullah al-Taaisha, also known as "The Khalifa" was a Sudanese Ansar General and ruler.-Early years:Abdullah was born into the Ta'aisha Baqqara tribe in Darfur around 1846 and was trained and educated as a preacher and holy man.He became a follower of Mohammed Ahmed "the...
, at the Battle of Gallabat
Battle of Gallabat
The Battle of Gallabat was fought 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because Nəgusä Nägäst Yohannes IV was killed in this battle...
on March 9, 1889. Mortally wounded by a sniper during the battle, he had been carried to his tent, where he announced that his nephew Ras Mengesha was actually his natural son, and named him his heir (his elder son Ras Araya Selassie had died a few years earlier). He died hours later. Although the Ethiopian army had almost annihilated their opponents in this battle, hearing that their ruler had been slain shattered their morale and allowed the Mahdists to counterattack, scattering the Ethiopian forces.
Yohannes' body was carried back to Tigray guarded by a small party, who were overtaken by the Mahdist troops of Zeki Tummal near the Atbara River and who captured the sovereign's body. Augustus B. Wylde, who claimed to have heard the story from a priest who managed to escape the slaughter, wrote how Yohannes' uncle Ras Areya stood beside the body of his dead master with "a few of his soldiers and the bravest of the king's servants, who had lost their all, and had no more prospects to live for".
- Ras Areya was last seen standing alongside the box containing the king's body, after having expended all his ammunition, with his shield and sword in his hands, defending himself, till at last he was speared by a Dervish from behind, and died fighting gamely like the fine old warrior that he was.
According to Wylde, as he saw death come Ras Areya announced "that he was now old and done for, that his time had come, and it was useless at his age to serve another master that he knew little about, and it was better to die like a man fighting unbelievers, than like a mule in a stable." The Mahdists brought the Emperor's body back to their capital at Omdurman
Omdurman
Omdurman is the second largest city in Sudan and Khartoum State, lying on the western banks of the River Nile, opposite the capital, Khartoum. Omdurman has a population of 2,395,159 and is the national centre of commerce...
, where the head was put on a pike and paraded through the streets.
Although a group of Tigrean nobles led by Ras Alula attempted to promote the claim of Ras Mengesha Yohannes
Ras Mengesha Yohannes
Mengesha Yohannes was the "natural" son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, Ras of Tigray, and, as a claimant of the Imperial throne, is often given the title of Leul. Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes was his older half brother.-Biography:Prior to the Battle of Metemma, Mengesha Yohannes was...
(the "natural" son of Yohannes) as Emperor, many of the dead monarch's other relatives on both the Enderta and Tembien sides of his family objected and went into open rebellion against Mengesha. Many refused to accept Ras Mengesha as the son of Yohannes, having long known him as his nephew. Tigray was torn assunder by the rebellions of various members of the Emperor's family against Mengesha and each other. Menelik of Shewa took advantage of Tigrean disorder, and after the Italians occupied Hamasien
Hamasien
Hamasien was the name of an histoical province including and surrounding Asmara, now part of modern Eritrea. The region has been divided and distributed amongst the modern Maekel, Debub, Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka and Anseba regions....
, (a district Yohannes IV had bestowed upon Ras Alula) he was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia as Menelik II. The death of Yohannes reduced the influence of Tigrayans in the Ethiopian government and opened the way for Italians to occupy more districts previously held by Tigrayan nobles. The seizures made by the Italians at this time ultimately resulted in the creation of the colony of Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
and the defeat of Italy at the Battle of Adowa
Battle of Adowa
The Battle of Adwa was fought on 1 March 1896 between Ethiopia and Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray...
at the hands of Emperor Menelik II. The Tigrean nobility retained influence at the Imperial court of Menelik and his successors, although not at the level they enjoyed under Yohannes IV. The descendants of Yohannes ruled over Tigray as hereditary Princes until the Ethiopian Revolution and the fall of the monarchy in 1974 ended their rule.
Araya Selassie Yohannes, eastern Tigray
There are two lines of descent from Yohannes IV, one "legitimate" and one "natural." The legitimate line is through his elder son, Ras Araya Selassie YohannesAraya Selassie Yohannes
Araya Selassie Yohannes was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Leul Araya Selassie Yohannes was born in Enderta, Tigray in 1867, the legitimate son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia...
. Araya Selassie Yohannes was born by his wife Wolete Selassie. The son of Araya Selassie Yohannes was Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie
Gugsa Araya Selassie
Gugsa Araya Selassie was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Leul Gugsa Araya Selassie was the legitimate son of Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes...
. His son was the infamous Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa
Haile Selassie Gugsa
Haile Selassie Gugsa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Haile Selassie Gugsa was the son of Leul Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie...
who governed eastern Tigray in the 1930s and was married to Emperor Haile Selassie's daughter Princess Zenebework Haile Selassie
Princess Zenebework
Princess Zenebework, also Zeneba Worq, was the second daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and his wife the Empress Menen Asfaw...
. However, following the death of his wife, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa's relationship with Emperor Haile Selassie deteriorated, and in 1936, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie became the first high ranking Ethiopian nobleman to defect to the Italians when the Fascist forces invaded Ethiopia. The people of Mekelle ransacked his house when this news was revealed. He was elevated to the title of Ras by the King of Italy. However, following the liberation of Ethiopia in 1941, Haile Selassie Gugsa was placed under house arrest and regarded as a traitor. Emperor Haile Selassie refused to acknowledge the title of Ras granted to his former son-in-law by the King of Italy, and so he reverted to the title of Dejazmatch. He was freed by the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
regime in 1974 following the fall of the monarchy. He died shortly thereafter. There are other descendants of Emperor Yohannes IV in this "legitimate" line, but because of the wartime actions of Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa, this branch of the family fell into disfavor at the Imperial court and lost its position and influence.
Mengesha Yohannes, western Tigray
The second, "natural" line is through Ras Mengesha YohannesRas Mengesha Yohannes
Mengesha Yohannes was the "natural" son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, Ras of Tigray, and, as a claimant of the Imperial throne, is often given the title of Leul. Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes was his older half brother.-Biography:Prior to the Battle of Metemma, Mengesha Yohannes was...
and is the better known line. Although Ras Mengesha Yohannes ended his days under house arrest for his repeated rebelling gainst against Emperor Menelik II. Ras Mengesha's son Ras Seyoum Mengesha
Seyum Mangasha
Seyum Mangasha KBE was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.-Biography:...
first became governor of western Tigray, and following the treason of his cousin Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa, became Governor (Shum) of all of Tigray in 1936. He commanded troops against the Italians, but was forced to surrender and spent most of the Italian occupation under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in Addis Ababa. Following the return of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1941, Ras Seyoum was restored to his governorate of Tigray, recognized as the hereditary Prince of that province. Ras Seyoum Mengesha was killed during the abortive coup by the Imperial Bodyguard in 1960, and was succeeded by his son Ras Mengesha Seyoum
Mangasha Seyum
Ras Mengesha Seyoum GCVO is a member of the imperial family of the Ethiopian Empire. In 1974, the monarchy was abolished by the Derg, a communist military junta.- Biography :...
who served as Governor and hereditary Prince of Tigray until the 1974 Revolution toppled the Ethiopian monarchy. Ras Mengesha Seyoum is married to Princess Aida Desta
Aida Desta
Princess Aida Desta is the daughter of Ras Desta Damtew and Princess Tenagnework, granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. She is the wife of Leul Ras Mangasha Seyum, Prince of Tigray, son of Seyum Mangasha, and claimant to the abolished Ethiopian crown.Princess Aida was incarcerated...
, a granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie and is the current head of the Tigrean branch of the Solomonic dynasty. Mengesha Seyum is the last person alive today who bears the title of "Leul Ras".
Full title
His full title was "His Imperial Majesty John IV, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God" or in Ethiopian "Ge'ezGe'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
[sic] )".