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Mentewab
Mentewab (Ge'ez language, Ge'ez: ምንትዋብ; c. 1706 – 27 June 1773) 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 Walatta Giyorgis (Ge'ez: ወለተ ጊዮርጊስ). Mentewab was a major political figure during the reigns of her son the Emperor Iyasu and grandson Iyoas. Empress Mentewab was also known by the honorific of Berhan Mogassa (Ge'ez: ብርሃን ሞገሳ). This was to complement the honorific of her son Iyasu II, who was Berhan Seged. Life Mentewab was born in Qwara province. She was a daughter of ''Dejazmach'' Manbare of Dembiya by his wife, ''Woizero'' Yenkoy. Mentewab married Emperor Bakaffa in Qwara on 6 September 1722, becoming his second wife (his first wife having mysteriously died on the day she was crowned, immediately following her coronation banquet). Following the death of her husband, Empress Mentewab took up a romantic liaison with her ...
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Iyasu II
Iyasu II ( Ge'ez: ኢያሱ; 21 October 1723 – 27 June 1755), throne name Alem Sagad ( Ge'ez: ዓለም ሰገድ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1730 to 1755, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Emperor Bakaffa and Empress Mentewab (also known by her baptismal name of Welete Giyorgis). The Empress Mentewab played a major role in Iyasu's reign, perhaps against her will. Shortly after he was proclaimed Emperor, a rival claimant assaulted the Royal Enclosure for eight days, only leaving the capital Gondar when an army of 30,000 from Gojjam appeared. Although the rebels failed to penetrate its walls, much of Gondar was left in ruins. Instead of taking the title of regent upon the succession of her underage son, Empress Mentewab had herself crowned as co-ruler, becoming the first woman to be crowned in this manner in Ethiopian history. Empress Mentewab wielded significant authority throughout the reign of her son, and well into the reign of her grandson as ...
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Iyoas I
Iyoas I ( Ge'ez: ኢዮአስ; died 14 May 1769), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 27 June 1755 to 7 May 1769, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the infant son of Iyasu II and Wubit (Welete Bersabe), the daughter of an Oromo chieftain of the Karrayyu. Iyoas and Mentewab Despite his extreme youth, he was the candidate proposed by Empress Mentewab, his grandmother, who then acted as his regent. Her proposal was supported by the great nobles of the reign, ''Ras'' Wolde Leul her brother, Waragna, Ayo governor of Begemder, and ''Ras'' Mikael Sehul. One handicap with this tactic of ruling through a proxy, as Richard Pankhurst points out, was that neither Iyoas, due to his age, nor Empress Mentewab, due to her sex, could operate far from the capital city of Gondar, and relied on Waragna and her brothers to lead many of the military campaigns. The very first challenge to Iyoas' rule, when Nanna Giyorgis rebelled in Damo ...
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Mikael Sehul
Mikael Sehul (born Blatta Mikael; 1692 – 1784) was a nobleman who ruled Ethiopia for a period of 25 years as regent of a series of weak emperors. He was also a Ras or governor of Tigray 1748–71 and again from 1772 until his death. He was a major political figure during the reign of Emperor Iyasu II and his successors until almost the time of his death. The Scottish explorer James Bruce met Mikael during his stay in Ethiopia, and recorded the following description of the Ras when he granted Bruce an audience: We went in, and saw the old man sitting upon a sofa; his white hair was dressed in many short curls. He appeared to be thoughtful, but not displeased; his face was lean, his eyes quick and vivid, but seemed to be a little sore from exposure to the weather. he seemed to be about six feet high, though his lameness made it difficult to guess with accuracy. His air was perfectly free from constraint, what the French call ''degagée''. In face and person he was liker my learn ...
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Bakaffa
Bakaffa ( Ge'ez: በካፋ) birth name: Missah; throne name Aṣma Giyorgis (Ge'ez: ዐፅመ ጊዮርጊስ), later Masih Sagad (Ge'ez: መሲሕ ሰገድ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 May 1721 to 19 September 1730, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was a son of Emperor Iyasu I and brother to Emperors Tekle Haymanot I and Dawit III. Sources James Bruce describes Bakaffa as faced with the increasing enfeeblement of the Ethiopian Empire as well as growing intrigue and conspiracies. To respond to these challenges, writes Bruce, Bakaffa was "silent, secret, and unfathomable in his designs, surrounded by soldiers who were his own slaves, and by new men of his own creation." In writing his account of this Emperor's reign, Bruce claims that at the time of his writing no ''Royal Chronicle'' of his reign existed, because it "would have been a very dangerous book to have been kept in Bacuffa's time; and, accordingly, no person chose ever to run that risk; and the king's p ...
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Gondar
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains. , Gondar has an estimated population of 443,156. Gondar previously served as the capital of both the Ethiopian Empire and the subsequent Begemder Province. The city holds the remains of several royal castles, including those in the Fasil Ghebbi UNESCO World Heritage Site for which Gondar has been called the "Camelot of Africa". History Origins Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital town, but instead lived in tents in temporary royal camps as they moved around their realms while their family, bodyguard and retinue devoured surplus crops and cut down nearby trees for firewood. One exception to this rule was Debre Berhan ...
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Solomonic Dynasty
The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts that the queen gave birth to Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. In 1270, the Zagwe dynasty was overthrown by Yekuno Amlak, who claimed descent from Solomon and founded the Solomonic era of Ethiopia. The dynasty lasted until 1974, ended by a coup d'état and the deposition of Haile Selassie, who was a Solomonic prince through his grandmother. History The Solomonic dynasty, a bastion of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, came to rule Ethiopia on 10 Nehasé 1262 EC (10 August 1270 CE) when Yekuno Amlak overthrew the last ruler of the Zagwe dynasty at the Battle of Ansata. Yekuno Amlak claimed direct male line descent from the old Axumite royal house that the Zagwes had replaced on the throne. Menelik ...
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Empress Of Ethiopia
The royal consorts of Ethiopia were spouses of the monarchs of Ethiopia. In ancient times the territory of modern day Ethiopia included the Kingdom of Axum. In medieval times, a kingdom ruled by the Zagwe dynasty developed but was later deposed by the Solomonic dynasty, who would establish the Ethiopian Empire. The following list includes known consorts from the Axumite period to the abolition of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1975. Axumite period (c. 100 – c. 960) Zagwe dynasty (c. 960 or 1137 – 1270) The following table is likely incomplete. Solomonic dynasty Pre-Gondarine period (1270 – 1682) The following table is likely incomplete. Gondarine period (1682 – 1769) The following table is likely incomplete. Era of the Princes (1769 – 1855) The following table is likely incomplete. Modern Ethiopia (1855 – 1975) See also * List of emperors of Ethiopia * List of legendary monarchs of Ethiopia Notes References {{Ethiopia topics Roya ...
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east and northeast, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. Ethiopia has a total area of . As of 2022, it is home to around 113.5 million inhabitants, making it the 13th-most populous country in the world and the 2nd-most populous in Africa after Nigeria. The national capital and largest city, Addis Ababa, lies several kilometres west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the African and Somali tectonic plates. Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out to the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. Southwestern Ethiopia has been proposed as a possible homeland of the Afroasiatic langua ...
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Fasil Ghebbi
The Fasil Ghebbi ( am, ፋሲል ግቢ) is a fortress located in Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian, Indian, Arab, and Baroque characteristics. Because of its historical importance and architecture, the fortress was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. ''Ghebbi'' is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure. The complex of buildings includes Fasilides' castle, Iyasu I's palace, Dawit III's Hall, Empress Mentewab's castle, a chancellery and library from Yohannes I, a banqueting hall from the emperor Bakaffa, stables, and three churches: Asasame Qeddus Mikael, Elfign Giyorgis and Gemjabet Mariyam. History The origins of the Fasil Ghebbi can be found in the old tradition of Ethiopian emperors traveling around their possessions, living off the produce of the peasants and dwelling in tents. Reflecting th ...
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Ambassel
Ambassel (Amharic: ዐምባሰል) is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, and an ''amba'', or mountain fortress, located in the woreda. The word Ambasel is derived from two words "Amba" from the Amharic word for plateau, and “Asel” from the Arabic language, which means honey. Together, it means “plateau of honey” or the “land of honey” the woreda is named for this feature. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone, Ambassel woreda is bordered on the west by the Bashilo which separates it from Tenta, on the north by the Semien Wollo Zone, on the southeast by the Mille River which separates it from Tehuledere, and on the south by Kutaber; the Walano, a tributary of the Bashilo, defines most of its southern border. Its largest town is Wuchale. Elevations in this woreda range from 1200 to 3200 meters above sea level; the divide between the drainage areas of the Nile and the Awash runs through the middle of Ambassel. Rivers include the Waha Titu. Notable landmarks include Amba ...
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Ras (title)
Ras ( compare with Arabic Rais or Hebrew Rosh), is a royal title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It is one of the powerful non-imperial titles. Historian Harold G. Marcus equates the Ras title to a duke; others have compared it to "prince".''E.g.'', Don Jaide,An Etymology of the word Ras-Tafari – By Ras Naftali, Rasta Liveware, June 2, 2014; accessed 2019.06.24. The combined title of Leul Ras (Amharic: ልዑል ራስ) was given to the heads of the cadet branches of the Imperial dynasty, such as the Princes of Gojjam, Tigray, ''Ras'' Tafari Makonnen and the Selalle sub-branch of the last reigning Shewan Branch, and meaning "Lord of Lords", the highest title of lord. Historic Ras * Ras Wolde Selassie (1736 - 1816) * Ras Sabagadis Woldu (1780 – 1831) * Ras Alula (1827 – 1897) *Ras Gobana Dacche (1821 – 1889) *Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael (1852-1906) * Ras Mengesha Yohannes (1868-1906) * Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes (1869/70-10 June 1888) * Ras Sebhat Aregawi (1892- ...
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Na'od
Na'od ( gez, ናዖድ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1494 to 31 July 1508, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His reign was marked by internal tension between territories with the assistance of Queen Eleni. He began construct an extravagant church in Amhara province, called Mekane Selassie. The church was completed by his successor Dawit II in 1530. Reign Na'od was the second son of Baeda Maryam I and his second wife Kalyupe (also called "Calliope"), and was born at Gabarge. Like Eskender before him, he relied on the counsel of the Queen Mother Eleni. Despite her help, his reign was marked by internal dissension. Na'od was very talented in Amharic and Ge'ez poetry. He was also a notable author who wrote a number of religious books. Na'od began construction on a lavish church in the Amhara province, which was decorated with gold leaf and known as Mekane Selassie. However, he died before it was completed, and he was buried in a tomb inside the church. His son Emperor Lebn ...
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