Ali II of Yejju (c. 1819 – c. 1866) was ''
Ras
Ras or RAS may refer to:
Arts and media
* RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label
* Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service
* Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station
* Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...
'' of
Begemder
Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia.
Etymology
A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means " ...
and the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' ruler of the
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...
. He was a member of a powerful
Oromo dynasty known as the
Were Sheh, a dynasty from Wollo
Yejju
Yejju Oromo people are a sub clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia.
During the 17th century, the Yejju dynasty, more specifically, the Warra Sheik, or sons o ...
, which the position of regents of the
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...
beginning in the reign of the Oromo King
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 ...
during
Zemene Mesafint
The Zemene Mesafint ( gez, ዘመነ መሳፍንት ''zamana masāfint'', modern: ''zemene mesāfint'', variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; named after the Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiop ...
.
Appointment as ruler
In July 1831, after the death of his cousin,
Ras Dori, Ali was appointed Ruler of Begemder and Imperial Regent at the age of 12 in a meeting of the chief nobles of the Were Sheh or "sons of the Sheikh) (which they called themselves
or_[Yejju_as_some_historians_call_them,_at_the_dynastic_capital_of_Debre_Tabor.html" ;"title="ejju.html" ;"title="or [Yejju">or [Yejju as some historians call them, at the dynastic capital of Debre Tabor">ejju.html" ;"title="or [Yejju">or [Yejju as some historians call them, at the dynastic capital of Debre Tabor. As Ali was a minor, a council of regents was appointed from these nobles. However, his mother, Menen Liben Amede, soon came to control this council and exerted much influence over political decisions for the next decade.
''Ras'' Ali was officially a Christians, Christian but some of his contemporaries doubted the sincerity of his faith and suspected that he was a secret
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. Some modern scholars consider him as indifferent to religion as he was to the problems of ruling his portion of Ethiopia, although Trimingham observes that he attempted to revive the cult of
Ahmad Gragn
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultan ...
by requiring pilgrimages to his tomb. In any case, the morale of the
Ethiopian Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
reached its lowest point in the 1840s and 1850s.
For much his reign ''Ras'' Ali was constantly at war, either putting down rebellions in his core territories, or defending his territory from rival lords. In one of these continual campaigns, ''Ras'' Ali II plundered the imperial capital,
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 t ...
, in 1838.
''Ras'' Ali made
Sahle Dengel
Sahle Dengel ( Ge'ez: ሳህለ ድንግል; 1778 – 11 February 1855) was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1832 and 11 February 1855, towards the end of the Zemene Mesafint. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands ...
Emperor in 1832, but the clergy of
Azazo disapproved of the new Emperor's religious beliefs, and convinced ''Ras'' Ali to remove him. Sahle Dengel was sent to
Zengaj, and ''Ras'' Ali recalled
Gebre Krestos
Gebre Krestos ( gez, ገብረ ክሪስቶስ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 24 March 1832 to his death on 8 June 1832. He was the son of Gebre Mesay, allegedly a descendant of a younger son of Emperor Fasilides.
Reign
He was a figurehead, set ...
from
Mitraha, an island in
Lake Tana
Lake Tana ( am, ጣና ሐይቅ, T’ana ḥāyik’i; previously Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wid ...
, and restored him as Emperor. However, Gebre Krestos died after three months, and Sahle Dengel met with ''Ras'' Ali in the village of Tsagur where he convinced ''Ras'' Ali to restore him to the throne once again (October, 1832).
Marriage
''Ras'' Ali married Hirut, the daughter of
Dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, ...
Wube Haile Maryam
Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799-1867), also called by his title ''Dejazmach'' Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’. Wube was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades o ...
, lord of
Semien and of
Tigray; when he placed her in the church of
Mahdere Maryam for her safety before the
Battle of Debre Tabor (6 February 1842), his opponents violated the refuge of the church and kidnapped her. Their only daughter
Tewabech was married 1848 to Kassa Hailu of
Qwara, who in 1854 proclaimed himself a
Negus
Negus (Negeuce, Negoose) ( gez, ንጉሥ, ' ; cf. ti, ነጋሲ ' ) is a title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It denotes a monarch, . They had no surviving issue.
End of reign
Although his reign was punctuated by recurrent rebellions, Ali managed to keep all of the major lords subject to his rule until the final years. Shiferaw Bekele asserts that "it is to his credit" that there were only two major wars while he was ''Ras Bewodded'': the Battle of Debre Tabor in 1842, and
Kassa Hailu
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"''
, alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.)
Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopi ...
's successful offensive in 1852/1853.
Future events were foreshadowed in October, 1846, when Kassa Hailu defeated detachments of Empress Menen's army at two separate battles in
Dembiya
Dembiya ( Amharic: ደምቢያ ''Dembīyā''; also transliterated Dembea, Dambya, Dembya, Dambiya, etc.) is a historic region of Ethiopia, intimately linked with Lake Tana. According to the account of Manuel de Almeida, Dembiya was "bounded on E ...
; at the time, ''Ras'' Ali was away in
Gojjam
Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos.
Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...
attempting to subdue the province's warlord,
Birru Goshu, and unable to assist his mother. Kassa defeated the army of Empress Menen the following year on 18 June at
Iloha, and took both Menen and her husband the former Emperor
Yohannes III
Yohannes III (c. 1797 – c. 1873) was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1840 and 1851, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Giyorgis. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the ''Enderase'' or ...
captive, forcing ''Ras'' Ali to negotiate their release. After three months, in return for making Kassa ''
dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, ...
'' over Dembiya, north of
Lake Tana
Lake Tana ( am, ጣና ሐይቅ, T’ana ḥāyik’i; previously Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wid ...
, the Empress and her powerless husband were released. Dejazmach Kassa later reconciled himself to ''Ras'' Ali in 1849, and Kassa remained loyal to Ali for the next three years.
However, the relationship between the two eventually deteriorated. Following a series of stunning victories by Kassa, Ali II was decisively defeated by his son-in-law ''Dejazmach'' Kassa (who later assumed the throne name of
Tewodros II
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"''
, alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.)
Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopi ...
) in the
Battle of Ayshal on 29 June 1853, and he lost both the regentship and his territories. At first, Ali fled to safety at a local church, then a few days later fled to the territories of his kinsmen in
Wollo
Wollo (Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed part of the present day Amhara, Afar, and Tigray regions. During the Middle Ages this region was known as Bete Amhara and had Amhara kings. Bete Amhara had ...
province. Both Proutky and Trimingham
[Trimingham, ''Islam'', p. 110] give the date of 1866 for his death, without further details.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali 02 of Yejju
19th-century Ethiopian people
Warlords of the Zemene Mesafint
1810s births
1860s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
Oromo people