Araya Selassie Yohannes

''Ras'' Araya Selassie Yohannes ( ti, አርአያ ስላሴ ዮሓንስ ''araya səllase yohannəs''; "horse name" Abba Deblaq) (1869/70 – 10 June 1888) was a son of ''atse'' Yohannes IV from his wife Masitire Selassie, a daughter of a Muslim Afar chieftain whom he married after she was Christened. Araya was nominated Crown Prince.

Araya was the first husband of Zewditu (later Empress), the daughter of ''atse'' Menelik II, having married her in January 1883. He was given the command of Wollo province at the time of his wedding. Because of a revolt raised in Wollo due to the death of ''dejazmach'' Amda Sadiq, chief of Tekaledere, in a quarrel with Araya's followers, Yohannes IV decided to appoint ''ras'' Mikael Ali, the traditional claimant to the lordship of Wollo. ''Ras'' Araya was transferred to Begemder and Dembaya in May 1886. In 1887–88, when the country was facing the Italian threat, he was commander of 40,000 troops near Adwa.

Araya died in his youth from smallpox, when the Emperor was returning from a campaign against the Italians at Seati (Battle of Dogali). His only son, by a ''weyzero'' Negesit, a lady from Wollo, was ''leul ras'' Gugsa Araya.

Biography

Early life

''Leul'' Araya Selassie Yohannes was born in Enderta, a part of Tigray in Ethiopia in 1869/70, the legitimate son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. Mengesha Yohannes was his illegitimate half brother. He was granted the title of ''Ras'' in 1872 and was the governor of Enderta from 1872 to 1882.

Rise to Power

On 24 October 1882, the fifteen-year-old ''Leul'' Araya Selassie Yohannes married six-year-old ''Leult'' Zewditu, eldest daughter of ''Negus'' Menelik of Shewa. The marriage was political, having been arranged when Menelik agreed to submit to Yohannes' rule. In 1882 ''Ras'' Araya was granted the title of ''Negus'' of Tigray and Wollo. In 1883, Araya Selassie Yohannes was made ''Shum'' of Wollo ProvinceMarcus, ''A History of Ethiopia'', p. 80 and, in 1886, he was made ''Shum'' of Begemder and Dembiya.

In 1885, Araya Selassie Yohannes fathered a son, Gugsa Araya Selassie. The mother's identity is unknown.

Death

On 10 June 1888, while in Mek'ele gathering an army for his father, Araya Selassie Yohannes died of smallpox. He was buried at Medhane Alem Church.

Honors

Grand Collar of the Order of the Seal of Solomon (1875)

Legacy

Familial rivalry between the two lines of descent from Emperor Yohannes IV proved to be a difficult issue for Emperor Menelik II and his successors. Tigray Province was divided between ''Ras'' Gugsa Araya Selassie, the son of ''Ras'' Araya Selassie Yohannes, and ''Ras'' Seyum Mangasha, the son of ''Ras'' Mangasha Yohannes. Gugsa Araya Selassie ruled the eastern half of Tigray and Seyum Mangasha ruled the western half.

See also

* Monarchies of Ethiopia
* Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
* Mangasha Yohannes - Half brother of Araya Selassie Yohannes

Notes

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References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Araya Selassie Yohannes
1870 births
1888 deaths
People from Tigray Region
Ethiopian military personnel
Ethiopian nobility
Ethiopian princes
Ethiopian Royal Family
19th-century Ethiopian people
Deaths from smallpox
Sons of emperors
Heirs apparent who never acceded