Asfawossen Kassa (1913 – 21 December 1936) was an army commander and a member of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

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 ...

Biography

Prince ('' Leul'') Asfawossen Kassa was the third son of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

(''

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 ...

'')

Kassa Haile Darge '' Leul Ras'' Kassa Hailu KS, GCVO, GBE, (Amharic: ካሣ ኀይሉ ዳርጌ; 7 August 1881 – 16 November 1956) was a Shewan Amhara nobleman, the son of Dejazmach Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta, the ruling heir of Lasta's throne and younge ...

. Kassa Haile Darge was a loyal ally of

Negus Negus (Negeuce, Negoose) ( gez, ንጉሥ, ' ; cf. ti, ነጋሲ ' ) is a title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It denotes a monarch,

Tafari Makonnen Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

, who ultimately was crowned

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Haile Selassie I Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...

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 ...

. During the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, Asfawossen Kassa fought for his father. At the

Second Battle of Tembien The Second Battle of Tembien was a battle fought on the northern front of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. This battle consisted of attacks by Italian forces under Marshal Pietro Badoglio on Ethiopian forces under Ras (title), ''Ras'' Kassa Hail ...

, the armies of his father and ''Ras''

Seyum Mangasha Seyoum Mengesha KBE (Amharic: ሥዩም መንገሻ; 21 June 1887 – 15 December 1960) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. Early life ''Le'ul'' ''Ras'' Seyoum Mengesha was born on 24 June 18 ...

were defeated in battle and bombed out of existence as they withdrew. During the early days of the

Italian occupation of Ethiopia Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Sec ...

, Asfawossen Kassa was part of the armed Ethiopian resistance. Late in July 1936, he took part in the ill-fated attack on

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

along with his brothers,

Wondosson Kassa Wondosson Kassa, also known as Wond Wossen Kassa (1903 – 19 December 1936), was a member of the royalty of the Ethiopian Empire, an army commander, and a patriot. Biography ''Leul'' Wondosson Kassa was the eldest son of ''Ras'' Kassa Ha ...

and

Aberra Kassa Aberra Kassa (1905 – 21 December 1936) was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. Biography '' Leul'' ''Dejazmach'' ("Prince of the Cadet line") Aberra Kassa was the second son of ''Ras'' ("Duke") Kassa Hai ...

. After the failure of that attack, he and Aberra Kassa fled together to avoid capture. On 21 December 1936, Asfawossen Kassa and Aberra Kassa surrendered. They had been assured by ''Ras''

Hailu Tekle Haymanot Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868 – 1950), also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government ...

that they would not be harmed. Hailu Tekle Haymanot was speaking on behalf of the Italian

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

and

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of Ethiopia,

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...

. However, once in captivity, the bodyguards of the brothers were disarmed and they were executed by the Italians as

rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

in the market square in Fikke.Mockler, ''Haile Sellassie's War'', p. 171

References and notes

Sources

* Ethiopian nobility Ethiopian Royal Family Ethiopian princes Ethiopian military personnel 1913 births 1936 deaths Executed Ethiopian people Executed military personnel 20th-century executions by Italy {{Ethiopia-royal-stub

Biography

See also

References and notes

Sources