Ali I of Yejju (died 18 June 1788) 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 following the death of ''Ras''

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 m ...

, Regent of the

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

. He was the son of

Abba Seru Gwangul Abba Seru Gwangul (died 1778) was a Son of Aba Getiye. Aba Getiye was a descendant of Sheikh Omar, most commonly referred to as a Wara Sheh, which means "Sons of the Sheikh". The Wara Sheh began to have prominence with the emergence of Aba Gwangul ...

, chieftain of the

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 ...

, and ''Woizero'' Gelebu Faris, daughter of ''Ras'' Faris of

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic district in northern Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Its original ...

. According to Abir, he founded the town of

Debre Tabor Debre Tabor ( am, ደብረ ታቦር, lit. "Mount Tabor") is a town and woreda in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, about 100 kilometers southeast of Gondar and 50 kilometers east of Lake Tana, ...

, which became the capital of his dynasty. However, from the accounts in the ''Royal chronicle'' Ali is never mentioned as dwelling at Debre Tabor, instead he is more closely tied to

Filakit Gereger Filakit Geregera (also known as Filakit) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2865 meters above sea level. The town is the administrative cente ...

(called Garagara in the ''Royal chronicle'').

Life

One of the first steps in the advancement of Ali's career came in August 1781 when the Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis I Tekle Giyorgis I ( gez, ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817), throne name Feqr Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of ...

summoned him to his court and made him ''

Balambaras 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, ...

''. Two years later, while still a ''Balambaras'' he took part in the Emperor's abortive march on

Shewa Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...

, which failed to cross the

Checheho River The Checheho River is a small river located in north-central Ethiopia. Part of the watershed of the Abay River, it rises to the east of Debre Zebit to flow south to join the Bashilo River. Its major tributary is the Zhit'a, which enters the Chech ...

. Ten months later, Ali joined ''Ras''

Haile Yosadiq Haile ( Ge'ez "the power of") may refer to: ;People with the given name Haile * Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1892–1975), Emperor of Ethiopia * Haile Gerima (born 1946), Ethiopian filmmaker * Haile Gebrselassie (born 1973), Ethiopian distance runne ...

and together conspired to depose the emperor, defeating him at Afarwanat, after which Tekle Giyorgis fled into exile at

Amba Sel 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 ...

. Subsequently, the two nobles brought Iyasu Atsequ down from

Wehni Wehni (Amharic: ወህኒ) is the name of one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male heirs to the Emperor of Ethiopia were interned, usually for life. It was the last of the three such mountains, or ''amba'', said to have been used fo ...

and made him Emperor 18 February 1784; in return, Ali was promoted to ''

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, ...

''. Ali took several steps to consolidate his position and prepare his way to the next rank of power, ''Ras Betowedded''. One was to offer his niece Anqualit to the influential ''Dejazmach''

Hailu Eshte Hailu (Amharic: ኃይሉ) is a male name of Ethiopian origin that may refer to: *Hailu Shawul (born 1936), Ethiopian engineer and the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy *Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868–1950), Ethiopian army commander ...

of Begemder. This alliance led to conflict between Ali and his former ally ''Ras'' Haile Yosadiq, and to Ali's decision to recall the Emperor Tekle Haymanot from exile in 1786 and restore him to power; in response, ''Ras'' Haile Yosadiq prudently provided a refuge to the deposed Emperor Iyasu in Gojjam. Another step was the systematic capture of the

amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

s of ''Balambaras'' Ramkha, which ended with the ''Balambaras''' death in the sack of his base at Limon. Shortly after this, Ali was released from the

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

that had been placed on him, and kept the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. A third step, which was not unique to Ali but taken by many of the warlords of the time, was to dissolve or reorganize the existing military units and create new ones, and granting them lands to support the soldiers. This would make the soldiers dependent on the warlord for their livings, not the Emperor. Eventually ''Ras'' Haile Yosaq was able to recruit ''Dejazmach'' Wolde Gabriel, the son of ''Ras''

to join him, and when it appeared Ali (who had managed by that time to obtain a promotion to ''Ras'') was preoccupied with the rebellion of his relative Yasufe in

, proclaimed Baeda Maryam emperor. A peace was quickly patched up with Yasufe, and ''Ras'' Ali then turned his attention to this new threat. On the Thursday before Easter 1788, ''Ras'' Ali, ''Dejazmach'' Hailu Eshte, and the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I met the allied forces of ''Ras'' Haile Yosadiq, ''Dejazmach'' Gebre, and Wolde Gabriel in the

Battle of Madab The Battle of Madab was fought in June 1788 in Ethiopia between the forces of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I, ''Ras'' Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly ...

. ''Ras'' Ali defeated this opponents; ''Dejazmach'' Wolde Gabriel was killed in battle and the pretender Baeda Maryam was captured. Only ''Ras'' Haile Yosadiq managed to escape the battle back to his territories in Gojjam. ''Ras'' Ali died from an illness at Filakit Gereger, which the writer of the ''Royal chronicle'' claims was caused by his heavy drinking, and was buried at

Lalibela Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Lasta district and North Wollo Zone, it is a tourist site for its famous rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important site ...

.Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', pp. 391f

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali 01 Of Yejju 1788 deaths 18th-century Ethiopian people Warlords of the Zemene Mesafint Year of birth unknown