Mercha Wolde Kidan

''Shum Tembien'' Mercha Wolde Kidan (, ''Mərcha Wäldä Kidan''; 1820s – 1864/65) was the ruler of Tembien, a province of Tigray, and father of Kasa Mercha (later ''atse'' Yohannes IV). Mercha had his seat at Melfa in the mountainous Degwa Tembien. Due to his connections to the leading families of Tigray, he was regarded as one of the first nobles of the region. He himself, however, never acquired a central position within the Ethiopian power structure, but transmitted his own claims for rulership to his descendants.

Biography

Mercha's mother, Weqweha, was married to ''shum Tembien'' Welde Kidan Welde Mikael and traced her descent to ''ras'' Mikael Seoul, a great Tigrayan ruler. Mercha's wife ''woizero'' Sellas Demsu, was a daughter of Demsu Debbeb, the governor of Enderta and a grand-nephew of the famous Tigrayan ruler ''ras'' Wolde Selassie. Hence, ''woizero'' Sellas was connected to the main house of Enderta. Through her mother, ''woizero'' Tabotu Weldu, a sister of ''dejazmatch'' Sabagadis, last of the Tigrayan rulers of the Zemane Mesafen she was also connected to the house of Agame. In local tradition ''woizero'' Sellas appears as a courageous women, who died at the end of Tewodros's reign at the hands of his soldiers.

Both Mercha and Sellas supposedly had connections to the Solomonic dynasty. Mercha's mother, ''woizero'' Werqweha, was allegedly linked to this line through Mikael Seoul, while Mercha's wife traced her descent to ''atse'' Zara Yaqob and other rulers. These connections were utilized by Mercha's son Kasa, who claimed the imperial throne on the basis of his connections to three Solomonic kings. This provided the legal basis that he could be crowned as kings of Ethiopia.

Mercha and Sellas also had a daughter, Denqenash and three other sons, Gugsa, Maru and Hagos. When Mercha died, his sons joined the court of ''atse'' Tewodros II. This was a common practice, its purpose being for the prospective young leaders to learn the art of war and government, but above all to receive an appointment and return home with a title and an office. Gugsa, the elder son, already had experience of governorship having governed Enderta in 1861 after the death of his uncle, ''dejazmatch'' Haile Maryam Demsu. This was probably the reason why Tewodros gave him the title of ''dejazmatch''. Maru was placed a step lower as ''fitawrari''. At the time Kasa was placed the lowest, with the title of ''balambaras''. Maru is said to have died at a young age. Etege Denqenash achieved a considerable political position through her marriages. She was first married to Gebre Kidan, a close follower of her brother Kasa in the early stages of his career. She then married ''wag shum'' Gobeze (later ''atse'' Tekle Giyorgis II) and had a son by him named Seyoum.

References

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19th-century Ethiopian people
People from Tigray Region