Menen Liben Amede (died 1858) was Empress consort of Ethiopia by marriage to

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), ...

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 ...

in 1840–1841, 1845 and 1850–1851. She was also regent 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 " ...

in 1831–1841 during the minority of her son

Ali II of Yejju Ali II of Yejju (c. 1819 – c. 1866) was ''Ras'' of Begemder and the ''de facto'' ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. He was a member of a powerful Oromo dynasty known as the Were Sheh, a dynasty from Wollo Yejju, which the position of regents ...

, who was her son in her first marriage to

Alula of Yejju Alula of Yejju was the son of Ras Ali I of Yejju (son of Abba Seru Gwangul) and cousin of Ras Gugsa. He was the first husband of Menen Liben Amede and father of her son, Ras Ali II, while governor of Damot, Ethiopia.Charles T. Beke"Abyssinia. B ...

. She was a significant personage during the ''

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 ...

'' of the 19th century before

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 ...

reunited 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 ...

in 1855.

Life

She married first to

(sometime governor of Damot and then of

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 ...

), with whom she had a son, ''

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 ...

around the year 1819. After the death of her first spouse, she married the future emperor

Regency

On a meeting of the chief nobles 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 ...

at the dynastic capital 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, ...

, after the death of ''Ras'' Dori on July 1831, Dori's cousin, Menens son Ali was appointed Ruler of

and Imperial Regent at the age of 12. As his father Alula was dead by this time and Ali was a minor, a council of regents was appointed from the nobles of that people. However, Menen soon came to control this council and exerted much influence over political decisions for the next decade. A palace was built for Menen Liben Amede, though it was not as large as her son's.

Empress

Following the death of ''Ras'' Kinfu, people fought for control of his lands in Gojjam. Eventually Menen gained the upper hand in the

Battle of Chenti Ber A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(October, 1839), defeating and capturing Kinfu's relative Walda Tekle. Not long afterwards, she deposed

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 ...

on 29 August 1840 in favor of her husband Yohannes. However, Yohannes offended her son ''Ras'' Ali by favoring his rival

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 ...

, and ''Ras'' Ali restored Sahle Dengel in October 1841. Occupation of the imperial throne alternated between Yohannes and Sahle Dengel until Kassa of Qwara (the future

) defeated Empress Menen in combat on 18 June 1847 near the northern shores 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 ...

, capturing her and Yohannes. He then traded them to ''Ras'' Ali for the title 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, ...

'' and the territories of the deceased ''Ras'' Kinfu in Gojjam. Another source states that when Kassa finally usurped the Imperial throne, Yohannes agreed to acquiesce to the change on the condition that the new Emperor guarantee that he would not ever be made to reunite with his much hated wife, Empress Mennen.

Later life

On her part, in order to have influence over Kassa Menen offered her granddaughter Tewabech Ali as a bride to him. Nevertheless, Kassa came to love her and was faithful to her until her death in 1858. Menan also awarded Kassa all of Ye Meru Qemas for the same reasons.Rubenson, ''King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia'', pp. 36-39 Menen disappears from the historical record soon after this.

References

{{Reflist Empresses and imperial consorts of Ethiopia 19th-century Ethiopian people 19th-century Ethiopian women Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown 19th-century women rulers