''Ras'' Mengesha Yohannes ( ti, መንገሻ ዮሓንስ; 1868 – 1906) was governor of
Tigray and a son of ''atse''
Yohannes IV
''girmāwī''His Imperial Majesty, spoken= am , ጃንሆይ ''djānhoi''Your Imperial Majesty(lit. "O steemedroyal"), alternative= am , ጌቶቹ ''getochu''Our Lord (familiar)(lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes
Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓ ...
(r. 1872-89). His mother was Welette Tekle Haymanot wife of ''dejazmach''
Gugsa Mercha. ''Ras''
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 ...
was his older half brother. Prior to the
Battle of Metemma
The Battle of Gallabat (also called the Battle of Metemma) was an armed conflict fought on 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because ''Nəgusä Nägäst'' (or Empero ...
, Mengesha Yohannes was considered to be a nephew of Emperor Yohannes IV. During the battle, the Emperor was mortally wounded and it was on his deathbed that Mengesha Yohannes was acknowledged as his "
natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
" son and designated as his heir. This created something of a succession problem.
Fighting between various relatives of the slain Emperor split his camp and prevented Mengesha from making a viable bid for the Imperial throne. Instead, the throne was assumed by ''Negus''
Menelik of Shewa. ''Ras'' Mengesha refused to submit to Menelik and later even flirted with joining the new
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
colony of
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
. He hoped that the Italians would support his rebellion against Emperor Menelik. However, encroachments by the Italians into his native Tigray, their previous enmity to his father Yohannes, and recognition that the ultimate goal of the Italians was to conquer Ethiopia themselves, led Mengesha Yohannes to finally submit to Menelik II. On 2 June 1894, he and his three major lieutenants went to the new capital at
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 ...
. Within the newly constructed reception hall of the Grand Palace, the Emperor awaited them. He was seated on his throne with a large crown on his head. Mengesha Yohannes and his lieutenants each carried a rock of submission on his shoulder. They approached, prostrated themselves, and asked for forgiveness. Menelik simply declared them pardoned.
Following their allegiance with Menelik, they returned to Tigray, where
Bahta Hagos
Bahta Hagos ( Ge'ez: ባህታ ሓጎስ), died December 19, 1894, was Dejazmach of Akkele Guzay, and retrospectively considered an important leader of Eritrean resistance to foreign domination specifically against northern Ethiopian and Italian c ...
initiated the rebellion against the Italians. Mengesha then led his army against the Italians at the
Battle of Coatit
The Battle of Coatit was fought on 13 January 1895 between Italy and Ethiopian proxies led by Tigrayan warlord Ras Mengesha Yohannes in what is now Eritrea. It was the opening battle of the First Italo–Ethiopian War, and was a significant vi ...
, where his force was rebuffed. Another skirmish led by Fitawrari Gebeyehu, the vanguard commander of Menelik forces on the way to Adwa, annihilated the Italians at
Amba Alagi
Imba Alaje is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Imba Alaje dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Emba ...
. The war culminated in 1896, as Mengesha Yohannes and the forces of Tigray fought at the side of Menelik against the Italians at the pivotal
Battle of Adwa
The Battle of Adwa (; ti, ውግእ ዓድዋ; , also spelled ''Adowa'') was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The d ...
.
In 1899, Mengesha Yohannes rebelled again against Menelik when he was denied the title of ''Negus'' of Zion (his descendants would be outraged decades later when ''Ras''
Mikael of Wollo
''Negus'' Mikael of Wollo (born Mohammed Ali, 1850 – 8 September 1922), was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Lij Iyasu, and the grandfather of Empress Menen, w ...
was crowned with this title by
''Lij'' Iyasu). Emperor Menelik had ''Ras'' Mengesha captured and put under
house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
at the old
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 ...
n royal palace at
Ankober
Ankober (), formerly known as Ankobar, is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, it's perched on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands at an elevation of about . It is to the east of Debr ...
.
Biography
Early life
Before 1889, Mengesha Yohannes was considered the Emperor's nephew, but on 9 March 1889 the Emperor on his deathbed, in
Metemma
Metemma (Amharic: መተማ), also known as Metemma Yohannes is a town in northwestern Ethiopia, on the border with Sudan. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Metemma has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 685 ...
, recognized him as his son, from a side-relation with his brother Gugsa's wife. Therefore, some informants still claim that Mengesha Yohannes was strongly attached to Yohannes throughout his life. ''Dejazmach'' Mengesha Yohannes was designated by the Emperor as his heir-to-the-throne, and allegedly crowned still on the battlefield of Metemma, but Mengesha Yohannes was not able to claim the throne. In the aftermath of the disastrous battle of Metemma, the Tigrayan ruling families found themselves embroiled in a power struggle that led to a regional civil war.
This state of anarchy sapped the energy of Mengesha Yohannes's camp to unite the region under his authority. Quickly, instead ''atse''
Menelik II
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"''
, alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.)
Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 A ...
was proclaimed emperor in November 1889.
''Ras'' Mengesha Yohannes, however, had the strong military and political backing of Yohannes's chief military general ''ras''
Alula Engada. Additionally, he had inherited a considerable number of armaments and soldiers that had long bolstered the power of Yohannes IV. However, historians cast doubts on Mengesha Yohanens's basic military prowess and leadership skills to mobilize the available resources and prevail over rivals, in contrast to his predecessor Yohannes. Mengesha Yohannes's strong political ambition once nearly pushed him to ally with the Italians, as demonstrated by the Mereb Convention of 1891.
By 1890, the Italians had taken control of the Mereb Mellash, and aimed at the control of entire Tigray. In the meanwhile, Mengesha Yohannes and his Tigrayan vassals had revolted against ''atse'' Menelik II. Italian attempts to instigate them were, nonetheless, short-lived. The Italians' non-committed stance, coupled with Mengesha Yohannes's hesitant attitude finally convinced him to end his rebellion, even against the opposition of his counsellors and his military supporters, such as ''ras'' Alula.
Rule
In June 1894, Mengesha Yohannes ultimately dropped his claims to the imperial throne and officially submitted to ''atse'' Menelik II, ostensibly in expectation of the title of negus of Tigray. Menelik, in turn, appointed him governor, not negus of Tigray. For a while, Mengesha Yohannes demonstrated his loyalty. The conflict subsequently developing between the Italians and Menelik, gave him the opportunity to prove his indispensability to the central government.
During the first phase, in the years 1894-95, the Italians made a number of incursions into northern Ethiopia. Mengersha Yohannes was then responsible for defending the northern borders. He was beaten in the two battles of Kweatit (1894), Senafe (Eritrea) and Debre Hayle (1895): in early 1896 he even retreated from his stronghold
Mekelle
Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a List of zones of Ethiopia, special zone and capital city, capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta province, Enderta Awrajj ...
, but kept the Italians busy until a united Ethiopian army was gathered to face them.
''Ras'' Mengesha Yohannes played an even more important role in the next phase of the conflict. Together with ''ras'' Alula, he was largely responsible for organizing and running the intelligence of Menelik II. He exploited his local connections, gathered intelligence and rendered a fairly outstanding command of the Tigrayan army. All these inputs had a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the battle of Adwa in 1896, which ended up as a grim loss to the Italians.
Despite Mengesha Yohannes's retention of "Tigray proper", Eritrea remained in the hands of the Italians. His proposal to sustain the war to push the Italians out of Eritrea was played down by the Emperor, who focused on the control of his own realm. Menelik officially rewarded Mengesha Yohannes with 300,000 silver dollars and married him to Kafay Wele Batul of Yejju, ''atege''
Taytu's niece. The marriage was meant to cement further the bonds between the houses of Tigray, Shewa, and Yejju. It was obtained at the cost of divorcing his loving wife. Still, Mengesha Yohannes's long expectations of promotion to negus of Tigray were shattered for the second time.
Mengesha Yohannes's final and desperate rebellion (in concert with ''ras''
Sebhat of
Agame
Agame () was a former province in northern Ethiopia. It includes the northeastern corner of the Ethiopian Empire, borders Akele Guzai in Eritrea, Tembien, Kalatta Awlalo and Enderta in the south, and both the Eritrean and Ethiopian Afar lowla ...
) in 1898 ended with his captivity and confinement at Addis Ababa, starting from 1899, and then in Ankober where he died as a prisoner in 1906.
Mengesha Yohannes's controversial political career, however, left a legacy of Tigrayan identity and autonomy. Indeed, his son ''leul ras''
Seyoum Mengesha
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 ...
and his grandson, ''leul ras''
Mengesha Seyoum
''Le'ul Ras'' Mengesha Seyoum (Amharic: መንገሻ ሥዩም; born 7 December 1927) is a member of the imperial family of the Ethiopian Empire. In 1974, the monarchy was abolished by the Derg, a communist military junta.
Early life and backgr ...
were able to gain the governorship of Tigray, each at different stages of the history of this region (sometimes also partitioned among several governors, relatives of Mengesha Yohannes), until the 1974 Revolution. Mengesha Seyoum played then a role as the leader of an anti-
Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
oppositional party, the
Ethiopian Democratic Union
The Ethiopian Democratic Union or EDU, also known as Teranafit (formerly a separate group based in Shire before it merged with the EDU), was one of the political parties that formed in opposition to the Derg regime of Ethiopia. It merged with th ...
, which dates back to the mid-1970s.
Succession problems
The confusion over ''Ras'' Mengesh's parentage is due to the fact that his mother
Wolete Tekle Haymanot Tomcho (''Woizero'' Tekle) was betrothed to ''Dejazmatch'' Gugsa. On the death of ''Ras'' Arya Sellassie, son and heir of Yohannes, the title of ''Ras'' was conferred on Mengesha and the army of ''Ras''
Araya Sellassie was transferred under his command. It was only on his deathbed, at Metemma, that Yohannes declared to
Etchege Tewoflos and the important dignitaries present that Mengesha was not the son of his brother Gugsa, but his. He thus acknowledged him as his son and declared him as his heir. Immediately after this announcement, close relatives of Yohannes, such as Fitawrari Meshesha, son of Maru, Yohannes's brother, and Dejach Bogale Araya, son of Ras
Araya Dimtsu, maternal uncle of Yohannes, refused to accept Mengesha as the son and heir of Yohannes, claiming that they were equally entitled to succeed the deceased Emperor.
Since Gugsa had the same father and mother as Yohannes, the legitimacy of Mengesha would not have been affected if Yohannes had declared that he had chosen Mengesha, his nephew, as his heir. Mengesha, through his mother, had also additional claim to the Imperial lineage. The only reason for claiming Mengesha as his own son was simply ro reveal the truth, which hitherto was kept secret due to the close association that had existed between Yoahannes's elder brother ''Dejazmatch'' Gugsa and Woizero Tekle, the mother of Mengesha.
Augusus B. Wylde, a correspondent of the British paper,
The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
, who had been in Ethiopia as a member of the
Hewett Mission of 1884 and later, soon after the Battle of Adwa of 1896, contends that Mengesha was indisputably the actual son Yohannes. Bairu Tefla, on the other hand, although he is aware of the various sources, which assert that Mengesha was the natural son of Yohannes, has placed him as the son of Gugsa
on the ground that "Most of the old people agree that Mengesha was the son of Gugsa, the eldest brother of the sovereign."
Familial rivalry and division of Tigray
Even after the submission of Mengesha Yohannes, 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. Yohannes IV was survived by his elder "
legitimate" son ''Ras''
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 ...
and by his younger "natural" son Mengesha. ''Ras'' Araya's son
Gugsa Araya, and Ras Mengesha's son ''Ras''
Seyoum would for a time divide Tigray between them, with ''Ras'' Gugsa Araya ruling the eastern half and ''Ras'' Seyoum the western half.
Eventually Mengesha's son ''Ras'' Seyoum was made ''Leul'' of all Tigray in succession to his father after the death of his cousin ''Ras'' Gugsa Araya and after the treason of Gugsa Araya's son, ''Dejazmatch''
Haile Selassie Gugsa
Haile Selassie Gugsa CBE (1907–1985) was an Ethiopian army commander and member of the Imperial family from Tigray. He is known for betraying his country during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and becoming a fascist collaborator.
Biography ...
. In 1935, Haile Selassie Gugsa joined forces with the Italian invaders when they
conquered Ethiopia and
occupied the country.
''Ras'' Mengesha is regarded as the founder of one of the two senior cadet branches of the
Ethiopian Imperial Solomonic Dynasty.
See also
*
Battle of Gallabat
The Battle of Gallabat (also called the Battle of Metemma) was an armed conflict fought on 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because ''Nəgusä Nägäst'' (or Empero ...
(also known as the
Battle of Metemma
The Battle of Gallabat (also called the Battle of Metemma) was an armed conflict fought on 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because ''Nəgusä Nägäst'' (or Empero ...
)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mengesha Yohannes, Ras
Ethiopian Royal Family
Ethiopian princes
1868 births
1906 deaths
19th-century Ethiopian people
Sons of emperors