Wondosson Kassa, also known as Wond Wossen Kassa (1903 – 19 December 1936), was a member of the royalty 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 ...

, an army commander, and a patriot.

Biography

''Leul'' Wondosson Kassa was the eldest son of ''Ras''

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 ...

. ''Ras'' Kassa 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 ...

. On 31 March 1930, during the

Battle of Anchem The Battle of Anchem (also Battle of Anchiem or Battle of Anchim) was a battle fought between two factions of the Royal family in the Ethiopian Empire (''Mangista Iteeyop'p'ya''). The battle was fought to determine who would rule the empire, E ...

, Wondosson Kassa made a name for himself fighting against and defeating ''Ras''

Gugsa Welle Gugsa Welle (1875 – 31 March 1930), also known as Gugsa Wale, Gugsa Wolie and Gugsa Wele (cited as Ras Gugsà Oliè in Italian books and encyclopedias), was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. He represen ...

. He fought for his father and the Imperial Army and was on the side of ''Negus'' Tafari Makonnen. After ''Ras'' Gugsa Welle was killed, ''Negus'' Tafari gave ''Ras'' Kassa all of the lands controlled by Gugsa Welle. As a result, Wondosson Kassa was made ''Shum'' of

Begemder Province 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 " ...

. 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 ...

, Wondosson Kassa again fought for his father on what was known as the "northern front." 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 of ''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. Wondosson joined his father and the Emperor and was at the

Battle of Maychew The Battle of Maychew ( it, Mai Ceu) was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making front ...

. 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 Secon ...

, Wondosson 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 younger brothers,

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 ...

and

Asfawossen Kassa Asfawossen Kassa (1913 – 21 December 1936) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. Biography Prince ('' Leul'') Asfawossen Kassa was the third son of Duke (''Ras'') Kassa Haile Darge. Kassa Haile Darge ...

. After the failure of that attack, he fled to avoid capture. However, on 19 December 1936, Wondosson Kassa was captured by the

Wollo Oromo Wollo ( Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed part of the present day Amhara, Afar, and Tigray regions. During the Middle Ages this region was known as Bete Amhara and had Amhara kings. Bete Amhara had ...

in a cave near the source of the

Tekezé River The Tekezé or Täkkäze River ( amh, ተከዜ, ti, ተከዘ; originally meaning "river" in Ge’ez, ), also spelled Takkaze, is a major river of Ethiopia. For part of its course it forms a section of the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Erit ...

. His place of capture was close to the Plains of Anchem where he had defeated Gugsa Welle in 1930. Some of the Oromo who captured him are said to have been among the Oromo who arrived late for the Battle of Anchem. Wondosson Kassa was executed by the Italians as a

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...

.Mockler, ''Haile Sellassie's War'', p. 155

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* Ethiopian nobility Ethiopian Royal Family Ethiopian princes Ethiopian military personnel Executed Ethiopian people Executed military personnel 1903 births 1936 deaths {{Ethiopia-royal-stub

Biography

See also

Notes

References