Wossen Seged (ruled c. 1808 – June 1813) was a '' Merid Azmach'' of

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 ...

, an Amhara noble of

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 ...

He was the elder son of

Asfa Wossen Asfaw Wossen ( am, አስፋ ወሰን, āsfā wossen) is an Ethiopic male given name. Persons named Asfaw Wossen * Asfaw Wossen Amha Iyasus, ruler of Shewa in the later 18th century. *Asfa-Wossen Asserate, author, political consultant, and ari ...

, by a woman of the

Solomonic dynasty The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...

. He was the first ruler of Shewa to claim a higher title than ''Merid Azmach'', calling himself ''

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 ...

''.

History

It is during the reign of Wossen Seged that the chronology of Shewa becomes stable. One mention that helps date the ''Meridazmachs reign is that of Henry Salt, who mentions him as ruling Yifat (the contemporary name of Shewa, and, later, the name of a region in shewa. From " Ifat"), during his visit to Ethiopia in 1809–1810. During Wossen Seged's reign, the following districts were under his rule: * Moret * Gedem *

Marra Biete Marra Biete (Amharic: መራ ቤቴ) is a former province of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, north of Shewa Meda. According to Johann Ludwig Krapf, Marra Biete lay in the northwest p ...

* Bulga * Mugher * Abichu *

Debre Libanos Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...

As Asfa Wossen had sons by a second wife, who came from the aristocracy in

Menz Menz or Manz ( am, መንዝ, romanized: ''Mänz'') is a former subdivision of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region. William Cornwallis Harris described Menz as lying "westward" of Gedem bu ...

, Wossen Seged feared that he would be passed over in favor of his younger half-brother and he rebelled against his father. Failing to attract support, Wossen Seged was defeated and imprisoned; but the aging Asfa Wossen was reconciled to Wossen Seged, and made him not only governor of Antziokia in northern Shewa but his successor. Abir mentions a tradition that during a battle against the

Yejju Oromo 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 ...

he was captured by chief Guji, the grandson of Gwangul, but ransomed by the head of the Shewan church, who had disguised himself as a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

sheikh to enter the territory of Yejju undetected. After he assumed control of Shewa, he joined in an alliance with ''Ras''

Wolde Selassie Wolde Selassie (; c.1736 - 28 May 1816) was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788-1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797-1800. John J. Halls, in his ''Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt'', preserves a description of this power ...

of Tigray to invade the territories of ''Ras''

Gugsa of Yejju Gugsa of Yejju (died 23 May 1825) was a ''Ras'' of Begemder (''circa'' 1798 until his death), and Inderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. According to Nathaniel Pearce, he took the Christian name of Wolde Mikael. He was the son of Mersu B ...

. Wossen Seged began a campaign of church-building, restoring the Church of the Trinity in

Debre Berhan Debre Birhan () is a city in central Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, about 120 kilometers north east of Addis Ababa on Ethiopian highway 2, the town has an elevation of 2,840 meters, which makes it the highest to ...

, and Church of the Virgin in

, as well as building a new church in

Sela Dingay Sela Dingay is a town in central Ethiopia. In Amharic the name means the sharpened stone, named for a rock which rolled over the edge of the southern rim of the gorge of the Mofar River, and killed a group of people sitting on it. Located in the ...

. Despite these works, the local

Ethiopian church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

were dissatisfied with him due to his policy of religious toleration towards his Muslim subjects.

Death

Henze believes they were behind his murder at the hand of one of his slaves in his palace at Qundi, north of

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 ...

. According to Pearce, the slave had set on fire the thatched house Wossen Seged and his wife was sleeping in. Although the ''Meridazmach'' managed to escape the burning house, as well as saving the life of his queen, the slave then fatally stabbed Wossen Seged in the ribs. Wossen Seged survived the attack for a few days, naming his son

Sahle Selassie Sahle Selassie (Amharic: ሣህለ ሥላሴ, 1795 – 22 October 1847) was a ruler and later King of Shewa from 1813 to 1847. An important Amhara noble of Ethiopia, he was a younger son of Wossen Seged. Sahle Selassie was the father of numerou ...

as his successor.Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 p. 131f

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wossen Seged 1813 deaths Rulers of Shewa 19th-century Ethiopian people Year of birth uncertain