Menelik II
Menelik II, baptised as Sahle Maryam, was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest historical extent and defeated Italian colonial forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern Ethiopian state.
A member of the Shewan branch of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik was born in Angolalla, Shewa, as Sahle Maryam, the son of Haile Melekot. Named "Menelik" by his grandfather King Sahle Selassie after the legendary Menelik I, he was imprisoned at age 11 by Emperor Tewodros II at the fortress of Magdala following his father's death in 1855. He escaped in 1865 amid Tewodros's declining power, returned to Shewa, and was acclaimed as its rightful king. Though harboring imperial ambitions, he avoided challenging northern rivals during the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868 and submitted to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878 after failed collaboration with the Egyptians during their invasion.
As quasi-independent ruler of Shewa from 1878 to 1889, Menelik built his power base through direct European diplomacy, securing modern weapons and expertise from advisors like Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg. He conquered southern territories inhabited by Oromo, Wolayta, and Kaffa peoples, exploiting ivory, coffee, gold, and slave trade revenues to fund arms, while establishing fortified katama settlements and the neftenya land system. The strategic conquest of Harar in 1887 made it Shewa's trade hub under Ras Makonnen. Following Yohannes's death at the Battle of Metemma in 1889, Menelik was crowned emperor at Mount Entoto on 3 November 1889.
Menelik signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy in 1889; the Italian version implied a protectorate, while the Amharic allowed optional use of Italian diplomacy—a deliberate deceit he repudiated by 1891. The treaty also stated in both languages that Ethiopia was to cede Mereb Melash and with it all access to the Red Sea. Mobilising a unified army of over 100,000, he crushed Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896, securing Ethiopia's independence and full European recognition. He defined borders through treaties with Britain, France, and Italy, initiated the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, and centralized governance with ministries, schools, and a state bank. After strokes from 1906 left him incapacitated by 1909, Empress Taytu Betul and later Ras Tessema Nadew served as regents. He died in 1913 and was succeeded by grandson Lij Iyasu, followed by daughter Zewditu and Ras Tafari Makonnen.
Menelik was a controversial figure for much of his reign. Although praised internationally as a symbol of African resistance to colonialism and credited with being the architect of modern Ethiopia, critics among incorporated ethnic groups accused him of forced assimilation, land expropriation, and cultural suppression that contributed to later ethnic tensions.
Early life
Menelik was the son of the Shewan Amhara king, Negus Haile Melekot, and probably of the palace servant girl Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo. He was born in Angolalla and baptized to the name Sahle Maryam. His father, at the age of 18 before inheriting the throne, impregnated Ejigayehu, then left her; and did not realize that Menelik was born. The boy enjoyed a respected position in the royal household and he received a traditional church education.In 1855 the Emperor of Ethiopia, Tewodros II, invaded the then semi-independent kingdom of Shewa. Early in the subsequent campaigns, Haile Malakot died, and Menelik was captured and taken to the emperor's mountain stronghold, Amba Magdela. Still, Tewodros treated the young prince well, even offering him marriage to his daughter Altash Tewodros, which Menelik accepted.
Upon Menelik's imprisonment, his uncle, Haile Mikael, was appointed as Shum of Shewa by Emperor Tewodros with the title of Meridazmach. However, Meridazmach Haile Mikael rebelled against Tewodros, resulting in him being replaced by the non-royal Ato Bezabeh as Shum. Ato Bezabeh in turn rebelled against the emperor and proclaimed himself Negus of Shewa. Although the Shewan royals imprisoned at Magdela had been largely complacent as long as a member of their family ruled over Shewa, this usurpation by a commoner was not acceptable to them. They plotted Menelik's escape from Magdela; with the help of Mohammed Ali and Queen Worqitu of Wollo, he escaped from Magdala on the night of 1 July 1865, abandoning his wife, and returned to Shewa. Enraged, Emperor Tewodros slaughtered 29 Oromo hostages and then had 12 Amhara notables beaten to death with bamboo rods.
King of Shewa
Bezabeh's attempt to raise an army against Menelik failed; thousands of Shewans rallied to the flag of the son of Negus Haile Melekot and even Bezabeh's own soldiers deserted him for the returning prince. Menelik entered Ankober and proclaimed himself Negus.While Menelik reclaimed his ancestral Shewan crown, he also laid claim to the imperial throne, as a direct descendant male line of Emperor Lebna Dengel. However, he made no overt attempt to assert this claim at this time; Author Harold Marcus interprets his lack of decisive action not only to Menelik's lack of confidence and experience but that "he was emotionally incapable of helping to destroy the man who had treated him as a son." Not wishing to take part in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, he allowed his rival Kassai to benefit from gifts of modern weapons and supplies from the British. When Tewodros died by suicide, Menelik arranged for an official celebration of his death even though he was personally saddened by the loss. When a British diplomat asked him why he did this, he replied "to satisfy the passions of the people... as for me, I should have gone into a forest to weep over... untimely death... I have now lost the one who educated me, and toward whom I had always cherished filial and sincere affection."
Afterward other challenges – a revolt amongst the Wollo to the north, the intrigues of his second wife [|Befana] to replace him with her choice of ruler, military failures against the Arsi Oromo to the southeast – kept Menelik from directly confronting Kassai until after his rival had brought an Abuna from Egypt who crowned him Emperor Yohannes IV.
Menelik was cunning and strategic in building his power base. He organised extravagant three-day feasts for locals to win their favour, liberally built friendships with Muslims, and struck alliances with the French and Italians who could provide firearms and political leverage against the emperor. In 1876, an Italian expedition set out to Ethiopia led by Marchese Orazio Antinori who described Menelik as "very friendly, and a fanatic for weapons, about whose mechanism he appears to be most intelligent". Another Italian wrote about Menelik, "he had the curiosity of a boy; the least thing made an impression upon him... He showed... great intelligence and great mechanical ability". Menelik spoke with great economy and rapidity. He never became upset, Chiarini adds, "listening calmly, judiciously with good sense... He is fatalistic and a good soldier, he loves weapons above all else". The visitors also confirmed that he was popular with his subjects, and made himself available to them. Menelik had political and military acumen and made key engagements that would later prove essential as he expanded his empire.
Succession
On 10 March 1889, Emperor Yohannes IV was killed in a war with the Mahdist State during the Battle of Gallabat. With his dying breath, Yohannes declared his natural son, Dejazemach Mengesha Yohannes, to be his heir. On 25 March, upon hearing of the death of Yohannes, Menelik immediately proclaimed himself emperor.Menelik argued that while the family of Yohannes claimed descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba through females of the dynasty, his claim was based on uninterrupted direct male lineage which made the claims of the House of Shewa equal to those of the elder Gondar line of the dynasty. Menelik, and later his daughter Zewditu, would be the last Ethiopian monarchs who could claim uninterrupted direct male descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
In the end, Menelik was able to obtain the allegiance of a large majority of the Ethiopian nobility. On 3 November 1889, Menelik was consecrated and crowned emperor before a glittering crowd of dignitaries and clergy by Abuna Mattewos, Bishop of Shewa, at the Church of Mary on Mount Entoto. The newly consecrated and crowned Emperor Menelik II quickly toured the north in force. He received the submission of the local officials in Lasta, Yejju, Gojjam, Wollo, and Begemder.
Conquest of neighboring states and the defeat of the Italians
Conquests
Menelik is argued to be the founder of modern Ethiopia. Before Menelik's colonial conquests, Ethiopia and the Adal Sultanate had been devastated by numerous wars, the most recent of which was fought in the 16th century. In the intervening period, military tactics had not changed much. In the 16th century, the Portuguese Bermudes documented depopulation and widespread atrocities against civilians and combatants during several successive Gadaa conquests led by Aba Gedas of territories located north of Genale river. Warfare in the region essentially involved acquiring cattle and slaves, winning additional territories, gaining control over trade routes, carrying out ritual requirements, or securing trophies to prove masculinity.Menelik's clemency to Ras Mengesha Yohannes, whom he made hereditary prince of his native Tigray, was ill-repaid by a long series of revolts. In 1898, Menelik crushed a rebellion by Ras Mengesha Yohannes. After this, Menelik directed his efforts to the consolidation of his authority, and to a degree, to the opening up of his country to outside influences. The League of Nations in 1920 reported that after the invasion of Menelik's forces into non-Abyssinian lands of Somalis, Harari, Oromo, Sidama, Shanqella, etc., the inhabitants were enslaved and heavily taxed by the Gabbar system leading to depopulation.
Menelik brought together many of the northern territories through political consensus. The exception was Gojjam, which offered tribute to the Shewan Kingdom following its defeat at the Battle of Embabo. Most of the western and central territories like Jimma, Welega Province and Chebo surrendered to Menelik's invading forces with no resistance. Native armed soldiers of Ras Gobana Dacche, Ras Mikael Ali, Habtegyorgis Dinegde, Balcha Aba Nefso were allied to Menelik's Shewan army which campaigned to the south to incorporate more territories.
Beginning in the 1870s, Menelik set off from the central province of Shewa to reunify 'the lands and people of the South, East, and West into an empire. This period of expansions has been referred to by some as the 'Agar Maqnat' - roughly translating to some type of 'Cultivation' of land. The people incorporated by Menelik through conquest were the southerners – Oromo, Sidama, Gurage, Wolayta and other groups. Historian Raymond Jonas describes the conquest of the Emirate of Harar by Menelik as "brutal".
In territories incorporated peacefully like Jimma, Leka, and Wolega the former order was preserved and there was no interference in their self-government; in areas incorporated after war, the appointed new rulers did not violate the peoples' religious beliefs and they treated them lawfully and justly. However, in the territories incorporated by military conquest, Menelik's army carried out atrocities against civilians and combatants including torture, mass killings, and large scale slavery. Large scale atrocities were also committed against the Dizi people and the people of the Kaficho Kingdom. Some estimates that the number of people killed as a result of the conquest from war, famine and atrocities go into the millions. Based on convergent subjugation approaches, cooperation between Menelik and Belgian king Leopold II were attempted more than once.