Ali I of Yejju

Last updated

Ali I of Yejju (died 18 June 1788) was Ras of Begemder, and following the death of Ras Mikael Sehul, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul, chieftain of the Yejju, and Woizero Gelebu Faris, daughter of Ras Faris of Lasta.

According to Abir, he founded the town of Debre Tabor, which became the capital of his dynasty. [1] However, from the accounts in the Royal chronicle Ali is never mentioned as dwelling at Debre Tabor, instead he is more closely tied to Filakit Gereger (called Garagara in the Royal chronicle). [2]

Life

One of the first steps in the advancement of Ali's career came in August 1781 when the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I summoned him to his court and made him Balambaras . [3] Two years later, while still a Balambaras he took part in the Emperor's abortive march on Shewa, which failed to cross the Checheho River. [4] Ten months later, Ali joined Ras Haile Yosadiq and together conspired to depose the emperor, defeating him at Afarwanat, after which Tekle Giyorgis fled into exile at Amba Sel. Subsequently, the two nobles brought Iyasu Atsequ down from Wehni and made him Emperor 18 February 1784; in return, Ali was promoted to Dejazmach . [5]

Ali took several steps to consolidate his position and prepare his way to the next rank of power, Ras Betowedded. One was to offer his niece Anqualit to the influential Dejazmach Hailu Eshte of Begemder. This alliance led to conflict between Ali and his former ally Ras Haile Yosadiq, and to Ali's decision to recall the Emperor Tekle Haymanot from exile in 1786 and restore him to power; in response, Ras Haile Yosadiq prudently provided a refuge to the deposed Emperor Iyasu in Gojjam. [6] Another step was the systematic capture of the ambas of Balambaras Ramkha, which ended with the Balambaras' death in the sack of his base at Limon. [7] Shortly after this, Ali was released from the excommunication that had been placed on him, and kept the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. [8] A third step, which was not unique to Ali but taken by many of the warlords of the time, was to dissolve or reorganize the existing military units and create new ones, and granting them lands to support the soldiers. This would make the soldiers dependent on the warlord for their livings, not the Emperor. [9]

Eventually Ras Haile Yosaq was able to recruit Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul to join him, and when it appeared Ali (who had managed by that time to obtain a promotion to Ras) was preoccupied with the rebellion of his relative Yasufe in Lasta, proclaimed Baeda Maryam emperor. [10] A peace was quickly patched up with Yasufe, and Ras Ali then turned his attention to this new threat. [11] On the Thursday before Easter 1788, Ras Ali, Dejazmach Hailu Eshte, and the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I met the allied forces of Ras Haile Yosadiq, Dejazmach Gebre, and Wolde Gabriel in the Battle of Madab. Ras Ali defeated this opponents; Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel was killed in battle and the pretender Baeda Maryam was captured. Only Ras Haile Yosadiq managed to escape the battle back to his territories in Gojjam. [12]

Ras Ali died from an illness at Filakit Gereger, which the writer of the Royal chronicle claims was caused by his heavy drinking, and was buried at Lalibela. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mordechai Abir, Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes; The Challenge of Islam and the Re-unification of the Christian Empire (1769–1855), (London: Longmans, 1968), p. 30
  2. ↑ Herbert Weld Blundell, The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769–1840 (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), pp. 357–374, passim
  3. ↑ Balambaras originally meant "Gentleman of the Wardrobe", but by this point had become the title of the commissioned officer of a battalion or regimental-sized unit.
  4. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 269, 292
  5. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 341f
  6. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 349, 357, 359
  7. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 361f
  8. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, p. 365
  9. ↑ As explained by Shiferaw Bekele, "Reflections on the Power Elite of the Wärä Seh Mäsfenate (1786–1853)", Annales d'Éthiopie, 15 (1990), pp. 172f
  10. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 371ff, 384
  11. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, p. 382
  12. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 387–390
  13. ↑ Weld Blundell, Royal chronicle, pp. 391f
Preceded by Chief of the Yejju Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tekle Giyorgis II</span> Emperor of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871

Tekle Giyorgis II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871. After being crowned, he linked himself to the last independent emperors of the Gondar line through his mother and sought support from the Ethiopian Church to strengthen his right to rule. He was wounded when fighting during the 1871 Battle of Adwa, leading to the demoralization of his troops and capture of his generals which would later lead to the unification policy and effective rule of Yohannes IV.

Tekle Haymanot II, throne name: Admas Sagad III was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 October 1769 to 13 April 1777, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes II by Woizero Sancheviyar, at the Imperial prison of Mount Wehni.

Susenyos II was Emperor of Ethiopia from August 1770 to December 1770. His name at birth was Wolde Giyorgis; he was the son of a noble woman who had lost her fortune and made her living by carrying jars of water, while it was rumored that he was the illegitimate son of the deceased ruler Iyasu II. The Scottish traveller James Bruce, who was living in the capital city of Gondar at the time, described him as "a drunkard, a ruffian, and a profligate".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tekle Giyorgis I</span> Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1779 and 1800

Tekle Giyorgis I, throne name Feqr Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of Yohannes II and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of Tekle Haymanot II.

Salomon II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 13 April 1777 to 20 July 1779. He was the son of Abeto Adigo. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810.

Iyasu III was Emperor of Ethiopia from 16 February 1784 to 24 April 1788, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Abeto Azequ, and the grandson of Iyasu II.

AtseBaeda Maryam was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia in Tigray and Gojjam by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul, who was opposed to Ras Ali of Begemder.

Hezqeyas was Emperor of Ethiopia from 26 July 1789 to January 1794, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu III.

Baeda Maryam II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 15 April to December 1795. He may have been the son of Salomon II. Although E. A. Wallis Budge, in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, notes some authorities believe Baeda Maryam was the same person as Salomon III, Nathaniel Pearce, who met the former Emperor when he visited Ras Wolde Selassie 20 January 1813, states that he had been Emperor only once, for nine months.

Salomon III was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1796 and 1797, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Haymanot II. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810. E. A. Wallis Budge notes some authorities believe he was the same person as Baeda Maryam II.

Demetros was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1799 and 1801, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Arqedewos. He may be the same person as the "Adimo" mentioned in the account of the traveler Henry Salt who was dead by the time of Salt's visit to northern Ethiopia in 1809/1810.

Yonas was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 August 1797 to 4 January 1798, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Letezum, and the grandson of the Emperor Fasilides.

Egwale Seyon, throne name Newaya Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia from June 1801 to 12 June 1818, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Hezqeyas.

Yimam of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Gugsa of Yejju.

Aligaz of Yejju was Ras of Begemder, and Inderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul and brother of Ali I of Yejju; he became both Ras and Inderase following Ali's death. Aligaz had four sons: Dejazmach Birru, Dejazmach Gobeze, Dejazmach Faris, and Dejazmach Gojjee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentewab</span> Empress consort of Ethiopia from 1723 to 1730

Mentewab was Empress of Ethiopia, consort of Emperor Bakaffa, mother of Iyasu II and grandmother of Iyoas I. She was also known officially by her baptismal name of Walatta Giyorgis. Mentewab was a major political figure during the reigns of her son the Emperor Iyasu and grandson Iyoas. Empress Mentewab was also known by the honorific of Berhan Mogassa. This was to complement the honorific of her son Iyasu II, who was Berhan Seged.

Wolde Selassie was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788 and 1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797 and 1800. John J. Halls, in his Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt, preserves a description of this powerful warlord, as "small in stature, and delicately formed, quick in his manner, with a shrewd expression, and considerable dignity in his deportment." Nathaniel Pearce also notes that Ras Wolde was an avid chess player, and "would play at from morning till night".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zemene Mesafint</span> 1769–1855 period of Ethiopian history

The Zemene Mesafint was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the country was ruled by a class of regional noblemen and the emperor was merely a figurehead. For the most part, the regional lords were tightly related by marriage and constituted a stable ruling elite that prevailed until the mid 20th century. In short, during the Zemene Mesafint, the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.

Haile Maryam Gebre of Semien, Horse name: Abba Dammana was an early 19th century governor of Semien, Welkait and Wogera. Haile Maryam tried to hold his hereditary possessions in the face of continuous pressure from rival lords during Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint era. He is remembered as the guardian of Waldeba monastery.

Gebre Tasfa better known as Gebre of Semien was the governor of Semien, Tsegede, Welkait and Wogera during the late 18th and early 19th century in Ethiopia. He held the title of Ras, and had an unusually long reign spanning 44 years during the tumultuous Zemene Mesafint when lords of each province and district continuously fought each other for supremacy. Ras Gebre was the primary backer of his son-in-law Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I claims to the throne.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.