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Menelik II GCB, GCMG was an Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913 and King of Shewa (1866–89). At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was completed by 1898.
RasMekonnen Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot, or simply Ras Makonnen, was a Shewan royal from Menz, grandson of the Shewan king Sahle Selassie of Shoa, a military leader, the governor of Harar province in Ethiopia, and the father of Tafari Mäkonnen. His father was Fitawrari Makonnen was a grandson of Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa through his mother, Leult Tenagnework Sahle Selassie. As such, he was a first cousin of the Ethiopian Emperor, Menelik II.
Zewditu was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire, her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir Ras Tafari Makonnen, about which she was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion. As of 2020 she is the most recent empress regnant in history.
Yohannes IV, born Lij Kaśa Mercha and contemporaneously also known in English as Johannes or John IV, was ruler of Tigray from 1867 to 1871, and Emperor of Ethiopia, King of Zion, and King of Kings from 1872 to 1889. He is remembered as one of the leading architects of the modern state of Ethiopia.
Tekle Giyorgis II (Ge'ez: ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ, "Plant of Saint George" born Wagshum Gobeze ዋግሹም ጎበዜ lit. Elect of Wag, "my courageous one"; died circa 1873, was Nəgusä Nägäst of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871.
Aligaz of Yejju was a 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.
Ali II of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase (Regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Alula of Yejju and Menen Liben Amede and nephew of Gugsa of Yejju.
Wolde Selassie was Regent of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the son of Dejazmach Kefla Iyasus, governor of Enderta province, and his wives included Mentewab, the sister of Emperor Egwale Seyon; and Sahin, the daughter of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I. His brothers included Dejazmach Bilaten-Geta Mennase and Dejazmach Debbab, the great grand father of Emperor Yohannes IV.
The Battle of Debre Tabor was a conflict during the Zemene Mesafint in 1842 initiated by Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam to overthrow Ras Ali II as Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia and gain control of Ethiopia. This confused battle was won by Ras Ali, but at a steep price, and this victory failed to cement his position as the most powerful nobleman of his time.
RasMengesha Yohannes was governor of Tigray and a son of atse Yohannes IV. His mother was Welette Tekle Haymanot wife of dejazmach Gugsa Mercha. Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes was his older half brother. Prior to the Battle of Metemma, 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" son and designated as his heir. This created something of a succession problem.
The Zemene Mesafint was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the country was de facto divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority. It was a period in which the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.
Gugsa Welle, also known as Gugsa Wale, Gugsa Wolie and Gugsa Wele, was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite which was often at odds with the Ethiopian central government.
Ras Gobena Dache was an ethnic Oromo member of the Shewan aristocrats of central Ethiopia in the mid-19th century. He is known for coordinating his Shewa Oromo? army with the central army of Menelik II, who later became Ethiopian Emperor, to incorporate more lands into the Ethiopian Empire in the late 19th century.
Enderta or Inderta is a former historical province of Ethiopia; it is located in the eastern edge of the Tigray highlands. Enderta is bordered on the west by Tembien, on the south and south west by Lasta and Wag, on the east by denkel, and on the north by Agame and Adwa. Enderta's local administration of Denkel/Afar up to the edges of Aseb under its jurisdiction seems to have been highly, interlinked with the operation of the salt trade and its taxation system; the entire tasks of salt caravan organization being the responsibility of the bäalgada, title assumed by the governor of Endärta, since at least the Medieval period (c.1270-1527)
Gugsa Araya Selassie was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was King of Gojjam, a member of the Solomonic dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire. He later was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.
RasAraya Selassie Yohannes (Tigrinya: አርአያ ሥሳሴ ዮሐንስ, araya śəllase yohannəs; "horse name" Abba Deblaq; was a son of atse Yohannes IV from his wife Masitire Selassie, a daughter of a Muslim Afar chieftain whom he married after she was Christened. Araya was nominated Crown Prince.
Ras Alula Engida was an Ethiopian general and politician from Tigray. He was one of the important leaders of the Ethiopian Empire's forces during the 19th century. Described by Haggai Erlich as the greatest leader whom Abyssinia produced since the death of Emperor Tewodros II in 1868, Ras Alula was referred to by Europeans as "the Garibaldi of Abyssinia". He led many battles for the independence of Ethiopia, including Dogali and Adwa. In service of the Emperor Yohannes IV, Ras Allula successfully defeated the Egyptians in Gundet 1875, Gura 1876, Aylet 1887, Senhit 1880, against the mahdists of Sudan, Kufit 1885, Metema 1889 against Italians, Sahati 1887, Dogali 1887, Amba-Alaje 1889, Mekelle 1896 and Adwa 1896. When Yohannes returned from his unsuccessful campaign in Saati, he invaded and ravaged Gojjam for King Tekle Haymanot Tessema's rebellious intentions.
Ayalew Birru, or Ayyalaw Birru, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and a cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
DejazmachBirru Aligaz was a warlord of 19th century Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint. As Dejazmach, he held the governorships of different districts such as Lasta and Dembiya and was made governor of Dawint, Wollo in 1842 by Ras Ali II of Yejju. He was the son of Ras Aligaz Abba Seru Gwangul, and had a son called Dejazmach Zegeye.