Kidane Kale (reigned c. 1718 - c. 1744; literal meaning: "Beginning, Word"), better known as Abuye or 'Abbiye, [1] was a Meridazmach of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the son of Sebestyanos. [2] Abir states that he ruled for 25 years, although noting that William Cornwallis Harris claims he ruled for 15 years, Coulbeaux for 25 (from 1725 to 1750), and Rochet d'Hericourt for 60. [3] His wife was Woizero Tagunestiya, daughter of Mama Rufa'el, Governor of Mamameder.
Abuye succeeded on the death of his father, and made his capital at Har Amba. Sebestyanos had died "by a curious accident", according to Levine. Abuye had been rebuilding some of the churches destroyed by Ahmad Gragn, one of which was in Doqaqit dedicated to St. Michael. Part of the ceremony required the tabot in the church in 'Ayne, where his father was living, and it was secretly removed to Doqaqit. Sebestyanos saw this as an act of rebellion, and set forth to capture and discipline his son; however, in the ensuing battle one of Qedami Qal's servants accidentally killed the Meridazmach. [1]
Because his father Sebestyanos refused to give homage to the Emperor of Ethiopia, shortly after Abuye came to power he was confronted with an attack by the army of Emperor Iyasus II. Although Abuye survived this threat unharmed, sources differ on the details. Abir reports one version, that intermediaries arranged an agreement where in exchange for tribute Abuye was officially invested with the title of Meridazmach; [4] Marcus elaborates on this version, adding that Emperor Iyasu was more concerned about suppressing the Wollo Oromo "closer to his center of power. [2] Levine notes that a second version claims that Abuye met the Imperial army and defeated it. [1]
Abuye continued the military consolidation of the Christian principalities around him, and battling the Oromo invaders. According to Johann Ludwig Krapf, Abuye defeated the ruler of Menz, Gole, and annexed that district to Shewa. [5] He died fighting the Karayu Oromo south of Yifat, and was buried in his capital Doqaqit. [4]
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. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was largely completed by 1898.
Lij Iyasu was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob. Ethiopian emperors traditionally chose their regnal name on the day they were crowned, and since he was never crowned, he is usually referred to as Lij Iyasu, "Lij" meaning child, especially one born of royal blood.
Zewditu was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 until her death in 1930. The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first and only 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. She is the most recent empress regnant, as well as the last female Ethiopian head of state until the 2018 election of Sahle-Work Zewde as president.
Yohannes IV was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large-scale Egyptian invasion.
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 2,465 meters (8,100 ft). It is 40 kilometers (25 mi) to the east of Debre Birhan and about 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Addis Ababa.
Amba Mariam is a village in central Ethiopia. Formerly known as Magdala or Magdalena during the reign of Emperor Tewodros II (1855-1868). Located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, Amba Mariam has a longitude and latitude of 11°12′N39°17′E.
Sarsa Dengel, also known as Sarsa the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was throne name Malak Sagad I .
Johann Ludwig Krapf was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya with the help of Akamba who dwelled at its slopes and Kilimanjaro. Ludwig Krapf visited Ukambani, the homeland of the Kamba people, in 1849 and again in 1850. He successfully translated the New Testament to the Kamba language. Krapf also played a key role in exploring the East African coastline, especially in Mombasa.
Hailemelekot Sahle Selassie was Negus of Shewa, a historical region of Ethiopia, from 12 October 1847 until his death. He was the oldest son of Negus Sahle Selassie an important Amhara noblemen and his wife Woizero Bezabish Wolde.
The Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea was one of the kingdoms in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 19th century. It shared its eastern border with the Kingdom of Jimma, its southern border with the Kingdom of Gomma and its western border with the Kingdom of Gumma. Beyond its northern border lay tribes of the Macha Oromo. Jimma was considered the most civilized of the Gibe kingdoms, which had a population in the 1880s between 10,000 and 12,000. It was converted to Islam by missionaries from Emirate of Harar in the first half of the 19th century; C.T. Beke, writing in 1841, reported that its "king and most of his subjects are Mohammedan." Limmu-Ennarea's capital was at Saqqa.
Nagasi Krestos was the ruling prince of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. Nagasi succeeded to unite fragmented Amhara districts in Shewa, and launched several wars of reconquest of Shewan territories against his Oromo enemies.
Sebestyanos was a ruler of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was one of the sons of Negasi Krestos. Abir states that he ruled for 15 years, although noting that William Cornwallis claims states that he ruled for 25 years, and Rochet d'Hericourt 33.
Amha Iyasus Kidane Kale, better known as Ammehayes, was a Meridazmach of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the son of Kidane Kale, and a sister of Goshu of Amhara.
Asfa Wossen was a ruler of Shewa of the Ethiopian Empire from about 1770 to 1808, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the son of Amha Iyasus; Mordechai Abir notes that he was one of Amha Iyasus' 48 offspring.
Wossen Seged was a Merid Azmach of Shewa, an Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the elder son of Asfa Wossen, by a woman of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the first ruler of Shewa to claim a higher title than Merid Azmach, calling himself Ras.
Sahle Selassie was the 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 numerous sons, among them Haile Melekot, Haile Mikael, Seyfe Sahle Selassie, Amarkegne and Darge Sahle Selassie; his daughters included Tenagnework, Ayahilush, Wossenyelesh, Birkinesh, and Tinfelesh. He was the great-grandfather of Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia
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 Oromo elite noblemen who replaced Habesha nobility in their courts, making the emperor 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.
Beta Abraham —other terms by which the community have been known include Tebiban, Balla Ejj, Buda and Kayla ,—is a community regarded by some as a crypto-Jewish offshoot of the Beta Israel community. The size of the community is estimated to be somewhere upwards of 150,000 in number.
NegusMikael of Wollo, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Lij Iyasu, and the grandfather of Empress Menen, wife of Emperor Haile Selassie. He changed his name to Mikael upon converting to Christianity.
Bulga is a former historical region of Ethiopia in the central part of Shewa. It was bounded by the Germama river to the south, which formed the historical boundary between it and Minjar in the south. It presently encompasses the modern woredas of Hagere Mariamna Kesem, Asagirt, and Berehet.