| Ruler of Shewa | |
|---|---|
Provincial | |
 Family tree of the Shewan rulers | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | Abeto Negasi Krestos |
| Last monarch | Negus Sahle Mariam |
| Formation | c. 1682 |
| Abolition | 10 March 1889 |
| Residence | Ankober Debre Birhan Qundi (1808–1813) Doqaqit (1745–1805) Ifat |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
This article lists the rulers of Shewa , a historical region of Ethiopia.
According to tradition, the Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974) was descended king Solomon and queen Makeda via the kings of Axum. After Axum was destroyed by Gudit in the 10th century, the royal family fled to Shewa and reigned there for 330 years before the accession of Yekuno Amlak. [1] A line of kings ruled at Shewa during the time of the Zagwe dynasty and claimed descent from Dil Na'od, the last king of Axum. [2] The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia includes eight unnumbered kings described as "8 generations of an Israelitish dynasty" who "did not mount the throne". [3]
| Portrait | Ruler [3] | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahbara Wedem | c. 960 | ||
| Agbea Tseyon | |||
| Tsenfa Arad | |||
| Nagash Zare | |||
| Asfeh | |||
| Yakob | |||
| Bahr Asagad | |||
| Asgud | Additional name found on one regnal list quoted by Egyptologist Henry Salt. [4] | ||
| Edem Asagad | c. 1210–1255 [5] | ||
 | Yekuno Amlak | c. 1255–1270 | Defeated the last Zagwe king and became Emperor of Ethiopia (r. 1270–1285). |
Claiming Solomonic descent, Negasi Krestos established Shewa as an autonomous region of the weakening Ethiopian Empire in the 17th century before requesting the title of Meridazmatch, which would be adopted by his successors, and beginning a southern expansion of his realm that would culminate in his descendant Menelik's Expansions.
| Portrait | Ruler | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negasi Krestos | c. 1682 – c. 1703 | Abeto | |
| Sebestyanos | c. 1703 – c. 1718 | Merid Azmach | |
| Kidane Kale (Abuye) | c. 1718 – c. 1744 | Merid Azmach | |
| Amha Iyasus (Amhayes) | c. 1744 – c. 1775 | Merid Azmach | |
| Asfaw Wossen | c. 1775 – c. 1808 | Merid Azmach | |
| Wossen Seged | c. 1808 – June 1813 | Merid Azmach and Ras | |
 | Sahle Selassie | 12 June 1813 – 22 October 1847 | Merid Azmach, after 1839 Negus |
 | Haile Melekot | 22 October 1847 – 9 November 1855 | Negus |
 | Sahle Mariam | 9 November 1855 – 1856 | First reign as Negus |
| Haile Mikael | 1856 to 1859 | son of Sahle Selassie, appointed Meridazmach by Emperor Tewodros II | |
| Bezabeh | 1859 | First reign, appointed by Emperor Tewodros II | |
| Seyfe | 1859 – 1860 | Son of Sahle Selassie, self-appointed Merid Azmach against Emperor Tewodros II | |
| Bezabeh | 1860 – 1865 | Second reign, restored by Emperor Tewodros II | |
| | Sahle Mariam | August 1865 – 10 March 1889 | Second reign as Negus, became Emperor Menelik II |
Menelik I was the claimed first Emperor of Ethiopia. According to Kebra Nagast, a 14th-century national epic, in the 10th century BC he is said to have inaugurated the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia, so named because Menelik I was the son of the biblical King Solomon of ancient Israel and of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba.
The emperor of Ethiopia, also known as the Atse, was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country. A National Geographic article from 1965 called imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy; in fact [it was] a benevolent autocracy".
Shewa, formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at its center.
The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire from the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. The dynasty was founded by Yekuno Amlak, who overthrew the Zagwe dynasty in 1270. His successors claimed he was descended from the legendary king Menelik I, the supposed son of the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, in order to legitimize the dynasty's assumption of power. Although this claimed ancestry gave the dynasty its name, there is no credible evidence that the dynasty was descended from Solomon or the Davidic line. The Solomonic dynasty remained in power until 1974, when its last emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a coup d'état.
The Zagwe dynasty was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Roha, it ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 900 to 1270 CE, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of the Amhara King Yekuno Amlak. The name of the dynasty is thought to derive from the ancient Ge'ez phrase Ze-Agaw, meaning "of the Agaw", in reference to the Mara Tekle Haymanot, the founder of the dynasty. Zagwe's best-known King was Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who is credited with having constructed the rock-hewn monolithic churches of Lalibela.
Sarsa Dengel, also known as Sarsa the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Malak Sagad I.
Yekuno Amlak ; throne name Tesfa Iyasus was Emperor of Ethiopia, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara who became the Emperor of Ethiopia following the defeat of the last Zagwe king.
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 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 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.
Mara Takla Haymanot was King and the founder of Zagwe dynasty. Some king lists give his name simply as "Mararah", and other King Lists as "Takla Haymanot".
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.
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.
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa; the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Due to migration and imperial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, including Amhara, Oromos, Somalis, Tigray, Afars, Sidama, Gurage, Agaw and Harari, among others. One of the first kingdoms to rise to power in the territory was the kingdom of D'mt in the 10th century BC, which established its capital at Yeha. In the first century AD the Aksumite Kingdom rose to power in the Tigray Region with its capital at Aksum and grew into a major power on the Red Sea, subjugating Yemen and Meroe. In the early fourth century, during the reign of Ezana, Christianity was declared the state religion. Ezana's reign is also when the Aksumites first identified themselves as "Ethiopians", and not long after, Philostorgius became the first foreign author to call the Aksumites Ethiopians. The Aksumite empire fell into decline with the rise of Islam in the Arabian peninsula, which slowly shifted trade away from the Christian Aksum. It eventually became isolated, its economy slumped and Aksum's commercial domination of the region ended. The Aksumites gave way to the Zagwe dynasty, who established a new capital at Lalibela before giving way to the Solomonic dynasty in the 13th century. During the early Solomonic period, Ethiopia went through military reforms and imperial expansion that allowed it to dominate the Horn of Africa. Portuguese missionaries arrived at this time.
Ethiopian historiography includes the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern disciplines of recording the history of Ethiopia, including both native and foreign sources. The roots of Ethiopian historical writing can be traced back to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. These early texts were written in either the Ethiopian Ge'ez script or the Greek alphabet, and included a variety of mediums such as manuscripts and epigraphic inscriptions on monumental stelae and obelisks documenting contemporary events. The writing of history became an established genre in Ethiopian literature during the early Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974). In this period, written histories were usually in the form of royal biographies and dynastic chronicles, supplemented by hagiographic literature and universal histories in the form of annals. Christian mythology became a linchpin of medieval Ethiopian historiography due to works such as the Orthodox Kebra Nagast. This reinforced the genealogical traditions of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty rulers, which asserted that they were descendants of Solomon, the legendary King of Israel.
Sofya (4th-century), was a queen consort and regent of the Kingdom of Axum.
The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia is an official regnal list that was provided by Ethiopian prince regent Tafari Makonnen, with reference to multiple Ethiopian traditions and legends. The regnal list is partially inspired by older lists of kings of Axum and chronicles that detail the reigns of Ethiopian emperors. The 1922 regnal list however includes many additional names that allude to ancient Nubia, which was known as Aethiopia in ancient times.
Ethiopis or Etiyopus is the name of a legendary king from Ethiopian tradition who was supposedly the inspiration behind the name of the country.
Regnal lists of Ethiopia are recorded lists of monarchs who are claimed by tradition to have ruled Ethiopia. These lists are often recorded on manuscripts or orally by monasteries and have been passed down over the centuries.