Princess Romanework

Last updated
Princess Romanework
Died14 October 1940[ citation needed ]
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Burial
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
SpouseMajor-General Dejazmatch Beyene Merid
Issue Lij Getachew Beyene
Dejazmatch Merid Beyene
Dejazmatch Samson Beyene
Lij Gideon Beyene
Dynasty House of Solomon (Shewan Branch)
Father Haile Selassie
MotherWoizero Woinetu Amede / "Altayech" (possibly both of these refer to the same individual)
Religion Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Princess Romanework Haile Selassie, sometimes spelt as Romane Work Haile Selassie (died in Turin on 14 October 1940), was the eldest child of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia by his first wife, Woizero Altayech. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

The English translation of the emperor's autobiography makes no mention of Princess Romanework, or the Emperor's previous marriage, although he writes in the original Amharic version his grief at learning of the death of his eldest daughter in captivity at Turin just days after his restoration to his throne following the defeat of the Italian fascist occupation. The name of Princess Romanework's mother mentioned by Mockler- "Woizero Altayech"- [3] may be a nickname Princess Romanework's mother used, as the contemporary source, Blata Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos (a prominent nobleman and important figure in both the Imperial court and within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church), mentions Princess Romanework's mother Woizero Woinetu Amede as attending the wedding of her daughter to Dejazmatch Beyene Merid in his book about the years before the Italian occupation.[ citation needed ]

The Princess married Major-General Dejazmach Beyene Merid, governor of Bale, and they had four sons, two of whom Dejazmach Merid Beyene and Dejazmach Samson Beyene, survived to adulthood.[ citation needed ]

Princess Romanework was captured by the Italians and interned with many other noble Ethiopians on the prison island of Asinara, off the coast of Sardinia [4] as one of the Ethiopian POWs during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. However, her husband Beyene Merid remained at liberty and was a leader of the resistance against the Italian occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 until he too was captured, to be executed in 1937. Falling ill, Romanework was moved to the Ospedale Maggiore in Turin, where she died on 14 October 1940, [4] probably of tuberculosis.[ citation needed ]

After the end of the Second World War, the Italians were asked to return Princess Romanework's body, and those of her two younger sons to Ethiopia, where they would be interred in the Imperial family's crypt in the Holy Trinity Cathedral at Addis Ababa. However this was never actually carried out and the Princess remains buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Turin with her son Getachew. Her surviving sons were raised by her father the Emperor Haile Selassie, and her line is currently represented by her grandson Sebastyanos Beyene, who lives in Abingdon, England.[ citation needed ]

Patronages

Honours

Ancestry

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lij Iyasu</span> Uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916

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.

The Battle of Maychew was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making frontal assaults against prepared Italian defensive positions under the command of Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The battle was fought near Maychew, Ethiopia, in the modern region of Tigray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menen Asfaw</span> Empress consort of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1962

Menen Asfaw was Empress of Ethiopia as the wife of Emperor Haile Selassie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomonic dynasty</span> Imperial Ethiopian dynasty (1270–1974)

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.

Princess Zenebework, also called Zeneba Worq, was the second daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and his wife the Empress Menen Asfaw. Zenebework's full title was "Her Imperial Highness, Princess Zenebework Haile Selassie".

Princess Aida Desta, baptismal name Bisrate Gabriel, was the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie, eldest child and daughter of Ras Desta Damtew and Princess Tenagnework. She was the wife of Leul Ras Mangasha Seyum, Prince of Tigray, son of Seyum Mangasha, and great-grandson of Emperor Yohannes IV. Her godmother was Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia.

Wolete Israel Seyoum was the daughter of Leul Ras Seyoum Mengesha, Prince of Tigray, KBE, and great-granddaughter of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darge Sahle Selassie</span> Ethiopian governor and noble (1825/1830–1900)

Darge Sahle Selassie Horse name Abba Gersa was a 19th-century Ethiopian nobleman, provincial governor, general and a trusted councillor of his nephew Emperor Menelik II.

Princess Ijigayehu Amha Selassie was the eldest child of Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen of Ethiopia by his first wife, Princess Wolete Israel Seyoum and was the granddaughter to Emperor Haile Selassie.

Medferiashwork Abebe, baptismal name Amete Maryam, was the titular empress consort of Amha Selassie, emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia. Her full title used by monarchists was "Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Medferiashwork", but she was officially regarded in post-Derg Ethiopia as "Her Imperial Highness Princess Medferiashwork Abebe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olol Dinle</span> Sultan of Ajuran (r. 1922–early 1960s

Olol Dinle was a Somali sultan who ruled Kelafo as the head of the Ajuran. He successively offered allegiance to the Kingdom of Italy in the 1920s and was named "Sultan of Sciavelli (Shabelle) and Auia (Hawiye)" in the early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desta Damtew</span> Ethiopian general and noble

RasDesta Damtew KBE was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I. He is known for his leadership in the Ethiopian Army during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. He was executed on 24 February 1937, by the Italian Armed Forces shortly after Ethiopia's loss in the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imru Haile Selassie</span> Ethiopian soldier, noble and diplomat (1892–1980)

Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie, CBE was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He served as acting Prime Minister for three days in 1960 during a coup d'état and assassination of Prime Minister Abebe Aregai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seyoum Mengesha</span> Ethiopian army commander (1887–1960)

Seyoum Mengesha KBE was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haile Selassie Gugsa</span> Ethiopian army officer

Haile Selassie Gugsa CBE (1907–1985) was an Ethiopian army commander and member of the Imperial family from Tigray. He is known for betraying his country during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and becoming a fascist collaborator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gugsa Araya Selassie</span> Ethiopian army commander (1885–1932)

Gugsa Araya Selassie was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

Aberra Kassa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

Major-General DejazmatchBeyene Merid was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and the son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Ayalew Birru, or Ayyalaw Birru, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and a cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian prisoners of war during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War</span>

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Italians captured and either imprisoned as prisoners of war or executed selected prominent Ethiopians. The majority of the public executions and mass incarcerations happened in the wake of the assassination attempt on Rodolfo Graziani. The Italian occupying force gave permission to the black shirts to murder educated Ethiopians, sparing only a few notables who were transported to various concentration camps maintained in the Harar region, Italian Somaliland, Eritrea and Italy. While the majority of prisoners who were kept at Asinara and other camps in Italy survived, tens of thousands of detainees perished under the severe conditions they were forced to live in. According to famous survivors like Ambassador Imru Zeleke, conditions were worse in Italian Somaliland camps due to the scarcity of food, water and medicine. According to Imru Zeleke, tens of thousands of Ethiopians died every year.

References

  1. ↑ Mockler, Anthony, Haile Selassie's War (2003), p. xxvii
  2. ↑ My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, Vol. 2 (1999), p. 170 (translators' footnote)
  3. ↑ Mockler, p. xxvii.
  4. 1 2 Haile Selassie I, My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, Vol. 2 (1999), p. 170 (translators' footnote)
Imperial Coat of Arms of Ethiopia (Haile Selassie).svg

This Ethiopian royalty–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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.