Unity University

College of Engineering, Technology and Computational Science

Department of Computer Science and MIS

HISTORY ASSIGNMENT

By : ID.NO:

ABENEZER G/KIRSTOS: UU93893R

ANWAR NEGASH: UU93920R
KIDUS MICHAEL: UU93990R
YARED SHEWAREGA: UU94001R

Instructor:

DATE:12/12/23
HISTORY ASSIGNMENT

YOHANNES IV
FROM SHIFTA TO EMPEROR: THE RISE TO POWER OF KASSA MIRCH'A

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Lij Kassa Mirch'a: his family background and position in

Tigray
Lij Kassa Mircha came from Temben, a sub-province of Tigray, the territories of
which in the nineteenth century roughly correspond with the present-day district.1
Lij Kassa Mircha, lij being the title given to young members of the mekwannint
before they were allocated a title and an office, was a son of Shum Temben Mircha
WeIde Kidan, the ruler of Temben, and Weyzero Silas Dimtsu. He was born on 11
July 1837 in the village (qebele) of May Beha in Temben. Kassa had three brothers,
Gugsa, Maru and Hagos, and one sister, Dinqinesh. His father Mircha WeIde
Kidan, as a balabat of Temben, held the hereditary title of Shum Temben. 10 His
mother Silas Dimtsu was a daughter of Dimtsu Debbeb the ruler of Inderta. Silas,
who had a sister, Aberash, and a brother, Araya, provided Kassa with a link to the
main house of Inderta. Her father Dimtsu was a son of Dejazmach Debbeb,
nephew of the famous and widely respected ruler during the Zemene Mesafint Ras
Welde Sillase (1800-1816). He was an independent ruler of the Tigrean region, that
at the time was only nominally linked to the court of the puppet kings at Gonder.
Young Kassa was also related through his mother to the house of Agame. The
connection was through his maternal grandmother Weyzero Tabotu Woldu, the
wife of Dejazmach Dimtsu. She was a daughter of Shurn Agame Woldu and a sister
of Dej azmach Sebagadis (1822-1831), last of the Tigrean rulers of the Zemene
Mesafint. Through that connection Kassa was also a grandson of Sebagadis. On his
father's side, Kassa's grandmother Worqwiha, who was married to Shum Temben
WeIde Kidan, traced her descent to Ras Mikael Sihul (1740-80), a great Tigrean
ruler and the initiator of the Zemene Mesafint.
The significance of these connections comes from the role these rulers played in
the history of the Tigrean region. Ras Mikael, nicknamed
Sihul ('the sharp one') is remembered as the founder of the city of Adwa. He began
his career in the army of Ras Ide Haymanot of Hamasen and later played a crucial
role not only in the history of the region but in that of the empire as a whole.2 In
1769 he made a bloody intervention into the politics of Gonder by killing the
reigning emperor Iyoas and replacing him with his favoured, Yohannes II. 3 The
event marked the beginning of the period of decline of the imperial power known

1
'Area and Population Density by Autonomous Administrative Regions and Awraja', Statistical
Bulletin, 76 (Addis Ababa, 1990).
2
Bairu Tafla, Chronicle, p.31.
3
'Yohannes II (r. May 10, 1769- October 15, 1769)" Aethiopica, 5 (2002), p.89

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as Zemene Mesafint. The subsequent court politics of the period was dominated by
a Yejju-Oromo family of Were Seh. The beginning of the nineteenth century saw
the emergence of another Tigraean ruler, Ras WeIde Sillase. He is remembered for
bringing wealth and prosperity to the region, building many churches, one of the
most important being the Silasse (Trinity) church in Cheleqot, in Inderta, which
became his capital. Because of his region's proximity to the Red Sea, Ras WeIde
Sillase was the first nineteenth-century Ethiopian ruler to establish contact with
European travelers. He aimed to monopolise external trade and prevent it from
proceeding to the imperial capital at Gonder, which was controlled at the time by
his Yejju opponent Ras Gugsa Marsu.4 As the above genealogy illustrates, Kassa
was related to most of the ruling houses in the broader Tigrean region. His blood
connections to the great regional rulers would serve to legitimise Kassa's rise to
power in the region. Moreover, Kassa's lineage included connections to the
Solomonic line. Three of his ancestors could trace their descent to the Solomonic
kings. Kassa's paternal grandmother, Weyzero Worq Wiha, was linked to the
Solomonic line through Ras MIka'el Sihul (1740-80), who claimed descent from
emperor David II (1380-1412).5
On his maternal side Silas was a daughter of Dejazmach Dimtsu Debbeb of
Inderta, the nephew of Ras WeIde Sillase.6 The mother of Debbeb and WeIde
Sillase, Weyzero Welete Tsiyon, traced her descent to emperor Zera Ya'iqob (1434-
68). She married Tesfa Yesus, who traced his descent to emperor Amde Tsiyon
(1314-44). Therefore, Kassa was able to trace connection to three of the Solomonic
kings through female members of his immediate family. These lineage connections
and their symbolic meaning provided a unique opportunity and serve to secure
legitimacy for Kassa's claim to the imperial office.
Young Kassa must have been aware of the opportunities that his birth provided for
him, especially after Tewodros set the precedent of seizing the imperial throne on
the grounds of a non-direct descent from the Solomonic kings. Tewodros's
background was in fact very similar to that of Kassa. Both Kassa and Tewodros
came from the mekwannint, contrary to the lingering belief that Tewodros was of
'humble' birth. He and his mother are said to have experienced poverty when he
was a child, but the image of a progressive emperor who rose from the peasantry

4
Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991 (Addis Ababa, 2002), p.12; The YeJju were a
Christianised Oromo group who dominated the politics of the Zemene Mesafint.
5
Sinkisar- Synaxary unpublished manuscript from the church of Melfa in Temben contains, on
what was in Italy a blank page, a short history of Yohannes’s reign [hereafter Sinkisar-Melfa].
6
chronicle of Debre Birhan Sillase f.4 lists in detail Yohannes’s lineage.

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was a misleading one and was widely popularized by the socialist regime of
Mengistu Hayle Maryam in the 1970s and 1980s.7

The emergence of the leader: Kassa's rise to power in

Tigray
As a son of the ruler of Temben with lineage connections to important houses in
the broader Tigray region, Kassa's position was privileged. However, it was not
entirely unique, as there were other potential claimants to the supremacy in
Tigray. It is hard to reconstruct the early period of Kassa's life. Oral tradition has it
that he was a sickly child and spent a considerable time with his mother's family in
her native Inderta. When, his health improved Kassa was given traditional church
education.22 This would entail studying Ge’ez and ancient religious texts in this
language, as well as books on law such as the Fithe Negest. Apart from being
exposed to church education he would have been trained in the skills required on
the battlefield. Oral tradition associates Kassa with Ethiopian virtues of leadership,
namely bravery and courage from his early age. Both oral and written sources are
likely to have created these traditions retrospectively after Kassa's assumption of
the imperial throne. Consequently, they focus on creating a particular image. The
story has it that Kassa was especially good at hunting, fighting and showed leader
qualities at a young age. It is recorded in a poem that young Kassa single-handedly
killed a lion in a forest of Hayegu in Temben, near the monastery of Inda Abba
Hadera. The story is sustained until today by the monks of this monastery.8 Kassa's
family was associated with this monastery, hence it is likely that its monks would
preserve traditions about him.

7
Bahru Zewde, History, p.267.

8
Interview with the monks of Inda Abba Hadera conducted by Izabela Orlowska in Apr 2003.

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In 1864-5, after the death of his father, young Kassa together with his brothers
Gugsa, Maru and Hagos joined the court of Tewodros. The practise was common
and its purpose was for the prospective young leaders to learn the art of war and
government, but most of all to receive an appointment and return to the home
province with a title and office that would provide a governorship of a territory
(gizat).9 Ras Siyum's(His son) chronicle confirms that the brothers remained at the
court to 'win the favour of the king’.10 However, Kassa did not get very much from
Tewodros. Sources hint at a brotherly plot against him that led to the emperor's
discontent. When the siblings were about to be sent back to their home province
by Tewodros, the older brothers are said to have plotted against Kassa. The sources
treat this issue in slightly different ways. The Ras Siyum chronicle is the most
direct. We are told that the brothers informed the emperor that Kassa presented a
danger to his government and that they wanted to disassociate themselves from
him out of loyalty and fear of the emperor's displeasure. Hence, it is implied that
Kassa was planning to rebel against Tewodros and that they did not want to be
associated with his actions and possibly punished. Consequently, Tewodros passed
an order to detain Kassa. It was then that the brothers were allocated titles and
offices. Gugsa, the elder brother, had already had experience of governorship when
he ruled Inderta in 1861. This was probably the reason why Tewodros gave him the
title of dejazmach. Maru was placed a step lower as fitawrari, Kassa was the lowest,
with the title of balambaras.11
The Ethiopian sources dealing with Kassa's rise to power are invariably faced with
the problem of justifying his rejection of the imperial authority of Tewodros. The
Ras Siyum chronicle points out that Kassa returned to his home province from the
imperial court and 'lived in his country in the office given to him by Tewodros
‘king of kings of Ethiopia,' in order to emphasise his compliance with Tewodros's
orders.12
However, the conflict between the Tewodros and Abune Salama, that began in mid
1860s and culminated in the abun's imprisonment and death at Meqdela in 1867,
fundamentally changed Tewodros's claim to the highest office.13 It presented an
opportunity for the emperor's opponents to challenge him, because opponents

9
Bairu Tafla, 'Ethiopian Notables', p.5.
10
Bairu Tafla, Chronicle, p.4l.
11
Bairn Tafla, Chronicle p.43; Zewde Gabre-Sellassie, Yohannes IV, p.25.
12
Bairu Tafla, Chronicle, p.48-49.
13
Rubenson, King of Kings, p.71. The Ethiopian c1ergy~ especially in Gonder, were equally
disappointed with Tewodros's policies of confiscating church goods m order to enrich emperors
treasury.

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might have questioned his religious association. Tewodros's lack of divine sanction
created space for another 'elect of God'. It was immediately after the circular of
Abune Salama, declaring the excommunication of Tewodros, reached the Tigrean
region in 1865 that Kassa rebelled and became shifta.

Together with a few followers, Kassa is said to have 'entered the forest' operating
initially along the Giba river, a natural border between Temben, Inderta and
Ger'alta. During his subsequent activities as shifta, Kassa retreated into the
lowlands occupied by the Tigrean Afars or the Taltals, as they are known locally.14
Meanwhile, Kassa's mother and brother Gugsa were imprisoned in Shire by
Tewodros's appointees. The Taltals are said to have supplied Kassa with followers,
many of whom were Muslims. Kassa established good relations with their local
ruler, Adi Yakum, the powerful balabat of the area around the town of Dubti in
Afar country. Oral tradition has it that Yakum liked young Kassa and protected
him like his own child. As a sign of their lasting friendship, Yakum agreed to give
Kassa his daughter Halima and is said to have agreed to her conversion to
Christianity. Kassa married Halima and baptized her as T'ibebe Sillase. According
to oral tradition he was very fond of her and was devastated after her unexpected
death around 1867.15 She left him their only son, Araya Sillase.
Tewodros appointed a number of officials to the governorship of the Tigrean
region and reshuffled them quite often. His first appointee was Araya Dimtsu,
Kassa's maternal uncle. Before long, he was imprisoned and replaced by a son of
Sebagadis, also named Kassa. 16 He in tum was replaced by Sahlu of Haramat who
also ended his career in Tewodros's prison. Dejazmach Gebre Mlcha'el and Ras
Barya'u P'awlos followed as governors. All had considerable local claim to power,
with only last Tewodros's governor, Ras Barya'u P'awlos, being a petty chief.
When Kassa Mirch'a decided to vie openly for supremacy in the region in 1865, he
had to face Tewodros's appointees. The governor of Tsera'i (the district between
Agame and Inderta), Dejazmach Gebre MIka'el Tekle Mlka'el, who was also
responsible for imprisoning his mother, was one of them. The confrontation took

14
Clements R. Markham, A History of the Abyssinian Expedition (London, 1869), p.8.
15
Bairu Tafla, Chronicle, p.162-3
16
Markham, Expedition, p55.

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place in1865 or 1866 (1858 AM), at Dirba in Tsera'i. Kassa came out victorious from
the battle with Gebere Mlka'el, which further increased his prestige .17
In 1865 or 1866 (1858 AM), Wagshum Gobeze arrived in the region. Gobeze, the
son of Wags hum Gebre Medhin who was hanged by Tewodros in 1858, rose
against the emperor and was looking for allies. He successfully consolidated power
in his home regions of Wag, Lasta and the adjoining regions of Yejju, Marqet,
Shadaho, Wadla and Dalanta. Gobeze marched to the Tigray region in 1866; he
overrun the country and occupied Adwa.18Barya'u, the governor of the province at
the time, managed to escape. Gobeze was looking for an alliance against Tewodros
and his remaining appointees. He came to Kassa after the two corresponded and
agreed to unite against the emperor.
Gobeze spent some time helping Kassa to consolidate his power, but left rather
unexpectedly due to an outbreak out of cholera in his army. After Gobeze's
departure, Barya'u, the governor of the region, became active again. At this stage,
however, Kassa must have felt increasingly confident to continue his fight for
supremacy in the region. After Gobeze's departure Tewodros's appointees took the
opportunity to strike. The attack was led by Dejazmach Tekle Glyorgls, the brother
of Ras Barya'u P'awlos, Tewodros' appointee and son-in-law. However, his armies
were affected by a cholera epidemic and were unable to face Kassa's troops. Tekle
Giyorgis himself died of cholera upon his return to his native Shire.19 Wagshum
Gobeze, aware of Kassa's growing power and prestige, arrived for the second time
in Tigray between June and August 1867. His intention was to secure a lasting
alliance with Kassa against Tewodros and his remaining appointees. He asked
Kassa to give him his only sister Dinqinesh in marriage.
As Kassa's activities as shifta continued, he had to face another appointee of
Tewodros, his relative Dejazmach Deres. This resulted in a battle in May 1867
between the two at Adba Telbisha at Kilte Awlalo. Deres, despite having a much
larger army and initially having the upper hand in the battle, was defeated by
Kassa. The victorious Kassa kept Deres in detention for some time, but
subsequently released him with a 'due appointment'. The phrase refers to Deres's
status as balabat that would normally qualify him to rule his native domain. A

17
Markham. Expedition, p.226.
18
Markham, Expedition, p.86.
19
; Markham, Expedition, p.72.

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superior overlord would, however, have the right to appoint someone else as a
governor should he wish to. Kassa, however, chose not to.
Having defeated Deres, Kassa had control over territories from Agame to the
border with Lasta.20 It was then that Kassa, who until that point was only
balambaras by Tewodros's appointment, assumed the title of dejazmach. 21
The unexpected victories of Kassa with relatively small number of followers seem
to have immensely increased his prestige and encouraged his remaining opponents
to join him. Dejazmach Haylu, the balabat and chief of Selewa was one of the
provincial leaders who submitted and joined Kassa peacefully.
By December 1867 and the arrival of the British Napier expedition, Kassa had no
serious opponents within the greater Tigrean region. This expedition, the aim of
which was to confront emperor Tewodros and rescue British captives from
Meqdela, needed Kassa's assistance in terms of provisions and safe passage
through the country. Kassa had had no previous contact with the British and was
initially wary of their intentions. However, after an exchange of letters he offered
'friendship and assistance' and proposed to renew the relationship that the two
countries enjoyed during the reigns of his two great ancestors of the Zemene
Mesafint, Ras WeIde Sillase and Sebagadis. On 1 February 1868, Major Grant was
received by Kassa, together with 2,000 people who happen to gather for a feast in
Adwa.22
Aware that the cooperation with the British would yield real benefits, Kassa agreed
to facilitate the provisions of food supplies to the expeditory force estimated at 15
tons of grain, the supply of which apparently resulted in a rise of the local price of
food.23 The expedition to Meqdela, facilitated by Kassa, resulted in the release of
the captives and the suicide of Tewodros, who shot himself on 14 April 1868.
Having completed the campaign, Napier met Kassa on 15 May at Senate near the
coast. He presented him with a battery of mountain guns, mortars, 600 muskets, 6
howitzers, 585 rifles and 480 percussion caps.24

20
Markham, Expedition, p.87
21
Birhanu Dinqe, Ye ethiopia Achir Tarik (Addis Ababa, 1952), p.56
22
Markham, Expedition, p.226
23
Rubenson, Survival, p.260; also Markham, Expedition, p.165.
24
Zewde Gebre-Sellassie, Yohannes IV, p. 28-9;

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The competition for the imperial throne

The death of Tewodros in 1868 vacated the imperial throne, which was now
opened through his unprecedented seizure of power to a broad circle of
pretenders. His example encouraged other young and capable members of the
mekwannint with some connection to the Solomonic lineage. Kassa Mirch'a,
conveniently related to all important houses in his home region was one of the
ambitious pretenders for the imperial throne. He had two main rivals. One was his
brother-in-law Wagshum Gobeze Gebre Medhin. The other was, Menelik, the ruler
of Shewa further to the south, who also began to express his imperial ambitions.
The major contest for the imperial crown took place between Gobeze and Kassa.
Having established themselves in their broader regions, both began campaigns for
the imperial throne. By 1868, Gobeze was militarly more powerful than Kassa. In
March 1868, he defeated his only remaining enemy Tiso Gobeze, which gave him
control of Gonder. Gobeze counted on the agreement he had with Kassa, sealed by
the marriage to the latter's sister Dinqinesh. Gradually, however, he became
worried about Kassa's negotiations with the Patriarchate in Alexandria, by which
Kassa aimed to obtain the service of the Coptic bishop, the abun. Access to the
services of this highest ecclesiastic would open a unique opportunity of conducting
a legitimizing ceremony of enthronement. Kassa's growing strength, his attempts
at negotiating with the Patriarchate as well as his comparable claim to the
Solomonic line all increasingly worried Gobeze.
Eager to legitimize his rule as emperor but unable to secure the services of the new
abun, Wagshum Gobeze decided to be crowned instead by an Ethiopian ich 'ege,
named Gebre Yesus. In the presence of the clergy of Gonder, sometime between
May and September 1868, Gobeze was proclaimed emperor and assumed the regal
name Tekle Giyorgis II. Aware of the impropriety of this move, Gobeze, already as
Tekle Giyorgis II, continued his attempts at procuring the services of the Coptic
abun in order to secure a legitimizing coronation ceremony. Kassa, although still
military inferior, with his 12,000 soldiers compared to Gobeze's 60,000, not only
began negotiations with Alexandria but was also able to prevent Gobeze's envoys
from conducting the journey to Egypt. All of Gobeze's missions to the Patriarchate
were intercepted.25
Kassa sent his first mission to Alexandria requesting the consecration of a bishop
for Ethiopia in 1868. It consisted of an Egyptian priest, Boutros, who carried a

25
Bairu Tafla, Chronicle, p.87

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letter to the Patriarch dated 21 May 1868. His second mission, bearing the 20,000
thalers and many gifts for the Coptic Patriarch, left Massawa for Alexandria on 10
February 1869 under the leadership of Aleqa Birru. The mission was accompanied
by an Armenian bishop, Yishaq, and five Ethiopian liqawint. In June 1869, the
Ethiopian delegation returned to Tigray with a new bishop, Abune Atnatewos.
The arrival of the abun in the north resulted in a major shift in the relationship
between Kassa and Tekle Giyorgis. Aware of Kassa's imperial ambitions, the latter
demanded that he send him Abune Atnatewos.26 Kassa's reply was clear and
simple "I will not give him [to you]". Hence, they became enemies.
Kassa's refusal of Tekle Giyorgis’s request and the breakage of the marriage alliance
led to the ultimate way of asserting supremacy, the battlefield. On 11 July 1871 at
Ataro, to the west of Adwa, the armies of the two contenders confronted each
other. The first daylong battle took place at May Zulawa, on 21 June 1871, resulting
in heavy losses on both sides. During the final battle on 11 July, Kassa was
strategically positioned on a hill Assam, which helped him to make use of his
twelve cannons and eight hundred muskets against the matchlock guns and spears
of his enemy. As a result, he wounded and captured Tekle Giyorgis. The decisive
military victory over Tekle Giyorgis further increased Kassa's prestige and opened
the path to the imperial throne.

26
; Rubenson, Survival. p.271

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After the claim of the throne

Having won the battle of Assam, Kassa excused all soldiers who fought against
him. These events, followed by the coronation of Kassa as Emperor Yohannes IV in
January 1972, opened a period when the relationship between the emperor and
WeIde Mikael improved.
In mid 1870s, Yohannes was faced with a military threat from the Egyptians that
provided an opportunity for WeIde Mikael to display his full potential and prove
his loyalty. Which leads us to the battle of Gundet and Gura.
The Battles of Gundet and Gura
In the nineteenth century, Egyptians showed a keen interest to occupy Northeast
Africa with the ambition of controlling the source of the Nile. Following their
occupation of the Sudan in 1821, they moved to occupy Ethiopia on several
occasions. For instance, in 1875, Khedive Ismail Pasha sent his troops to invade
Ethiopia in three directions. Mohammed Rauf Pasha led the Zeila front and the
result was the occupation of the Harar Emirate between 1875 and 1885. Werner
Munzinger, the architect of the whole of Ismail’s scheme for invasion of Ethiopia,
led about 500 Egyptian troops equipped with cannons and rocket tubes through
Tajura. But, Munzinger and his troops were all killed by the Afars at the Battle of
Odduma. Finally, Colonel Arendrup and Arakel Bey led another 2,000 well-armed
troops through Massawa. Emperor Yohannes IV and Ras Alula mobilized about
20,000 forces and encountered the Egyptians at the Battle of Gundet (16 November
1875) where the Egyptian troopswere severely defeated. Notwithstanding their
setback, Egyptians again reorganized their forces and sent their army to invade
Ethiopia. However, the Ethiopian forces again defeated them at the Battle of Gura
(7–9 March, 1876).

HEWETT/ADWA Treaty
By the mid-1880s, Yohannis's Ethiopian empire experienced increasing external
threats. Tensions with Egypt on the Red Sea coast resulted in so-called Hewett or
Adwa Peace Treaty signed in June 1884 between Ethiopia and Britain, which had
occupied Egypt two years earlier in 1882. The purpose was to safely evacuate
Egyptian troops through Ethiopia who were trapped by the Mahdists troops along
the Ethio-Sudanese border. In return, Bogos was to be restored to Ethiopia and the
latter was to freely use Massawa for the transit of goods and firearms. However,

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the British facilitated the installation of the Italians at Massawa in February 1885.27
Yohannes’s disappointment with losing this port, hence the access to the sea,
coupled with the expansionist tendencies of the Italians, gradually led towards
open conflict.
Battle of Dogali
The advent of the Italians on the Red Sea coast in 1886 shifted fundamentally the
political dynamics in the region. It resulted in the battle of Dogali and was to be of
serious consequences for Alula. Genuinely concerned by the steady encroachment
of the Italians, he attacked their fort at Sa'ati and intercepted their reinforcement
at Dogali. This crushing defeat outraged Italy, which was aspiring to the status of
European power and led to open hostility with Ethiopia. Alula, provoked by the
encroachment of the Italians, was personally responsible for the decision to attack.
Despite the military success, this development put Alula in a delicate position with
the emperor. Yohannes, at this stage also faced with the threat from the Sudanese
Mahdists on the western frontier, was angry with Aula for taking liberties and not
waiting for his orders. Alula was to pay a price for the emperor's displeasure.
Between May and June 1886, he deprived Alula of part of his gizat, the district of
Akkele Guzay. Regardless, the Dogali incident undoubtedly greatly affected Alula's
position with the emperor, who as a result was burdened by open animosity with
Italy. Consequently, Yohannes not only deprived him Akkele Guzay but limited his
power by appointing Ras Hagos to go with him to Asmara and act as his
watchman. 92 As feared by Yohannes, the Italians responded to Dogali by
organising a full scale military campaign. Between December 1887 and February
1888, 20,000 Italian troops were in entrenched positions in Massawa.
Battle of Metemma
As indicated above, the Hewett Treaty caused clashes between the Mahdist and
Ethiopian forces that lasted from 1885 to 1889. The first clash was at Kufit between
Ras Alula and Uthman Digna in September 1885. Initially, the Ethiopian force was
victorious. In January 1887, Yohannes ordered Nigus Tekle-Haymanot of Gojjam to
repulse the Mahdists.28 Hamdan Abu Anja organised a campaign from Qallabat
(Metemma) and on 19 January 1888 the Ethiopian forces recruited from Gojjam
and Begemdir suffered a serious defeat. The Mahdists ravaged Gonder. Forty out of
47 churches in the city were burned and many more en route. Many inhabitants

27
Bahru Zewde, History, p.54
28
Gebre Sillase, Tarike. p.148

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were killed and it is estimated that over three thousand were taken captives. The
emperor was still in the north dealing with the Italian problem. It was only when
Menelik heard about the defeat of Tekle Haymanot that he started moving
towards Gonder with his sizable army.29 Sources points out that Menelik's advance
was slow, allowing exceptionally long breaks for rest.30 On 18 April, he finally
arrived outside of Gonder. In July, the recently defeated Tekle Haymanot is said to
have reached an agreement with Menelik against the emperor.
Having temporarily resolved the Italian problem on the coast, the emperor turned
southwards with an intention of dealing with the internal affairs of the empire.
Aware of the meeting of his two kings, Yohannes instructed Menelik to return
home by the same route and he ordered Tekle Haymanot to provide him with a
safe passage and provisions. Subsequently, Yohannes learned about his vassals'
plot and advanced to Gojjam, devastating the province in response to their
misconduct. His particular cruelty in Gojjam might be explained by the anger with
his vassals, coupled with a personal tragedy, the death of his heir Ras Araya.
Having stabilised the situation in Gojjam, Yohannes turned his eyes to Shewa
again. Anxious to avoid punishment, Menelik sent monks to Begemdir to
negotiate. Since the circumstances on both fronts were alarming and prevented
Yohannes from progressing directly to Shewa, he started correspondence from
Gojjam with Ras Darge, the uncle of Menelik. Being both highly respected and
older, the role of Darge was to act as mediator between Yohannes and Menelik.
Later, in another direction, the Mahdists were defeated at Gute Dilli (in Najjo-
Wallagga) by Menelik’s commander Ras Gobana Dache on October 14, 1888.
Emperor Yohannes made a national call:
Oh! the people of Ethiopia,
The country called Ethiopia is firstly your mother, secondly your crown, thirdly
your wife, fourthly your child, fifthly your grave. Accordingly, rise up
understanding the love of a mother, honor of a crown, the goodness of a wife, the
delight of having a child, and the shelter of a grave.
Hence, on March 9, 1889, the Emperor marched to Metemma where he died
fighting the Mahdists.

29
Bairu Tafla
30
Zewde Gabre-Sellassie, Yohannes, p. 242-7

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HISTORY ASSIGNMENT

REFERENCES

Bairu Tafla (ed.). A Chronicle of Emperor Yohannes IV(l872-89)

(Wiesbaden, 1977).
Birhanu Dinqe. Yeltyop ya Achir Tarfk (Addis Ababa, 1952).
Bahru Zewde. A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991(Addis Ababa, 2002).

Interview with the monks of Inda Abba Hadera conducted by Izabela

Orlowska in Apr 2003.

Zewde Gabre-Sellassie. 'The Process of Re-unification of the Ethiopian

Empire 1868- 1889', PhD thesis, University of Oxford (1971).
Rubenson, Sven. The Survival of Ethiopian Independence (London,
1976).
Markham, Clements R. A History of the Abyssinian Expedition
(London, 1869)

Rubenson, Sven. King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa,

1966).
Zewde Gabre-Sellassie. Yohannes IV of Ethiopia: A Political Biography
(Oxford, 1975).
Chronicle of Yohannes IV from the church of Debre Birhan Sillase In
Adwa, unpublished manuscript.

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