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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. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest historical extent and defeated Italian colonial forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.
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politics · Emperor of Ethiopia from 1879 to 1913 · politician · also Menilek II, Menelik II, Menelek II of Ethiopia, Sahle Mariam, Sahle Maryam, Aba Dagnew
Born 17 August 1844 · Died 12 December 1913 · Q244748
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Обращение Менелика II к королеве Виктории
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The territories north of the Merab Milesh (i.e. Eritrea) do not belong to Abyssinia nor are under my rule. I am the Emperor of Abyssinia. The land referred to as Eritrea is not peopled by Abyssinians – they are Adals, Bejaa, and Tigres. Abyssinia will defend his territories but will not fight for foreign lands, which Eritrea is to my knowledge.
Awarded Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (1907).
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“The territories north of the Merab Milesh (i.e. Eritrea) do not belong to Abyssinia nor are under my rule. I am the Emperor of Abyssinia. The land referred to as Eritrea is not peopled by Abyssinians – they are Adals, Bejaa, and Tigres. Abyssinia will defend his territories but will not fight for foreign lands, which Eritrea is to my knowledge.”
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insider.si.edu: Empress Taytu and Menilek II : Ethiopia 1883-1910 / Chris Prouty
insider.si.edu: Modern Ethiopia : from the accession of Menilek II to the present : proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Nice, 19-22 December 1977 / ed. by ...
But was a figurehead, with ruling power in the hands of regent Ras Tafari Makonnen, who succeeded her in 1930 as Emperor Haile Selassie
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Died 1913-12-12.
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But was never crowned; he was deposed in 1916 by powerful nobles
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And his grandson Iyasu claimed the throne on principle of seniority
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But would never be crowned, and would be deposed by powerful nobles in favour of Menelik's younger daughter Zewditu in 1916
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And was succeeded by grandson Lij Iyasu (later deposed), followed by his daughter Zewditu and Ras Tafari Makonnen (the future Haile Selassie)
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Hotels and restaurants appeared in the capital, which became a cosmopolitan city: traders, merchants, manufacturers, and adventurers came from all over (Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Indians, French)
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At the proclamation of Menelik's will, Iyasu was designated as heir presumptive, a gesture intended to calm the various warring factions
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Following a judicial reform, the country was divided into six districts, each maintaining contact with Shoa and comprising two wember (judges) appointed by the Emperor
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Awarded Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (1907).
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Of the Cabinet of Ministers was intended to address fears that the Empire might be left without an effective governing institution
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A second in 1908 (the Menelik II School in Addis Ababa), and finally a third in Harar; moreover, in 1894, students went abroad for the first time, some as far as Russia
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When France, the United Kingdom, and Italy agreed on the subject, granting control to a joint venture corporation, Menelik officially reaffirmed his full sovereign rights over the whole of his empire
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A central bank producing the currency was created
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Dejazmach Nikolay Leontiev, a Russian, led expeditions along the southern border of Lake Rudolf
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Ras Tassama annexed Massonge and Gimirra
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Beni Shangul and the border with Sudan were controlled; Ras Welde Giyorgis Aboye subdued Goldea and Maji, reaching Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana)
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And 1902, proved far more open to this modernization
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A form of universal taxation was introduced, the Asrat tax, which applied to local nobles as well as soldiers and landowners
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The integration of the new territories continued: Ras Gobena Dacche to the southwest, Ras Mekonnen Welde Mikael to the Ogaden, Ras Welde Giyorgis Aboye to Kaffa, in the province of Gofa; in the same year, Wollamo was con
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Aimed to address the great famine Kifou Qen (“terrible time”)
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And was minted in Paris and then in Addis Ababa from 1897, where the Austrian engineer Willy Henze had established a mint a year earlier
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Menelik granted a concession for the building of a railway to his capital from the French port of Djibouti but, alarmed by a claim made by France in 1902 to control of the line in Ethiopian territory, he ordered a stop f
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The integration of Kambata, occupied since 1890, was completed
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And post offices opened the following year
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Twenty-five-year-old Woizero Shoaregga was married for a second time to forty-two-year-old Ras Mikael of Wollo
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Career landmark: Emperor of Ethiopia (1889–1913).
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The entire Gurage region was annexed; Bale, Sidamo (excluding Borana), the Ogaden, and Welayta were occupied from 1891 onward and subsequently incorporated into the Empire
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Menelik was crowned emperor at Mount Entoto on 3 November 1889
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Turned it into principal trade hub under Ras Makonnen
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A British diplomat, Gerald Portal, wrote after seeing the Ethiopian feudal hosts parade before him, the Ethiopians were "
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When Menelik moved his capital to Addis Ababa, and the following year the Shoan army incorporated Illubabor, pushing the western borders back to the Gibe River
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And then completely in 1886, when their territory came under Shoan control
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Ras Gobana Dache forced Kaffa to pay tribute; Jimma, Limmu, Gera, and Guma became tributary regions
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Menelik and his army left Liche to travel to the region between the Engolla and Facho rivers
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A rebellion instigated by Menelik’s wife Bafena began in the kingdom
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And submitted to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878 after failed collaboration with the Egyptians during their invasion (1875–1876)
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Menelik controlled the entire kingdom, at the very moment when Tewodros II was plundering Gondar and his reign was nearing its end
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The same year he divorced his first wife, Menelik married the much older noblewoman Woizero Bafena Wolde Michael
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Amid Tewodros's declining power, returned to Shewa, and was acclaimed as its rightful king
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Menelik married Woizero Altash Tewodros, whom he divorced in 1865; the marriage produced no children
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The Emperor’s influence began to decline; his punitive expedition against Ato Bezabeh, who had proclaimed himself Negus of Shewa, failed
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Born 1844-08-17.
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