Modern Ethiopian Monarchs Part Four
Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu in coronation regalia, late in life
The post-Adowa era in Ethiopia was one of great change. Menelik II returned to his capital in a markedly stronger position than when he had left it. He returned as a victorious military leader who had defended his country and his throne against a powerful technologically-advanced foe. His empire was strongly united under his rule. The Great Powers of the world rushed to acknowledge Ethiopia as a legitimate independent state in Africa that they would have to deal with as a sovereign entity. Soon, permanent diplomatic missions were established in Addis Ababa with resident ministers arriving to take up their new posts. The first to establish full permanent diplomatic representation in Addis Ababa was the French Republic. The Italians, British, Germans and Russians were not far behind. Soon Addis Ababa became a destination for European adventurers, fortune hunters, travelers and spies. Illustrious visitors began to drop in to meet Menelik and explore this last remnant of independence in Africa-- among them, the Duke of Orleans, son of the ex-King of the French, Louis Phillipe. When the French Prince arrived to be received by the Emperor, he arrived wearing a safari suit. Menelik II took one look at the Duke d'Orleans and asked, "Who is this man who does not know how to dress when appearing before a king?" The Duke was careful to be more appropriately dressed when he returned later that day for dinner with the Imperial couple. Addis Ababa saw a huge explosion in technological advancement as the telephone, telegraph, automobile, and the electric light bulb made their appearance for the first time in the country, thanks largely to Emperor Menelik II. In spite of resistance from the conservative clergy, these innovations were adopted and put to use rapidly. After much difficult negotiation and some false starts and stops, work began on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti railway that would become the major artery of trade in Ethiopia. The railway would not reach Addis Ababa until well after the Emperor's death, however. After a brief flirtation with moving the capital from Addis Ababa to the new town of Addis Alem to the west, Menelik decided to stay put. To replenish the depleted forests of the area, however, Menelik imported the quick growing Euculyptus trees that are today a major feature of Addis Ababa.
Abune Mattiwos, Coptic Archbishop of the Ethiopoian Orthodox Church During Reign of Menelik II
Emperor Menelik II was a man fascinated by modern developments and advances. He hungered to learn about the latest scientific discoveries, technological developments, and artistic achievements. He had a huge interest in modern medical care as well. He dreamed of bringing western advancements to Ethiopia and his people to a level of development comparable to Europe. Ras Makonnen, who had traveled widely in Europe, supported the Emperor enthusiastically in this regard, although the Emperor was not always supported in this by his court. Most of the nobility were very conservative and looked upon these things with a suspicious eye. Foreign influence was regarded with distaste and suspicion. Among the most conservative were Menelik's own wife. Although Taitu was amused by the knick-knacks and inventions that were brought before her, she was suspicious of the motives of the Europeans who brought them. But when running water and electricity were installed in the palace and subsequenlty spread through Addis Ababa, she was not displeased. She marveled at the phonograph recording of Queen Victoria that was brought to them in which the queen sent her warm greetings. Menelik and Taitu both recorded phonograph messages to be taken back to the Queen in return and were quite impressed. Menelik jumped at the oportunity to ride in the first Motor Car to make it to Addis Ababa, much to the distress of his entourage, but the Empress chose to only look down from a window at the Palace and declined a ride. Her worry was that these new items would create new needs in the populace, and she wanted to know how the government could possibly meet these new needs and demands. In discussions with the Emperor's good friend and close advisor, Swiss-born Alfred Ilg, the railway project was brought up and the Empress continued to voice strong opposition. She argued that it was unnecessary, too costly, it would put many merchants out of work and that it could even bring an invader into the heart of the Empire. Ilg replied cleverly, "Your Majesty, this train that you so strongly oppose might one day take you to Jerusalem and the Holy Places". Suddenly subdued and taken aback, the deeply religious Empress is said to have quietly stated, "This I want more than all things." Regardless, Taitu remained a strong opponent of European intrusion into the Empire in the name of spreading progress. The Europeans liked to paint her as an opponent of progress, but it was their political motives that she was an opponent of. There were others that were even more extreme. The Emperor received the first telephone in Ethiopia and ordered that a line be set up between his rooms and the house of his treasurer. Amazed to be having a conversation with his treasurer while both were at their own homes, Menelik ran outside to make sure that someone wasn't hiding under his windowsill and answering his questions. However, the next day, the treasurer received an electric shock from his telephone; his confessor, along with other priests, proclaimed the phone the work of Satan and destroyed it. They went to the Palace, were joined with more priests, and burned the phone that they found there as well. The Emperor was livid when he heard what happened, but it was too late. A while later, when a movie projector was presented to the Emperor by a foreign visitor, he eagerly anticipated watching his first moving picture. However, he was wary that the priests would definitely declare this the work of the devil and destroy his projector too. However, the presenter of the gift had anticipated this, and the first film shown in Ethiopia was a film about the miracle of Christ walking on water. The priests could hardly protest this, so they remained silent. However, all these technological advances caught on and spread largely due to Emperor Menelik and his strong desire for modernization.
One of the Imperial Crowns of Emperor Menelik II
A Brief Word on the Re-Incorporation of the Empire of Ethiopia under Menelik II
Emperor Menelik II was a "King of Kings" in the literal sense of the word. King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam had been crowned Nigus of Gojjam by Emperor Yohannis, and Menelik had confirmed him. However, Menelik would refuse to create any more kings in the Empire under him, and this eventually caused his rift with Ras Mengesha Yohannis, who expected to be crowned King of Zion. Empress Taitu tried to reason with Mengesha, stating that his arranged marriage to her niece Kefey had been intended to cement his relationship as the "son" of the Emperor and Empress and a family member. She argued that Tigrai had never been ruled by a king, but by a Dejazmatch traditionally, and that only Shewa and Gojjam had been given this dignity (although Gojjam had only received this recently during the previous reign and the Shewan royal house had granted the dignity to itself rather than through Imperial sanction initially). She argued that her uncle Wube and his own father Emperor Yohannis, when they had been rulers of Tigrai had only had the title of Dejazmatch, and that he as a Ras had superseded both of them and elevated the province. Mengesha, however, was adamant that his father had been "King of Zion" and that in gratitude for his stepping back from his claims on the Imperial throne, the Emperor Menelik owed him the title of King. Menelik was equally adamant, and so, when a petulant Ras Mengesha rebelled yet again, Menelik decided that enough was enough. When Mengesha was persuaded to yet again submit, Menelik refused to be merciful yet again to this man who had never gotten over losing the Imperial throne to him. This time he ordered Ras Mengesha arrested and placed under house arrest in the old Palace at Ankober in Shewa, where he remained for the rest of his life. The province of Tigrai would temporarily be administered by Ras Makonnen. Eventually Tigrai was divided three ways between Dejazmatch Gebre Selassie Baria Gabr, Dejazmatch Abraha Hagos, and a son of Ras Sebhat. Later still, the sons of Ras Araya Selassie Yohannis and Ras Mengesha Yohannis would be granted half of Tigrai each. Ras Mengesha was not the only would-be royal vasal that caused Menelik problems. Even before he became Emperor, as the King of Shewa, Menelik had gone about bringing the southern kingdoms and principalities to heel, re-incorporating them into the Ethiopian Empire. A bloody and difficult war had to be fought in 1894 to bring the Kawa of Wollaita, Tona, to accept Menelik II as his liege lord. Tona would be the last King of Wollaita; his successors were given the title of Dejazmatch, and regarded as nobility in Ethiopia from then on rather than royalty. Another princeling that resisted the Emperor was the Tato of Keffa, Gaki Sherocho. He refused to submit even after his military defeat in 1897. After five months as a fugitive, he was captured and brought in captivity to Addis Ababa, thereafter placed under house arrest in the Imperial Palace . He was allowed his own house on the grounds, and his own staff of servants and slaves came with him, but he was made to always wear long chains to symbolize his status as a prisoner. However, in deference to his royal birth, his chains were made of gold. They would not be removed until Lij Eyasu assumed the throne in 1912. The Oromo monarchies of the south and west fared better, however. Kumsa Moreda of Leqa Nekemt not only submitted, but he converted to Christianity and accepted the Orthodox faith. Renamed and titled Dejazmatch Gebregziabiher Moreda, he continued to rule his fief and was allowed to resume every royal dignity he had enjoyed before. Jote Tullu of Leqa Qellam also submitted to Menelik and the Church and was given the title of Dejazmatch as well. These Wollega Oromo dynasties would shortly become a favored source of wives for the Imperial family and the highest Shewan aristocracy as they were considered of lofty birth and position. The young Muslim Sultan of Jimma, Abba Jiffar II, had initially resisted submission in 1884, but he too eventually submitted, convinced by his mother that fighting the powerful Menelik was futile. Menelik was grateful, and decreed that Abba Jiffar II was to remain the fully empowered Sultan of Jimma and that the only concession that Menelik expected was payment of an annual tribute to the Crown. Abba Jiffar would become a loyal vassal to Menelik, and even went on to fight for him against less co-operative princelings in the south (such as the Kawa of Wollaita and the Tato of Keffa). The most difficult to re-incorporate into the Empire was Arsi. Suffa Kusso and Damu Usu, two of Arsi's leaders, were persuaded to submit to the then King Menelik of Shewa in 1882 in exchange for autonomy. However they were not able to convince any other Arsi notables, and what resulted was a bloody and difficult war that lasted between 1882 and 1886. Ras Darge and Menelik himself both led campaigns through Arsi to gain the submission of the province, but it was a difficult time, and in fact Menelik barely escaped with his life on one occasion in 1883. Finally, Ras Darge was able to deal a crushing blow to the Arsi rebels at the Battle of Azule in September of 1886. With the Egyptian withdrawal from Harrar in 1885 and the restoration of Emir Abdulahi, Menelik decided it was high time that the City State be re-incorporated into the Empire. The weak forces of the Emir of Harrar met the much better armed and much larger force of the Emperor at Chelenqo on January 6, 1887, Ethiopian Christmas-eve. After a very brief shootout that lasted a few minutes, the Harraris fled. Following the entry of Menelik into Harrar and the end of the Emirate of Emir Abdulahi, the Emperor appointed his cousin and confidant Ras Makonnen Wolde Michael (father of Emperor Haile Selassie) as the governor there. Keffa was given to the Emperor's cousin, Ras Wolde Giorgis Aboye (son of his aunt Ayahilush). Ras Tessema Nadew, son of his beloved former tutor, was given Illubabur. The eastern end of Wellega (excluding Leqa Nekemt and Leqa Qellam) was granted to Dejazmatch Demiss Nessibu, who had fought valliantly at Adowa. Another favored General of the Adowa campaign, Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis, was given not only Borena in the far south but also Jebat and Mecha in western Shewa. Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo was given Sidamo. Hapte Giorgis was of mixed Gurage and Oromo ancestry, while Balcha was also an Oromo. Both had been captured as boys by Menelik's armies during the campaigns to re-incorporate the south into the Empire when Menelik was still King of Shewa. However, both had been raised by him and then elevated to high positions of military and political responsibility. Both would become fiercly loyal to Menelik and his interests even after he had died. Hapte Giorgis would become one of the most powerful people in the Empire and a kingmaker in the government. In 1887, Ras Makonnen, along with Dejazmatch Jote and Dejazmatch Gebregziabiher of the Wellegan states led a campaign to subdue the sheikdoms of Asosa (Aqoldi), Khomosha, and Bela Shangul, which had for some years owed allegience to the Mahadist regime in Khartoum. After some initial fighting, Sheikh Khojale Al Hassan of Assosa submitted, but Sheikh Abdel Rahman Khojale of Bela Shangul fought on fiercely and was finally defeated at Fadogno in 1897. Sheik Khojale Al Hassan then joined the Imperial forces and launched an attack on Mohammad Wad Mahmud of Khomosha. He was victorious and handed him over to Ras Makonnen. However, Sheik Khojale was soon found to be in secret correspondence with the British (who were reestablished in the Sudan), and he was arrested and brought to Addis Ababa along with the two other captive Sheiks. After all three had formally submitted to the Emperor, they were allowed to return to their lands to continue ruling them as before in all respects, except that annual tribute must be sent to the crown. Muhammad Wad Mahmud was granted the title of Fitawrari, and Abdel Rahman Khojale was made a Dejazmatch. Sheik Khojale Al Hassan, however, insisted on keeping his traditional title of Sheik and accepted no other title. Ethiopia was begining to assume her present borders.
Sheik Khojale Al Hassan of Assosa
Kawa (King) Tona, last King of the Wolaita
Gaki Sherocho, last Tato (King) of Keffa
The Tato is shown chained with gold chains because of his royal birth and was kept at the palace in Addis Ababa
As the Emperor Menelik II had no acknowledged sons who lived to adulthood, the question as to who his heir would be was always open during much of his reign. He was said to personally favor his cousin Ras Makonnen, son of his paternal aunt, Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie. Ras Makonnen had been a loyal and faithful subject and had acted as the de-facto minister of foreign affairs for many years. He had represented the Emperor at the coronation of King Edward VII in London and had traveled extensively in Europe, including Italy, where he had tried to negotiate a solution to the crisis over the Treaty of Wuchale, which later resulted in the Battle of Adowa. He had also served at Adowa as a commander, shared most of the Emperor's progressive views, and was quite well-respected and liked in court circles. His untimely death in March 1906, however, left the succession up for grabs as the Emperor aged and became increasingly frail. Other candidates for the throne included Dejazmatch Taye Gulilat, direct decentdant of Menelik's paternal uncle, Merid Azmatch Haile Michael Sahle Selassie. Another was Ras Wolde Giorgis Aboye, the son of Woizero Ayahilush Sahile Selassie, another aunt of the Emperor. Nevertheless, Lij Eyasu Michael was always a favorite candidate for the position of heir apparent as Menelik's only grandson. Lij Eyasu was educated at the Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa and also at the old Shewan capital, Ankober. He also traveled often to his father in Desse. He was taught at the modern Menelik II school with other young noblemen later on. From an early age, he was made aware of his proximity to the throne of Solomon. His step-grandmother, Empress Taitu, seems to have had reservations about his position from the beginning. Even as a young boy, and increasingly as he grew older, the prince showed little regard for her, and the childless Empress did not relish the thought of being at his mercy one day. The roots of this may have been in the deep-seated rivalry between the Mammadoch clan of his father and the Empress's Werresheik clan of Yejju, both of whom claimed precedence in Wollo. Although relations between Ras Michael and Empress Taitu were always civil, her brother Ras Welle Bitul was an avowed enemy of Michael, and the two Rases often exasperated the Emperor with their constant feuding. Empress Taitu, in addition to her Yejju lineage, was also of Simien blood and had Imperial ancestry in the Gondar line. As a thorough northerner, she was resented by the Shewan aristocrats as ambitious for her own family and their pretentions. Indeed, Taitu had managed to marry all her relatives into the major aristocratic houses of Shewa, Tigrai, and Gojjam. It was whispered that the Empress would prefer Menelik's daughter Zewditu ascend the throne as Empress. As Zewditu was married to Taitu's nephew, Gugsa Welle, son of the aformentioned Ras Welle Bitul, who was also of Imperial blood, it was said that she hoped that the couple would rule Ethiopia together and return the capital to Gondar. Should this happen, her Yejju-Gondar relatives would have unfettered influence at the expense of the Shewan aristocracy which surrounded Menelik and the non-Yejju Wollo nobles whose hopes were pinned to Eyasu. As it was, the Tigreans and the most of the Wollo shared the concerns of the Shewans as far as the ambitions of the Empress, and there was little likelihood of her being able to carry out this plan. In October 1909, it was decided that Lij Eyasu should be betrothed to marry Romanework Mengesha, daughter of Ras Mengesha Yohannis, and grandaughter of Emperor Yohannis IV. She was also the daughter of Woizero Kefey Welle, and thus great-neice of Empress Taitu. It was a brilliant political match on several levels. This marriage was the second attempt at a union between the Houses of Tigrai and Shewa (the first being the marriage between Ras Araya Selassie Yohannis and Princess Zewditu, which ended with the death of the Ras), and it had the added element of involving an alliance between Empress Taitu's family and that of Ras Michael. It was clearly a product of the Empress' policy of political marriage and served her interests nicely. As the couple were still very young, the nuptials were not consummated, pending their coming of age. Possibly, no one wanted to repeat the tragedy of Zenebework Michael. Zenebework Michael was Lij Eyasu's sister and Menelik's granddaughter. At the age of twelve, she was married to the much older Bezabih Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, son of King Tekle Haimanot. A year later, she was dead, probably because she was unable to carry out childbirth at her young age.
The death of Ras Makonnen at Kulibi in March 1906 eliminated the chance of succession to the man in whom Menelik and many of his more progressive nobles had the most confidence. Menelik was determined not to turn to Dejazmatch Taye Gulilat, who, in fact after Menelik, was the next Shewan prince in the male line of succession (Makonnen himself was in the female line). Taye Gulilat's grandfather, Merid Azmatch Haile Michael had claimed the Shewan crown for himself and rebelled against his nephew Menelik many years before. Menelik never forgave his uncle and held his decendants in suspicion. His options had narrowed, and the situation was about to get more urgent. Not long after the death of his cousin Makonnen, Emperor Menelik collapsed while watching renovation work being done on the Church of St. Mary on Mt. Entoto, the place where he had been crowned. Although he recovered swiftly and returned to the Palace, attempts to keep the incident quiet failed, and rumors of his ill health intensified. Menelik had actually suffered a stroke at Entoto. The visiting Italian governor Martini of Eritrea would state that signs of the stroke were apparent in the Emperor's eyes. Menelik suffered yet another stroke in August 1907, and, although he endured the various celebrations of his 63rd birthday on August 19th, he looked unwell to all who saw him. On May 18, 1908, Emperor Menelik was again on Mt. Entoto on his way north to Sellale with the Empress to attend the dedication of a church when he suffered yet another stroke. This time, his right side was paralyzed temporarily, and he was greatly weakened. He could not return to Addis Ababa until the 10th of June. Immediately upon his return to the capital, Empress Taitu began to tightly regulate access to the Emperor and began to assume more and more executive power. The Emperor had become dependent on support to walk and his speech was greatly affected. His physical decline was steady after that. Over the next year, all the nobles and the foreign diplomats were informally notified that Lij Eyasu was the legitimate heir to the Emperor of Ethiopia. It had been generally assumed since the death of Ras Makonnen, but it took on a more formal existance now. Then, in early May of 1909, the nobles were assembled before the Emperor, and Empress Taitu approached him and asked publicly who his successor should be. The weakened Emperor whispered in her ear and she turned to the assembly and said, "He says Lij Eyasu". However, a few days later on May 15th, 1909 at Jan Meda (the Imperial parade ground), a proclamation of the Emperor was read to assembled throngs of nobles, diplomats and subjects. It read, "My child (lij) will succeed me". There was no mention of Lij Eyasu's name nor of any other person qualified to be called the Emperor's child. Some have said it may have been an attempt by elements of the Shewan aristocracy, most notably the governor of Ankober, Welde Tsadik, to put Taye Gulilat on the throne when Menelik died, or by Empress Taitu to place her nephew Ras Gugsa Welle on the throne, as he was married to Menelik's daughter Zewditu, and thus qualified to be called the Emperor's "child". It was at this point that Taitu arranged for her great-neice, Romanework Mengesha be betrothed to Lij Eyasu. Shortly after this betrothal, on October 30, 1909, it was publicly and unabiguously proclaimed that the Heir to the Throne and Crown Prince of Ethiopia was indeed Lij Eyasu Michael, grandson of Menelik II. The Emperor also had his chairman of the cabinet of ministers, Ras Tessema Nadew proclaimed Lij Eyasu's guardian and Lord Regent of the Empire, and that he would serve in this capacity if Menelik should die before Eyasu reached the age of majority. Menelik had chosen Ras Tessema for several reasons. Ras Tessema was the elderly head of the powerful aristocratic Adissge clan and a man generaly respected by the nobility. He was a man who had long displayed little personal ambition and had served Menelik loyally. His father, Ato Nadew, had been Menelik's much loved childhood tutor and advisor. This act, however, deeply hurt Menelik's surviving first cousin, Ras Wolde Giorgis Aboye, who as an elder member of the Imperial family had believed (along with many others) that he was the natural choice for the Regency. He retreated to his province of Keffa and was clearly offended, and there were many who believed he was quite justified in his offense. Wolde Giorgis's marriage to Empress Taitu's cousin Yeshimebet may have undermined him with much of the Shewan nobility who were wary of increasing the influence of the Empress. Menelik's health then deteriorated to the point where he became unresponsive, and Ras Tessema began to rule the Empire in trust for Lij Eyasu. However, Tessema was not the aggressive autocratic type, whereas Empress Taitu very much was. She soon eclipsed him and continued to make decisions and issue edicts, make appointments, and demotions at will. Soon her favorites, her Yejju and Semien relatives, were being appointed to all the posts of power and influence. This would displease the Shewans, the Tigreans, and the Wollo relatives of the heir. A showdown was inevitable. In particular, the Oromo and Gurage noble, Fitawrarri Hapte Giorgis Denagde, was unhappy with her appointments to high office. The old general of Menelik found all her appointments to be scandalously nepotistic, and approved only of the appointment of Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen to Harrar in succession to his late brother Yilma and his father Ras Makonnen.
Taitu's conduct continued to irritate the Shewan nobility and angered the paternal relatives of the Heir to the Throne. When Ras Tessema and Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis urged the Empress to halt appointing only her relatives to office and causing alarm to the foreign diplomats in February of 1910, she angrily called Ras Tessema an imbecile and Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis an invalid. This was the last straw. The two men summoned several other notables to Hapte Giorgis' home and resolved to remove the Empress from state authority. The group included Dejazmatch Gebre Sellassie Baria-Gabr, ruler of Adowa and prominent Tigrean noble man, Dejazmatch Lul Seged (later Ras), Dejazmatch Demissew Nessibu, Dejazmatch Wesene Tirfe and Dejazmach Merid Hapte Mariam. The foreign missions, particularly the French, British, and Italian missions were active in encouraging this group against the Empress, as she was regarded as being anti-foreigner. Many secret communications took place encouraging the nobles to act. After ascertaining the support of the Army, these prominent nobles notified the Archbishop Abune Mattiwos of their intentions (the Archbishop was a long-time foe of the Empress) and had sworn to him that they would not shed any blood. The Archbishop asked to go to the Empress to speak to her first and try to convince her to step aside peacefully and calmly. Taitu's informants, however, beat him to the chase. When he arrived at the Palace, the women of the Imperial household staff came running out and threw stones at the cleric, calling him a dog and a son of foreigners, telling him to go back to Egypt. The Empress sent out word that she didn't have time to see him. The Archbishop angrily returned to his residence and sent the Empress a terse letter in which he stated that if she did not receive him she would be turned over to soldiers. Taitu reluctantly agreed to receive him, and after some tense discussion, agreed to receive the conspirators in audience. The nobles arrived dressed in court dress and made the proper bows to the Empress. Dejazmatch Gebre Selassie then stepped forward and politely asked Her Imperial Majesty to confine herself to the caring of the sovereign, her husband, and halt her involvement in the daily affairs of government which were the rightfull duties of the Regent of the Empire, Ras Tessema Nadew, in the name of the Heir, Lij Eyasu Michael. Although the Dejazmatch and the others had been meticulous in their etiquette, the Empress could not contain her rage. She berated Dejazmatch Gebre Selassie as a coarse and disgusting person, unrefined, and a mere shepherd. In a dig at her own Semien origins (Semien being known for its sheep), the Dejazmatch elegantly replied, "If not for Emperor Menelik, we might all be shepherds, but thanks to him we are all now shepherds of men." Exasperated, she then turned on Ras Tessema demanding to know what action she had ever taken without consulting him as regent and asking him if it was not he who constantly involved her in state matters because of his insistance that she was far more experienced in these matters. His answer was considerably more feeble than the Dejazmatch's quick witty reply. He mumbled something about her constant interference in government and appointment of her relatives to all offices. Ras Mengesha Atikem of Agew Midir, a man who had recently been recently aggrieved by the Empress and was probably there to complain about being dispossesed of his province by her, happened to be present at the scene. Although deeply aggreived at the Empress, the Ras was nevertheless offended at this affront to the wife of his master, and he and Dejazmatch Nessibu came to fisticuffs. The two were bodily separated and were calmed down by the Archbishop. The Empress then sat on her throne and haughtily looked away from the assembled nobles, and in a sign of displeasure, refused to talk with them further. She had a spokesman read a statement from her that asked for permission to leave the capital and take the Emperor to Gondar, or if they insisted he remain in Shewa, either to the monastery of Debre Libanos or her personal fief of Bulga. She would care for him there with her servants and go into seclusion as she was clearly not wanted in the capital. The nobles were startled. They had not expected such a reaction and were not pleased with the prospect of the public seeing them as ingrates who would drive the stricken Emperor and his wife from their home. They pleaded with her not to leave and to remain in the city and care for the Emperor in the Palace where he and she rightly belonged as the reigning monarchs of the Empire. Her spokesman replied that Her Majesty would think about it. In the context of the significant political defeat she had just suffered, it was a small victory, but she must have savored it. She would, of course, agree to stay. The woman who had ruled Ethiopia along with her husband and was probably the most powerful Empress-consort of Ethiopia ever, was thus deposed. The foreign missions congratulated the nobles privately for the way they had carried out Taitu's deposing. Ras Tessema was now the de facto as well as the de jure ruler of Ethiopia, and all business would now be conducted in the name of the Heir to the Throne, Lij Eyasu, rather than in the name of Menelik, King of Kings. Empress Taitu retreated to the Imperial chambers and continued to nurse her stricken husband with the help of her step-daughter Zewditu and a host of servants. All officials were discouraged by the government from meeting the Empress for any reason. Even social visitors were discouraged, and the staff was decreased little by little over time. Increasingly, her only outside contacts were the doctors that treated Menelik. She herself became quite ill during 1912, and Menelik's cousin, Tsehaiwork Darge (daughter of Ras Darge), came from her fief in Sellale to nurse both the Emperor and Empress, much to the grief of the palace staff, which feared and disliked this particular Princess with a vengeance. Cut off from the world, Taitu's staff was continually reduced until the point where she only had a few women helping her and Zewditu. She would complain in writing to the Regent, "Why am I being deprived of male servants? Am I to be forbidden from hearing male voices?" The Empress and the others who nursed the Emperor depended on male attendants to lift him and bathe him. It was becoming very difficult to care for him. On certain occasions, she was asked to present the Emperor for inspection by the nobles to ascertain his continued incapacity to rule. The Regent, cabinet of ministers, and all the highest nobles would file into the Imperial bedchamber and approach the bed where the King of Kings lay completely unresponsive and shrunken away to a faint image of his once-robust self. The nobles would weep and sob openly for their stricken master, and Taitu, seated in a chair nearby would only look on in silence at the men she believed had betrayed her. She would slowly sink into isolation.
Dejazmatch Gebre Selassie Baria-Gabr, Prominent Tigrean Nobleman
The Tomb of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia; the Tomb on its Right Contains the Remains of Empress Taitu, his Wife; the Tomb on its Left Contains the Remains of his Daughter, and eventual Successor, Empress Zewditu, Queen of Queens
His Imperial Highness, Lij Eyasu Michael, Emperor-Designate (never crowned)
Lij Eyasu Michael was the son of Ras (later King) Michael Ali of Wollo and Woizero Shewaregga Menelik, and was born in 1901. His father was the ruler of the Wollo Oromo clan known as the Mammadoch. He was related to both of the rival Mammadoch Queens, Werqitu and Mestawat, who had fought each other as well as Emperor Tewodros II on behalf of their young sons for leadership of the Mammadoch and rule over Wollo. Born Mohammed Ali, son of Imam Ali Abba Dulla, a Moslem noble claiming direct descent from the Prophet Mohammed himself, Ras Michael (pronounced Mika-el) had been compelled to convert to Christianity by Emperor Yohannis IV following the Council of Boru Meda in 1878. Emperor Yohannis IV stood as his godfather, and renamed him Michael, granting him the title of Ras and the province of Wollo to rule. A long-time friend and ally of Yohannis IV, he was at the Emperor's side when Yohannis was wounded and died at Mettema. Ras Michael was later a key figure during Menelik II's reign as well, after finally acknowledging Menelik as Emperor (following initial reluctance), as Menelik had long been the ally of his rival, Abba Watew. Ras Michael would lead the Wollo cavalry that smashed the Italian center force at the battle of Adowa in 1896. As a reward for his submission and recognition, and to tie him more closely to his throne, Menelik married Ras Michael to Menelik's daughter Shewaregga. Previous to his marriage to the Emperor's daughter, Ras Michael had been married before, and one of his daughters was Woizero Sehin Michael, whose daughter would become Empress Menen, consort of Emperor Haile Selassie. Another daughter would marry Ras Seyoum of Tigrai, the grandson of Yohannis IV.
Lij Eyasu's mother, Woizero Shewaregga Menelik, was the younger of Menelik's two acknowledged daughters. Little is known of her mother other than that she may have been a servant in the royal household named Desta. Menelik acknowledged Shewaregga after she had reached the age of marriage, and the acknowledgement was promoted by Empress Taitu, who may have seen benefits in another step-daughter to marry off to her own political advantage. Shewaregga Menelik was first married to Dejazmatch Wedajo Gobena, son of Ras Gobena Dachi, a close friend and advisor of Menelik, and a major Oromo chief as well as an important military figure in his own right. From this marriage, she produced a son, Dejazmatch Wossen Segged Wedajo, who was eliminated from the Imperial succession due to dwarfism. The marriage to Dejazmatch Wedajo did not last, however, and she was soon married to Ras Michael. Empress Taitu's Yejju family had traditionally been rivals of the Mammadoch for domination of Wollo, and her brother Ras Welle Bitul had very difficult relations with Ras Michael. The marriage was thus seen as a way of bringing balance at court by bringing both Wollo families into the Emperor's family circle, ensuring loyalty from both. Following her marriage to Michael of Wollo, Woizero Shewaregga produced two children, a son Lij Eyasu, and a daughter, Woizero Zenebework Michael. Woizero Shewaregga died shortly after the birth of her daughter and Emperor Menelik took his two grandchildren to Addis Ababa from Ras Michael's seat at Dessie. Ras Michael continued to be a favorite of the Emperor, and he was close with his children, but they were raised at the Imperial Palace with other children of Imperial blood under the eye of Empress Taitu. Their governess was the half German Mrs. Hall (whose nationality caused much concern in the British, French and Italian legations in Addis Ababa ). At the age of twelve, Zenebework Michael was married to the much older Ras Bezabih TekleHaimanot, son of King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, and went to live with her new husband at Debre Markos. Unfortunately, the young princess died a year later in childbirth.
Lij Eyasu with his father, King Michael of Wollo. The crown of Emperor Menelik is placed to the King's left
Quickly, everyone at court began to rush to realign themselves with the new powers in the land. The first victims were Empress Taitu's female relatives who had been married into the great noble houses and to powerful figures at court and across the land. One by one they were divorced by their husbands, who quickly went about finding brides that were related to Lij Eyasu or to the Regent Ras Tessema. Most notably, Lij Eyasu's unconsumated marriage to Romanework Mengesha was dissolved. He was instead married to Seble Wongel Hailu, daughter of Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, and granddaughter of King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam. His new father-in-law, Ras Hailu of Gojjam, also divorced his wife, Aselefech (a niece of Taitu) as a result of this rush away from the Empress's circle. In order not to alienate the House of Tigrai, however, Lij Eyasu arranged for his ex-brother-in-law, Dejazmatch (later Ras) Seyoum Mengesha to marry his half-sister, thus keeping Seyoum as his brother-in-law in spite of his own divorce. Lij Eyasu would father a daughter by Woizero Seble Wongel named Alem Tsehai Eyasu (created an Emebethoi by Emperor Haile Selassie). She was his only legitimate child. Dejazmatch Taye Gulilat was arrested as a rival claimant, and Ras Gugsa Welle was also arrested and charged with murder (his aunt Empress Taitu was to haughtily comment, "Even if he had commited this murder, how dare they charge someone of his rank with a crime!?!") Gugsa was placed under house arrest at Falle, while his wife, Princess Zewditu, remained in the capital caring for her stricken father with her stepmother. Ras Tessema now had a host of problems. First Ras Welle rebeled against the government and was preparing to go to war against Ras Michael, father of Lij Eyasu. He believed that Ras Michael was behind the humiliation of his sister the Empress and the imprisonment of his son Gugsa. When Ras Tessema urged Empress Taitu to help him calm her brother down, she wrote to Ras Welle as well as to Ras Michael to try and defuse the situation. When, however, she was asked by the Regent to suggest a person for a delegation to be sent to Ras Welle to further silence him, she coldly informed the Regent that as she was not the cause of her brother's rebellion, the Regent should appoint whoever he chose. Ras Tessema was also concerned with Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen. The Dejazmatch had been denied the governorship of Harrar when his father died even though Ras Makonnen had explicitly indicated that this was his wish. Menelik had reasoned that the boy was too young for such a huge responsibility. Empress Taitu had also actively promoted the interests of Makonnen's elder son Yilma, who was married to one of her neices. However, upon Yilma's death, she had appointed Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo, whose tenure in Harrar was a disaster as he had offended many of the local notables with his direct and undiplomatic manner of doing things. Taitu had then appointed Taffari to succeed his brother and father in Harrar, just one day before she was deposed. Although most of her appointments were reversed, most of the nobles had agreed that this last appointment should not be changed. Harrar was a major source of foriegn trade duty income for the Empire, and most nobles were confident in the young Prince's ability to handle it, as well as it being the wish of his late father. Now, however, concerned that the Prince was a potential threat to the Heir to the Throne, as he was popular with the nobility and had Imperial blood in his veins, Ras Tessema thought that somehow Dejazmatch Taffari's loyalty to Lij Eyasu should be cemented. He summoned Taffari to the Palace and urged both princes to swear loyalty to each other. It is very telling that the oaths that the princes made that day would be conditional. Taffari swore to be a loyal brother and subject "..as long as my rights in Harrar are upheld by Lij Eyasu", and Lij Eyasu swore to be a loyal brother and friend "..as long as Taffari upheld my rights to the throne". Both Taffari and Lij Eyasu were men with a very progressive bent in their thinking. It would be logical that they be firm friends as well as relatives. However, Taffari was an advocate of gradual change in harmony with ancient traditions and by convincing the aristocracy and the conservative elements of Ethiopian society. Eyasu was all for forcing change on the recalcitrant aristocracy and power structures regardless of what they liked. Lij Eyasu also had views on religion and class structure that Dej. Taffari along with most of the rest of the nobility probably found dangerous. For the time being, though, Ras Tessema had created a suitable alignment between the two. Ras Tessema's other royal problem was the public behavior of the heir himself. Lij Eyasu exasperated the old man to no end. The Ras was constantly telling the Prince to behave in a more royal manner, to dress more appropriately, and to pay more attention to serious affairs of state. Lij Eyasu had grown into a handsome, dashing young man, intent on seducing every woman in sight. It was rumored that even Woizero Beletshachew, wife of Ras Tessema, was one of the Prince's lovers. He took to wearing wide borders on his netelas and shemas (shawls) that had customarily been reserved for women and took great pride in starting this trend among young men of his age. This behavior was regarded as unseemly by the regent, who continuously reprimanded the boy to act more seriously, heed his elders more closely and waste less time with his young co-horts and hangers-on. Then, quite suddenly, on the night of April 10, 1911 , Ras Tessema Nadew, Lord Regent of the Empire of Ethiopia, died suddenly at his home. His body was quickly taken to Debre Libanos and buried before the news was announced. The entire court was shocked, and people began to whisper rumors of poison. Suspicion flowed in two directions. First, it was rumored that Lij Eyasu had ordered the poisoning, as he was growing tired of the lectures and the restraint on his authority that the regent represented. It was suspected that Tessema's widow, Beletshachew also had a hand in it as she was suspected of being Eyasu's mistress, and perhaps hoped for an elevation of her position with her husband out of the way. She fanned those fires even further when she refused to go into mourning for her husband. The other suspect was the Empress Taitu, who people regularly blamed for the deaths of her enemies and people in her way. Rumors aside, no proof has ever been made public that the regent was murdered.
Lij Eyasu was now in fact free of the Regency. Between November 1911 and January 1912, his father reorganized the cabinet and the council, making them guides and advisors to Eyasu rather than governors over him. He believed perhaps that the added responsibilties would calm the boy down and focus him. However, Lij Eyasu would now do pretty much as he pleased. It was said he enjoyed insulting the nobles and sleeping with their wives and daughters. It was further said that he could treat a prostitute like a princess but that he also treated a princess like a prostitute. This was not the only act that aggrieved the aristocracy. Lij Eyasu's closest companion was "Tilahun", a former domestic servant to his mother. Tilahun was maliciously rumored to have offered Lij Eyasu his own wife (whom he later divorced) so that the prince could lose his virginity years before and that the prince had happily accepted the offer. To make matters worse, Lij Eyasu granted Tilahun the title of Fitawrari, and the two led a group of young companions on boisterous pursuit of drink and women. To the horror of the Shewan aristocracy, Lij Eyasu arranged for Tilahun to marry Woizero Sakamyelesh Seyfu, descendant of King Sahle Sellasie of Shewa and a member of the Imperial house. He began to refer to the nobles and ministers of his Emperor Menelik as "my grandfather's fattened sheep" and contemptuously told many of them that their time had passed, and that it was time for him to choose new nobles and new ministers of his own preference and his own generation. He continued, however, to seduce their wives and daughters.
In February of 1912, Lij Eyasu went to Wollo to visit his father. He spent much time there meeting with people of many backgrounds, but Moslems in particular, trying to show them that he was concerned about their interests as much as those of his Christian subjects. The aristocracy and the church hierarchy began to whisper uneasily about why he chose to spend so much time with Moslems. He began to roam the north extensively and even founded the town of Alem Tena (named after his warrior horse name Abba Tena). He then led an attack on the Afar to punish them for their attacks on the Jille Oromo of Shewa. In yet another even more brutal contradiction of his seemingly benevolent progressive views, he led a raid on the Gimira in the southwest and forcibly enslaved tens of thousands of them after a bloody campaign. He was gone for a year. His return to Addis Ababa would be quite remarkable in its disruptive scope.
Lij Eyasu returned to Addis Ababa with his huge band of new Gimira slaves and made it known to the council of the realm that he wished to take up residence in the Imperial Palace and have the invalid Emperor Menelik moved elsewhere. The willing ministers began to make arrangements to move the Emperor to Ankober. The ministers approached Empress Taitu with the plan as"a change of scene for His Imperial Majesty", and asked her for an audience with her to discuss it and to see the Emperor to certify that he was fit to travel. Taitu was furious and instructed the commander of the Imperial Guard, Gebre Mariam, to prevent them from entering the Palace. Gebre Mariam took seriously his job to protect the Emperor and vowed to never allow anyone to remove Menelik from his Palace as long as he breathed. Lij Eyasu ordered the Palace( with all its soldiers and servants and royals) completely surrounded by his soldiers and laid under seige. He commanded that only enough food for the Emperor to be let in. The tension between the Imperial Guard and Lij Eyasu's soldiers grew by the second, and on February 8, 1913, an all out gunbattle broke out. Bullets shattered the windows in the Emperor's room, and the Empress had to take refuge with her catatonic husband and their servants in a basement room while battle raged through the palace grounds. When the Archbishop heard the fighting, he rushed to the palace from his home and quickly negotiated a truce. 30 people were dead and 60 wounded, but the captured Gebre Mariam was not executed as Lij Eyasu would have preferred; instead, he was exiled to Gojjam thanks to the promises of the Archbishop which had ended the crisis. Lij Eyasu arrived at the Palace just in time for the Empress to emerge and publicly berate him as an ungrateful grandson who wanted to kill his grandfather. He stood sheepishly as his step-grandmother angrily related how the staff had to carry the Emperor from his bullet-riddled room into the basements to protect him. She then imperiously declared that neither she nor the Emperor were going anywhere and stormed back to her rooms. Taitu had won the day.
A sulking Lij Eyasu left the capital almost immediately after the palace fiasco and stayed away for six months; he roamed about the country again and returned only briefly before again leaving to go stay with his father in Desse. Lij Eyasu returned to Addis Ababa on December 9, 1913. In the early hours of December 12, 1913, Emperor Menelik II, the Elect of God, Conquering Lion of Judah, and King of Kings of Ethiopia, the victor of Adwa, died quietly in his sleep. As his widow, daughter, and servants wept over his body, and before anyone outside of the palace knew, men were sent out to inform Lij Eyasu that he was now in fact Eyasu V, Emperor of Ethiopia. They found him at Jan Meda, the Imperial Parade ground. He was playing a game of Gugs (a horseback mock battle game). Lij Eyasu refused to stop playing and return to the palace. Some have interpreted this as a sign of contempt for his grandfather. Others see it as a deliberate action that was endorsed by the government in secret so as to not reveal the Emperor's death to the public. Indeed, even the diplomats in Addis Ababa were not to be told of the Emperor's death until a week later. Indeed, there was no public announcement made of the death at all, but word slowly leaked out. The ministers seem to have determined to hide the news of the Emperor's death in order to shore up the support of Lij Eyasu and ensure a smooth transition. Empress Taitu was secretly taken out of the city, under heavy guard, in the wee hours of the following morning. She was taken up to the old palace on Mt. Entoto and ordered not to show her face in the capital so that her obvious mourning would not make the death of the Emperor obvious. She would live out the rest of her life on this mountain perch, looking down on the capital city that she had founded but receiving few visitors. Princess Zewditu was kept under house arrest in the palace for a short time, but she was later sent to join her husband at his place of arrest in Falle. As for Menelik the Great, he was secretly buried in the Se'el Bet Kidane Miheret Church (Our Lady Covenant of Mercy Church ) on the Palace grounds. No family attended his burial. It is not known if this was actually ordered by the Cabinet and Lij Eyasu. It was an oddly forlorn death and burial for one who had brought so much progress to his people and successfully defended them from European colonialism -- the only people in Africa to achieve this. The fact that the people were prevented from mourning and weeping for their beloved "Imiye Menelik" was one point for which Lij Eyasu could never hope for forgiveness in later years.
Lij Eyasu decided that he was not ready to be crowned Emperor yet. Athough he was in fact now Emperor Eyasu V, he insisted on being referred to as Abeto Eyasu or Lij Eyasu, or, in his more grand moments "Abeto-hoi, Lij Eyasu". The Archbishop also believed that it would perhaps be better to wait until the Prince reached the age of 18 before crowning him. Therefore, it is by the title of Lij that Eyasu is remembered today. He may have been reluctant to wear the Imperial crown immediately, but he had no problem with granting a royal crown. Lij Eyasu proclaimed that his father would now become King of Zion. This title gave Ras (now king) Michael hegemony over all northern Ethiopia, not just Wollo, but Tigrai and Gondar as well. The northern nobility were furious that they were now being presided over by a former Muslim whom they had formerly outranked. In particular, the Tigrean princes were enraged as the title "King of Zion" had last been used by Emperor Yohannis IV, and they believed their family had been robbed of its inheritance. Shewans and southerners were not pleased with this sign of the ascendency of the Wollo relatives of the heir. In particular, the much overlooked Ras Wolde Giorgis, cousin of Empror Menelik II, was resentful that he, a senior prince and member of the Imperial House was relegated to the mere title of Ras while Michael was made King of the north. He had already been offended that he hadn't been appointed Regent for Lij Eyasu instead of Ras Tessema, and now he was being superseded in rank and title by a non-Solomonic scion of a Muslim clan. The prominent Tigrean noble, Dejazmatch Gebre Silassie Baria Gabr, who had played a key role in removing Empress Taitu from state authority, rebelled against the declaration of Michael as king of Zion, hoping the heirs of Emperor Yohannis would join him in the rebellion. However, Seyoum Mengesha, grandson of Emperor Yohannis and son of Ras Mengesha, decided it would be prudent to obey the powers that be, and he joined King Michael against Gebre Silassie. The Dejazmatch was defeated in battle and fled. He went into hiding and did not emerge until Lij Eyasu's fall. Michael was crowned King of Zion on May 31, 1914 at Desse, and rewarded Seyoum Mengesha with the title of Ras. In deference to the sensitivities of the heirs of Emperor Yohannis, Michael stopped using the title "King of Zion" almost immediately and began to use "King of Wollo".
Lij Eyasu's only legitimate child, Emebethoi Alem Tsehai Eyasu (left) with her mother, Woizero Seble Wongel Hailu (right) daughter of Ras Hailu, and Grandaughter of Tekle Haimanot, King of Gojjam
Lij Eyasu instituted many major reforms. He ended the practice of creditors and debtors as plaintiffs and defendants being chained together when appearing before a judge. He forbid the practice of druging young boys with substances that supposedly gave them the supernatural power to detect theives. Lij Eyasu also ended the practice of the state seizing all the property of a convict, instead letting the prisoner's wife, children or other heirs take over the properties. He establishd the metropolitan police force for Addis Ababa for the first time. He also waged a far -ranging corruption probe in the government and spoke often of expanding the rights and protection of the interests of previously marginalized groups (particularly Moslems). He advocated the establishment of a meritocracy, where one would advance on his abilities and talents rather than on birth, pedigree or patronage. He also did his expected Christian duty by building the Church of Medhane Alem (Saviour of the World) at Kechene, and dutifully, if reluctantly, attended the feast days of various saints at their respective churches. He did not hide his impatience and boredom during these events. He wanted to reduce the power of the church and the feudal landed nobility and expand the powers of a cadre of the largely non-noble progressives who initially supported him. At the same time, however, he would compromise these acts and ambitions with his unpredictable behavior. He would continue to frequent the most disreputable parts of town into the wee hours with his freinds in drunken debauchery of women, and then engage his newly formed police force in shoot-outs. When the police realized who it was that was engaging in gun battles with them, they were horrified, along with the rest of the population. While conducting his corruption probe, he also made sure that people he didn't like, but who were otherwise honest, were framed along with the corrupt. His boon companions, mostly men who were trained as gardeners, chauffeurs and other low-level palace retainers, became the beneficiaries of his largese, recieving titles, property and concessions. Lij Eyasu even granted the customs of Harrar, a major source of income, to his Syrian freind, Ydbilli, an act that infuriated his cousin Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen, the erstwhile governor of Harrar. Ydbilli deliberately provoked Dejazmatch Taffari by refusing to acknowledge his jurisdiction as the regional governor. Eyasu spent a very large amount of time absent from the capital touring the Empire, which allowed his opponents to freely plot his downfall. He had dreams of expanding his Empire at the expense of the European colonialists that surrounded Ethiopia. He secretly encouraged the rebellion of Somalis in British and Italian Somaliland, sending them weapons in secret, and dreamed of pushing the Italians out of Eritrea. This angered the Europeans, and they began to secretly incite people against him. In particular, as World War I broke out in Europe, Lij Eyasu showed increasing signs of favoring Germany, Austria, and Turkey over France, Britain, and Italy. The British in particular were alarmed at these signs as they feared that the increasingly pro-Islamic occupant of the Ethiopian throne might incite their Moslem subjects in Somaliland and the Sudan against them and in favor of Turkey . This would complicate matters by opening a new front in the world war in their colonies, which was not something they could easily deal with. These suspicions were encouraged by Lij Eyasu's repeated pro-German and pro-Turkish statements he made in private company. In particular, the allied diplomats in Addis Ababa looked with deep suspicion on the influence of Mrs. Hall, the German woman who had been the governess of all the Imperial children during the reign of Emperor Menelik and was something of a mother figure to Lij Eyasu. Lij Eyasu, however, would later also fell in love with a picture of Princess Jolanda of Italy and made inquiries as to how he might propose a marriage alliance with the House of Savoy. The full story of this incident is to be found further down in this history, but, aside from amusing the bigoted Italian officials, these inquiries angered his own nobles who still regarded Italy as the enemy and were angered at the prospect of a Catholic European-born Empress. His domestic marital adventures were causing enough controversy as it was. Lij Eyasu had divorced Romanawork Mengesha of Tigrai and married Seble Wongel Hailu of Gojjam. He remained married to the Gojjame princess, and they had produced a daughter, Alem Tsehai Eyasu (later granted the title of Emebet-hoi by Emperor Haile Silassie). She would be Lij Eyasu's only legitimate issue. Lij Eyasu had a dream of creating a new nobility in Ethiopia . This nobility would replace the old and would be comprised of various ethnic and religious backgrounds, no longer dominated by the Orthodox Christian elites. This Eyasuist nobility would be created by him personally. He would do this by having children with the daughters of the various noble, royal, princely families, and with the daughters of all the chiefs and sultans and imams in the land. They would be Christians, Muslims, Oromo, Amharia, Tigrean, Afar, Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and essentially from every region and sub-group imaginable, and they would all be tied to the throne because they were the blood of Lij Eyasu. He set about this task with great relish and enjoyment and had many illigitimate issue. Much to the horror of the Christian clergy, he "married" the daughter of the Afar Sultan Abu Bakr, as well as the daughter of the Sultan of Jimma Abba Jiffar and the daughter of the Harrar nobleman Haji Abdulahi (the former Emir) and also the daughter of the Wellega heir of the Kingdom of Leqa Qellam Dejazmatch Jote. Dejazmatch Jote's daughter, the beautiful Askale Mariam, was said to have been converted to Islam by Lij Eyasu and renamed Mumina. These polygamous marriages scandalized the church and the clergy, and the fact that these women were Muslims did not endear him to the Orthodox church at all. The Wollo noblewoman Tiruwork Aligaz was then installed in a palace in Addis Ababa as an Imperial concubine and even presented to foriegn diplomats as such. Lij Eyasu also had a vast number of illegitimate children with a host of other women of varying backgrounds. All this happened while he remained legally married to Woizero Seble Wongel, grandaughter of the King of Gojjam. It was rumored in the more vicious anti-Eyasu circles that Lij Eyasu had given Woizero Seble Wongel a venereal disease. Lij Eyasu was said to never let a pretty face pass by him without taking advantage of his Imperial authority and his skill at seduction.
In 1915, on the occasion of the birthday of the Sultan of Turkey, Lij Eyasu made a suprise appearance in his capital after yet another extended jaunt around the Empire, and he visited the Turkish mission to attend a celebration dinner. It is said that Lij Eyasu declared that as the Patriarch of Alexandria, who was the head of the Ethiopian church, was an Egyptian subject of the Sultan of Turkey, Ethiopians were also the religious subjects of the Sultan. He went on to proudly proclaim his own descent from the Prophet Mohammed and presented the Turkish minister with an Ethiopian flag with the words "Allah is Great, and Mohammed is his Prophet" embroidered in Arabic where the Lion of Judah would have been. The allied diplomats in Addis Ababa were extremely angered at this overture to the Turks; the nobles who had always seen the Turks as old enemies were furious, and the Orthodox Church hierarchy was scandalized. This unpredictable behavior of the Emperor-designate, which had at first amused the indulgent people as youthful hot blood, something the young heir would outgrow, was now seen as scandalous, reckless, and horrifying. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was beyond disturbed, the hierarchs were deeply angered. Lij Eyasu's lurid marriage games were not limited to himself. As stated above, a high ranking woman of Imperial blood, Woizero Sakamyelesh was made to marry to his co-hort Tilahun. He also ordered his neice, Woizero Menen Asfaw (daughter of his much loved half-sister Sihin Michael) to divorce her husband, Ras Leul Seged, and marry his royal cousin Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen as a way of keeping that prince loyal to him. Although they had known each other well in youth, Lij Eyasu and Dejazmatch Taffari would soon have a major falling out.
Lij Eyasu with his neice Menen Asfaw, later Empress Menen, consort of Emperor Haile Selassie I