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61-418: Zewditu ( Ge'ez : ዘውዲቱ , born Askala Maryam ; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 until her death in 1930. She was officially renamed Zewditu at the beginning of her reign as Empress of Ethiopia. Once she succeeded the throne after Lij Yasu in 1916, she was described as the first modern-era female head in the nation of Africa. Her official coronation was on February 11, 1917,held in

122-407: A 68% lexical similarity to Geʽez, followed by Amharic at 62%. Most linguists believe that Geʽez does not constitute a common ancestor of modern Ethio-Semitic languages but became a separate language early on from another hypothetical unattested common language. Historically, /ɨ/ has a basic correspondence with Proto-Semitic short *i and *u , /æ ~ ɐ/ with short *a ,

183-566: A modification of the traditional title "King of Kings" ( Nəgusä Nägäst ). Initially, Zewditu was not permitted to exercise power herself. Instead, her cousin Ras Tafari Makonnen was appointed regent , and her father's old loyal general, Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis Dinagde was made commander-in-chief of the army. Ras Tafari was also made heir apparent to Zewditu, for none of her children had survived to adulthood. In 1928, after an attempt to remove Ras Tafari Makonnen from power failed,

244-441: A part in the plot that eventually removed Emperor Iyasu V from the throne in 1916, replacing him with Empress Zauditu , the price for Zauditu's elevation was a divorce from Taytu's nephew Ras Gugsa Welle , who became governor of Begemder . Zauditu, Menelik II's daughter by yet another previous marriage, had always been close to Empress Taytu and invited Taytu to live with her. Although Taytu declined she resumed advising rulers "in

305-466: A period of potential upheaval. Her reign remains a topic of study for its insights into the challenges of leadership during a time of significant political and social change. Baptised as Askala Maryam ("Askal of Mary", a type of flower ), but using the given name Zewditu (Zauditu), the future Empress was the second daughter of the Negus (or King) Menelik of Shewa , the future emperor Menelik II . Zewditu

366-466: A powerful enough position to say "Absolutely not" ( Imbi ) to people and issues he just did not want to personally offend or refuse. When Menelik's health began to decline around 1906, Taytu began to make decisions on his behalf, angering her rivals for power through her appointment of favorites and relatives to most of the positions of power and influence. As a means to curb her family's political influence at court, Menelik selected Sabla Wangel Hailu as

427-451: A rock of repentance on his shoulders, before entering the throne room and kissing the Empress's shoes to beg for her mercy. The heir to the throne, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was not present at this spectacle out of consideration for the feelings of his wife, who was the granddaughter of Negus Mikael. Upon hearing of his father's defeat and humiliation, Iyasu himself fled to Afar . After years on

488-737: A series of conservative policies, resisting rapid modernization. Ascending to the throne in 1916 after the deposition of Emperor Iyasu V , she was supported by conservative factions and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church , who saw her as a stabilizing figure. Her rule was characterized by efforts to uphold Ethiopian traditions and the Orthodox Christian faith, contrasting with the modernizing ambitions of her regent, Ras Tafari Makonnen, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie . Faced with significant internal challenges, she navigated power struggles between conservative and modernist factions within

549-556: A son, Asfa Wossen, who died before adulthood; and another daughter Shewa Regga, the mother of Lij Iyasu , Menelik's eventual heir. However, the Emperor remained closest to Zewditu, who also had good relations with her stepmother, the Empress Taytu, and was part of her father's household for most of her life. In 1886 the ten-year-old Zewditu was married to Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes , son and heir of Emperor Yohannes IV . The marriage

610-461: A war against Lij Iyasu, who had escaped captivity. Backed by his father, Negus Mikael of Wollo , a powerful northern leader, Iyasu attempted to regain the throne. The two failed to effectively coordinate their efforts however, and after some initial victories Iyasu's father was defeated and captured at the Battle of Segale . The Negus was paraded through the streets of Addis Ababa in chains, carrying

671-562: Is an Amharic word meaning "She is the Crown", though it sometimes appears erroneously Anglicized as "Judith", with which it is not cognate. Her mother, Weyziro (Lady) Abechi , was a noblewoman of Wollo and a brief companion of Menelik II. Her mother separated from Menelik when Zewditu was very young, and the future empress was raised by her father and his consort Baffana . Negus Menelik later married Taytu Betul but had no children by this wife. Menelik had three acknowledged children: Zewditu herself;

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732-568: Is claimed to have a ruling foothold in the Northern region of the country. Such places include: Semien , Begemeder , Lasta , Yejju , Wello and Tigray . Her aristocratic lineage dates back to 1607–32, descending from the daughter of Emperor Susneyos. Her great-grandfather, Ras Gebre of Simien, ruled for 44 years during the period known as the Zemene Mesafint, or the "Era of the Princes". His fame

793-452: Is even a tendency for nouns to follow the gender of the noun with a corresponding meaning in Greek. There are two numbers, singular and plural. The plural can be constructed either by suffixing ኣት -āt to a word (regardless of gender, but often ኣን -ān if it is a male human noun), or by using an internal plural . Nouns also have two cases: the nominative, which is not marked, and

854-486: Is lost when a plural noun with a consonant-final stem has a pronoun suffix attached (generally replaced by the added -i- , as in -i-hu , "his"), thereby losing the case/state distinction, but the distinction may be retained in the case of consonant-final singular nouns. Furthermore, suffix pronouns may or may not attract stress to themselves. In the following table, pronouns without a stress mark (an acute) are not stressed, and vowel-initial suffixes have also been given

915-433: Is pronounced exactly the same as ḥ in the traditional pronunciation. Though the use of a different letter shows that it must originally have had some other pronunciation, what that pronunciation was is not certain. The chart below lists /ɬ/ and /t͡ɬʼ/ as possible values for ś ( ሠ ) and ḍ ( ፀ ) respectively. It also lists /χ/ as a possible value for ḫ ( ኀ ). These values are tentative, but based on

976-399: Is said to have wept bitterly for him when told that she was being made Empress as her nephew had been excommunicated for apostasy. Increasingly, the Empress retreated from state responsibility into a world of fasting and prayer, whilst the progressive elements that surrounded the heir, Tafari Makonnen, gained in strength and influence at court. The early period of Zewditu's reign was marked by

1037-400: Is stressed on the ultima (e.g. ንግር nəgə́r , "speak!"), and that, in some patterns, words can be stressed on the third-, fourth- or even fifth-to-last syllable (e.g. በረከተ bárakata ). Due to the high predictability of stress location in most words, textbooks, dictionaries and grammars generally do not mark it. Minimal pairs do exist, however, such as yənaggərā́ ("he speaks to her", with

1098-559: Is that she was born at about 1851. Taytu's father, Ras Betul Haile Maryam , was part of the ruling family of Semien that claimed to be descendants of the Solomonic Dynasty through Emperor Susenyos I . Taytu's uncle was the Amhara warlord Wube Haile Maryam who governed the Semien and Tigray princedom. There are no records indicating that Empress Taytu attended school; however, she

1159-699: The Cathedral of St. George in Addis Ababa—a capital founded by her father. She was forty years old, and childless when she was crowned empress. The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first and only empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire , her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir Ras Tafari Makonnen (who succeeded her as Emperor Haile Selassie I ), about which she

1220-609: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Ethiopian Catholic Church , Eritrean Catholic Church , and the Beta Israel Jewish community. Hawulti Obelisk is an ancient pre-Aksumite Obelisk located in Matara , Eritrea. The monument dates to the early Aksumite period and bears an example of the ancient Geʽez script. In one study, Tigre was found to have a 71% lexical similarity to Ge'ez, while Tigrinya had

1281-529: The League of Nations , and abolished slavery . Zewditu busied herself with religious activities, such as the construction of a number of significant churches. In 1928 there was a small conservative uprising against Tafari's reforms , but it was unsuccessful. Empress Zewditu was compelled to grant Tafari, who now controlled most of the Ethiopian government, the title of King ( Negus ). While Negus Tafari remained under

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1342-426: The se letter used for spelling the word nigūś "king") is reconstructed as descended from a Proto-Semitic voiceless lateral fricative [ɬ] . Like Arabic, Geʽez merged Proto-Semitic š and s in ሰ (also called se-isat : the se letter used for spelling the word isāt "fire"). Apart from this, Geʽez phonology is comparably conservative; the only other Proto-Semitic phonological contrasts lost may be

1403-705: The Empire from its Eritrean colony, she marched north with the Emperor and the Imperial Army, commanding a force of cannoneers at the historic Battle of Adwa that resulted in a humiliating defeat for Italy in March 1896. This victory was the most significant of any African army battling European colonialism. Menelik II and Taytu Betul were temporarily in possession of 4,000 prisoners of war. Menelik, who often prevaricated and postponed unpleasant decisions by answering "Yes, tomorrow" ( Ishi, nega ), found it useful to have his wife be in

1464-464: The Empress was compelled to crown her cousin Negus . While the conservative Ethiopian aristocracy was generally supportive of Zewditu, it was less enthusiastic about many of her relatives. Zewditu's stepmother and the aunt of her husband, Dowager Empress Taytu Betul , had withdrawn from the capital after Menelik's death, but were still distrusted somewhat due to the evident favoritism she had practiced during

1525-523: The Lord Regent Ras Tessema, and the ministers agreed that Iyasu's coronation should be postponed until he was a bit older and had taken Holy Communion with his wife, which would make his marriage insoluble in the eyes of the Orthodox Church. However, Iyasu quickly encountered problems with his rule, and he was never crowned. He was widely disliked by the nobility for his unstable behavior, and

1586-476: The accusative, which is marked with final -a . As in other Semitic languages, there are at least two "states", absolute (unmarked) and construct (marked with -a as well). As in Classical/Standard Arabic , singular and plural nouns often take the same final inflectional affixes for case and state, as number morphology is achieved via attaching a suffix to the stem and/or an internal change in

1647-561: The base በ /b/ in the script. Noun phrases have the following overall order: በዛ ba-zā in-this: F ሀገር hagar city በዛ ሀገር ba-zā hagar in-this:F city in this city ንጉሥ nəguś king ክቡር kəbur glorious ንጉሥ ክቡር nəguś kəbur king glorious a/the glorious king Adjectives and determiners agree with the noun in gender and number: ዛቲ zāti this: FEM ንግሥት Taytu Betul Taytu Betul ( Amharic : ጣይቱ ብጡል Ṭaytu Bəṭul  ; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918)

1708-470: The care of her stricken husband, Taytu faded from the political scene. Taytu and Menelik did not have any children. Menelik died in 1913 and was succeeded by his grandson from a daughter of a previous liaison, Lij Iyasu . Taytu was banished to the old Palace at Entoto , next to the St. Mary's church she had founded years before, and where her husband had been crowned Emperor. While some believe Taytu may have played

1769-465: The church held him in suspicion for his alleged Muslim sympathies. After a troubled few years, Iyasu was removed from power. Zewditu was summoned to the capital, and on 27 September 1916, the Council of State and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church officially announced the death of Emperor Menelik II and deposed Iyasu in favour of Zewditu. Zewditu's official title was "Queen of Kings" ( Negiste Negest ),

1830-449: The conservative faction at court that resisted the modernists and progressives who wanted to develop Ethiopia along western lines and bring modernity to the country. According to the historians, she was always consulted by the Emperor prior to making important decisions. Thus, Empress Taytu was a key player in the conflict over the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy , which she tore up. Empress Taytu

1891-483: The contrast here represented as a/ā is represented as ä/a. Geʽez is transliterated according to the following system (see the phoneme table below for IPA values): Because Geʽez is no longer spoken in daily life by large communities, the early pronunciation of some consonants is not completely certain. Gragg writes that "[t]he consonants corresponding to the graphemes ś (Geʽez ሠ ) and ḍ (Geʽez ፀ ) have merged with ሰ and ጸ respectively in

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1952-552: The country. Despite her conservative stance, Zewditu had to deal with the complexities of a nation under pressure to modernize and engage with foreign powers. During her reign, Ethiopia experienced political manoeuvring, with Ras Tafari pushing for reforms and international diplomacy, creating a dual power dynamic that defined her rule. Ethiopia's attempts to assert its sovereignty amidst external threats, particularly from colonial powers like Italy , marked this period. Her commitment to preserving Ethiopian independence and cultural heritage

2013-513: The direct male line succession of the dynasty, as Emperor Yohannes's claim to the throne was through a female link to the line. As the daughter of Menelik II, Zewditu would be the last monarch in direct agnatic descent from the Solomonic dynasty . Her successor Haile Selassie was also linked in the female line. Menelik died in 1913, and Lij Iyasu , the son of Zewditu's half-sister Shewa Regga, who had been publicly declared heir apparent in 1909, took

2074-591: The family's footsteps by also acquiring a high position in the region. As the half-brother of Taytu's father, Degazmach Wube was responsible for ruling the Tigray province. Taytu had two brothers (Ras Welle Betul & Temru Betul) and two sisters. In her fourth and final marriage, Taytu Betul married King Menelik of Shewa , who would later become Emperor of Ethiopia . Taytu is acknowledged to have wielded considerable political power both before and after she and Menelik were crowned Emperor and Empress in 1889. She led

2135-442: The following patterns. Quadriconsonantal and some triconsonantal nouns follow the following pattern. Triconsonantal nouns that take this pattern must have at least one "long" vowel (namely /i e o u/ ). In the independent pronouns, gender is not distinguished in the 1st person, and case is only distinguished in the 3rd person singular. Suffix pronouns attach at the end of a noun, preposition or verb. The accusative/construct -a

2196-555: The grounds of the palace, where she would see to his care and he could receive religious counsel. She found Ras Tafari and Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Dinagde to be unbendingly opposed, and so gave up. She did, however, ensure that special favorite foods and a constant supply of clothing and luxuries reached Iyasu at his place of arrest in Sellale. As Empress Zewditu's reign progressed, the difference in outlook gradually widened between her and her appointed heir, Ras Tafari Makonnen . Tafari

2257-461: The heir-presumptive Lij Iyasu 's wife, as her family had no ties to Taytu's. Taytu was widely resented for her alleged Gonderine xenophobia and nepotism, and the nobility of Shoa and Tigray, along with the Wollo relatives of Lij Iyasu conspired to remove her from state responsibility. In 1910, she was forced from power, and a regency under Ras Tessema Nadew took over. Instructed to limit herself to

2318-458: The hostility between Menelik and Yohannes, Zewditu managed throughout the conflict to maintain good relations with both. In a sign of his high regard and affection for his daughter-in-law, Emperor Yohannes IV sent Zewditu back to Shewa with a large gift of valuable cattle, at a time when relations between him and her father were at a particularly low point. Zewditu had two further marriages, both brief, before marrying Ras Gugsa Welle . Gugsa Welle

2379-496: The inevitability of change. She is remembered for her dedication to the Ethiopian Orthodox faith and her role in a transitional period that set the stage for the modernization efforts that followed. Critics argue that her conservative policies may have hindered Ethiopia's progress and adaptation to the modern world. However, supporters highlight her significant role in maintaining Ethiopian sovereignty and cultural identity during

2440-420: The interdental fricatives and ghayn . There is no evidence within the script of stress rules in the ancient period, but stress patterns exist within the liturgical tradition(s). Accounts of these patterns are, however, contradictory. One early 20th-century account may be broadly summarized as follows: As one example of a discrepancy, a different late 19th-century account says the masculine singular imperative

2501-502: The modernised Ethiopian army at the Battle of Anchem on 31 March 1930. On 2 April 1930, two days after Ras Gugsa Welle was killed in battle, Empress Zewditu died. According to some popular histories, Zewditu died of shock and grief at hearing of her husband's death, but other accounts contradict this, claiming that Zewditu was not informed of the battle's outcome before her sudden death. Some diplomatic sources in Addis Ababa reported at

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2562-481: The nominal rule of Zewditu (who was still Negeste Negest , i.e. Empress), Tafari was now in effect the ruler of Ethiopia. A number of attempts were made to displace him, but they were all unsuccessful. In 1930, Zewditu's husband Ras Gugsa Welle led a rebellion against Negus Tafari in Begemder , hoping to end the regency in spite of his wife's repeated pleas and orders to desist, but was defeated and killed in battle by

2623-551: The phonological system represented by the traditional pronunciation—and indeed in all modern Ethiopian Semitic. ... There is, however, no evidence either in the tradition or in Ethiopian Semitic [for] what value these consonants may have had in Geʽ;ez." A similar problem is found for the consonant transliterated ḫ . Gragg notes that it corresponds in etymology to velar or uvular fricatives in other Semitic languages, but it

2684-447: The pronoun suffix -(h)ā́ "her") vs. yənaggə́rā ("they speak", feminine plural), both written ይነግራ . Geʽez distinguishes two genders, masculine and feminine, the latter of which is sometimes marked with the suffix ት -t , e.g. እኅት ʼəxt ("sister"). These are less strongly distinguished than in other Semitic languages, as many nouns not denoting humans can be used in either gender: in translated Christian texts there

2745-782: The reconstructed Proto-Semitic consonants that they are descended from. The following table presents the consonants of the Geʽez language. The reconstructed phonetic value of a phoneme is given in IPA transcription, followed by its representation in the Geʽez script and scholarly transliteration. Geʽez consonants have a triple opposition between voiceless, voiced, and ejective (or emphatic ) obstruents. The Proto-Semitic "emphasis" in Geʽez has been generalized to include emphatic p̣ /pʼ/ . Geʽez has phonologized labiovelars , descending from Proto-Semitic biphonemes. Geʽez ś ሠ Sawt (in Amharic, also called śe-nigūś , i.e.

2806-413: The reign of her late husband. In an attempt to limit her influence, the aristocracy arranged for her nephew – Zewditu's husband Ras Gugsa Welle – to be appointed to a remote governorship, removing him from court. This move, while intended as a strike against Taytu rather than against Zewditu, is believed to have upset Zewditu considerably. Zewditu also suffered guilt for taking

2867-401: The run, Iyasu was later captured by Dejazmach Gugsa Araya Selassie , the son whom Zewditu's first husband had fathered by another woman. Gugsa Araya was rewarded with the title of Ras from his former stepmother, and with Princess Yeshashework Yilma , the niece of Tafari Makonnen, as his bride. When Iyasu was captured, a tearful Empress Zewditu pleaded that he be kept in a special house on

2928-705: The stem. There is some morphological interaction between consonant-final nouns and a pronoun suffix (see the table of suffix pronouns below). For example, when followed by የ -ya ("my"), in both nominative and accusative the resulting form is ሊቅየ liqə́ya (i.e. the accusative is not * ሊቀየ *liqáya ), but with ከ -ka ("your", masculine singular) there's a distinction between nominative ሊቅከ liqə́ka and accusative ሊቀከ liqáka , and similarly with -hu ("his") between nominative ሊቁ liqú (< *liq-ə-hu ) and accusative ሊቆ liqó (< *liqa-hu ). Internal plurals follow certain patterns. Triconsonantal nouns follow one of

2989-461: The throne from Lij Iyasu, whom her father had wanted to succeed him – while she believed that Iyasu's overthrow was necessary, she had admired her father greatly, and was unhappy at having to disobey his wishes. Her separation from her husband and her guilt about Iyasu's overthrow combined to make Zewditu not particularly happy as Empress. Even though he had treated her abominably, she held much personal affection for her nephew Iyasu, and

3050-444: The throne. Iyasu considered Zewditu a potential threat to his rule, and exiled her and her husband to the countryside. Due to fears of instability that might be caused, the cabinet of ministers decided not to publicly proclaim the death of Menelik II. As a result, Iyasu was never officially proclaimed as Emperor Iyasu V. However, both Menelik's death and Iyasu's de facto accession were widely known and accepted. The Church authorities,

3111-511: The time that the fever-stricken Empress was immersed in a large container of frigidly cold holy water to cure her of her illness, but that her body went into shock, and she died shortly thereafter. Zewditu was succeeded on the throne by Negus Tafari, who took the name of Emperor Haile Selassie . Ge%27ez language Today, Geʽez is used as the main liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ,

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3172-538: The vowels /i, u, a/ with Proto-Semitic long *ī, *ū, *ā respectively, and /e, o/ with the Proto-Semitic diphthongs *ay and *aw . In Geʽez there still exist many alternations between /o/ and /aw/ , less so between /e/ and /aj/ , e.g. ተሎኩ taloku ~ ተለውኩ talawku ("I followed"). In the transcription employed by the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica , which is widely employed in academia,

3233-464: Was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II . An influential figure in the anti-colonial resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa , she, along with her husband, founded the modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 1886. According to Raymond Jonas, Taytu Betul (or Taitu) was born in Semien , North Gondar , Ethiopian Empire. Scholarly consensus

3294-445: Was a moderniser, believing that Ethiopia needed to open itself to the world in order to survive. In this, he had the backing of many younger nobles. Zewditu, however, was a conservative, believing in the preservation of Ethiopian tradition. She had the strong backing of the church in this belief. Slowly, however, Zewditu began to withdraw from active politics, leaving more and more power to Tafari. Under Tafari's direction, Ethiopia entered

3355-427: Was a notable aspect of her leadership. However, resistance to rapid modernization and reliance on traditionalist policies led to tensions within the government and society. The death of Empress Zewditu in 1930, under circumstances that remain somewhat unclear, marked the end of an era and paved the way for Ras Tafari to become Emperor Haile Selassie. Her legacy reflects efforts to maintain traditional values while facing

3416-469: Was acknowledged through two measures. He was responsible for making the communities west of Gondar pay taxes in gold, as well as treating his subjects so well – providing an ample amount of food and drink so that they no longer needed to farm to sustain themselves. Her grandfather, Dejazmach Haile Maryam Gebre , also held a respected title. He governed Simien, where his children Wube, Betul and Merso were born. Additionally, her uncle Degazmach Wube followed in

3477-567: Was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion. She is the most recent empress regnant , as well as the last female Ethiopian head of state until the 2018 election of Sahle-Work Zewde as president. It is heard that she patterned her reign close to the British Queen Victoria’s legacy. Empress Zewditu sought to maintain Ethiopia's traditional values during her reign through

3538-501: Was political, having been arranged when Menelik agreed to submit to Yohannes' rule. Yohannes and Menelik eventually fell into conflict again, however, with Menelik launching a rebellion against Yohannes' rule. Zewditu's marriage was childless, since she was very young during her marriage, although her husband had fathered a son by another woman. When Araya Selassie died in 1888, she left Mekele and returned to her father's court in Shewa. Despite

3599-593: Was taught to read and write in Amharic and Ge'ez . This is a rarity, considering that it was unlikely for women to be educated at the time. It is believed that she was taught diplomacy, politics and economics. Additionally, she understood a language once exclusive to the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy. Empress Taytu was known to play the begena , which is a 10-string instrument. Her other activities included playing Senterej , Ethiopian chess, and an interest in writing poetry. Of Lasta , Yejju and Tigray descent, her family

3660-599: Was the first to motivate the hesitant Emperor and other men to stand up against the Italians. Deeply suspicious of European intentions towards Ethiopia, she was a key player in the conflict over the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy, in which the Italian version made Ethiopia an Italian protectorate, while the Amharic version did not do so. The Empress held a hard line against the Italians, and when talks eventually broke down, and Italy invaded

3721-636: Was the nephew of the Empress Taytu, Zewditu's stepmother. Zewditu had already been on good terms with Taytu, but the direct tie between the two helped cement the relationship. Unlike her prior marriages, Zewditu's marriage to Gugsa Welle is thought to have been happy. Upon the death of Emperor Yohannis IV at the Battle of Metemma against the Mahdists of the Sudan, in the Mahdist War , Negus Menelik of Shewa assumed power and became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889. This restored

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