His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Ras Tafari Makonnen, Regent of the
Ethiopian Empire preparing to meet Pope Pius XI in audience, accompanied by the
Vatican secretary of State, Ethiopian Princes and nobility, and with clergy and
nobility of the Vatican state, 1923.
Upon his
return, the Crown Prince was able to please the Empress with the news that the
British government would be returning one of the crowns of Emperor Tewodros II
that the Napier expedition had siezed and carried off from Magdala in 1867. He
did have to face however the deepening hostility to his modernizing zeal on the
part of the conservative camp led by Fitarwrari Hapte Giorgis (who had not
accompanied him abroad) and the Archbishop Abune Mattiwos who was displeased
with the delegations call on the Pope in Rome. They rigorously opposed his every
move towards modernizing the administration of the Empire, raising objections,
saying that the things the Prince wanted to do were "un-Ethiopian".
Particularly, when told that slaves were to be freed, Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis is
said to have sputtered with outrage "...so is my wife to carry water on her back
from the springs herself????" With the deaths of these two powerful but elderly
men, Ras Taffari was able to consolidate his power by co-opting much of the
Fitawrarris personal forces and staff into his own, and by postponing the
appointment of a new Archbishop by entering into negotiations with the Coptic
Patriarchate of Alexandria over the posibility of having an Ethiopian appointed
to the post for the first time. The reluctance of the Patriarch to agree to this
resulted in the Ethiopian born Echege (Abbot of Debre Libanos Monastery) being
the highest ranking cleric in Ethiopia, and he being much more in sympathy with
the regent than the Archbishop had been, it was in the interests of the Prince
to let things remain as they were and let the negotiations with the Holy See of
St. Mark drag on. The power of the conservatives was thus greatly reduced. The
Empress, although a staunch traditionalist was increasingly devoting her time
and energies towards prayer and church building. She was therefore never an
effective leader for the forces of conservatism. Part of the reason for this
behavior may have been a deep sense of guilt that she bore for having defied her
father's will and replaced his designated heir on the throne, and also because
of her deep sorrow at being forcefully separated from her husband. These events
may have put her in a position of helplessness, and at the mercy of her nobles.
After a series of plots and counter plots, an attempt was made to arrest the
Prince-Regent at the Imperial Palace by conservative elements in the cabinet,
possibly with the Empresses knowledge and agreement. However, the Crown Prince's
wife got wind of the plot, and was able to alert him as well as send a force of
his guards to the palace to liberate him. The Empress claimed ignorance of the
plot, although it had been carried out in her name. Progressives and modernizers
in the nobility and the army held an unprecedented demonstation in support of
Ras Taffari on the grounds of the palace. In order to appease the angry
progressives who rallied to the Crown Prince, the Empress agreed to crown him
king. In November of 1928, Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia crowned Taffari Makonnen
as King and Heir to the Throne of Ethiopia. It was an unusual arangment as the
King would remain in the capital with the Empress, and that no territory such as
Wollo or Gondar was given him with the title. It was assumed that he was king of
all Ethiopia, an unprecedented situation. His coronation as Nigus was regarded
as a dress rehersal of sorts for his eventual coronation as Niguse Negest. He
would later see to it that no one else would ever be crowned king once he became
Emperor.
Taffari Makonnen, as King and Heir to the Throne, 1928
With the
eventuallity of his becoming emperor all the more likely now, the new king began
to accelerate the process of getting an Archbishop from Alexandria. Although the
Copts had been staunch in refusing to name an Ethiopian to the post, the
Ethiopians were able to get the Patriarch to appoint 4 Ethiopian born suffrugan
bishops to serve under the Egyptian Archbishop. The new Egyptian born Archbishop
Kyrilos, and the Ethiopian born Bishops Petros, Abraham, Markos and Lukas were
all consicrated in Alexandria and arrived in Ethiopia soon afterwards. The
Ethiopian Church was jubilant to have so many bishops at once, as well as 4
native born bishops. A year later, upon the occasion of the visit of the Coptic
Patriarch of Alexandria to Ethiopia, he consicrated the Echege of Debre Libanos,
as the fifth Ethiopian born Bishop with the name Sauiros.
Abune Kyrilos, last Egyptian born Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church (the caption erroneously refers to him as Patriarch)
Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo, known as "Balcha Abba Nefso"
Soon after
becoming king in 1928, Nigus Taffari recieved yet another challenge from the
forces of conservatism. Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo, an Oromo unich who had been
raised by Emperor Menelik and placed in the powerful post of Governor of the
wealthy province of Sidamo, arrived in Addis Ababa with a very large number of
well armed men. He had repeatedly refused the summons of the new King to come to
the Capital, and only obeyed now because he had recieced a summons from the
Empress. Dejazmatch Balcha and his army encamped at Nifas Silk, just outside the
city, and the presence of Balcha's Army was regarded as being a direct challenge
to the king, in support of the Empress and the conservatives she supported. On
the second evening after his arrival, Dejazmatch Balcha and his leading officers
were invited by King Taffari to come to the Imperial Palace for dinner. They
arrived to find a fine feast prepared for them, and much to drink. As the
evening wore on, and the officers grew more and more intoxicated, they also grew
more and more insulting to the king and his supporters as they sang songs as was
customary. When the nobleman and his followers finally returned to Nifas Silk,
they were stunned to find that the entire army had vanished. While they had been
eating and drinking at the palace, Ras Kassa Hailu and several other officials
had arrived at Nifas Silk with a bag of Silver Maria Theresa Thallers, and
another bag of whips. They announced to Balcha's army that a new governor, Ras
Birru, had been appointed for Sidamo and that they were to report to him. They
were to immediately accept payment in the silver coins, surrender their weapons
and go home. The bag of whips was left in clear view to show what would happen
to anyone who did not obey. Within a short time, the soldiers had surrendered
their weapons, recieved their payment and were headed back to their farms and
families in the south. When Dejazmatch Balcha realized what had happened he fled
to the Raguel Church on Mt. Entoto and rang the bell, a traditional plea for
royal mercy in Ethiopia that monarchs are required to accept. The King confined
Balcha to a monastery, but did not punish him further.
The
country was abuzz with the many changes that were taking place. Bale was set up
as a model province and was ruled along western lines with direct rule from the
Central government, as an example to the nation. The armies of the various
nobles and princes were being increasingly consolidated into a central military
force with loyalty to the central government and not to regional leaders.
Taxation was being uniformized accross the land and it's collection handed over
to officials appointed by Addis Ababa rather than by the regional rulers. This
cut into the income of the regional aristocracy and caused great resentment. The
most resentful was clearly Ras Gugsa Wele who had much to be angry about.
Although he had been made governor of Beghemidir, he fealt greatly slighted by
the Shewans, and by King Taffari in particular. The Shewans and Tigreans had
been responsible for the removal from state responsibility of his aunt Empress
Taitu. They had later conspired to remove Lij Eyasu and place his own wife on
the throne on the condition that he her husband separate from her, and sent him
to far off Gondar to make sure his influence on the Empress would be minimal.
His resentment against Addis Ababa and the King increased as time went by, and
he recieved encouragement from the Italians in Eritrea. In 1929 he gathered
together a huge army of Beghemidir, Simien, and Yeju loyalists of his family,
and marched on Shewa. The government ordered an Army north to meet him and do
battle, and the two forces met at Anchiem plain. Before the battle began, the
government engaged in a first for Ethiopia, the use of airoplanes in battle. Two
flights took place. The first flight was used to drop leaflets on Ras Gugsa's
army which bore messages from the Archbishop Kyrilos excommunicating anyone who
was found to have fought against the government, and another that bore letters
from the Empress (reluctantly written) and the King-Regent that declaired Ras
Gugsa a rebel. This psychological warfare worked on some of Ras Gugsa's forces
who then began to desert in significant numbers. The second flight then took
place in which a bomb was dropped on Ras Gugsas army and caused panic, and the
bitter battle of Anchiem began. By the end of the day, Ras Gugsa was dead and
his army crushed. Quiet celebration had barely begun in Addis Ababa the next day
with the news of this victory, when suddenly the capital was plunged into deep
mourning with the death of Empress Zewditu herself. The population was deeply
saddened as Zewditu was hugely popular, arousing much sympathy with her piety
and her devotion to her late father. It is unclear if Empress Zewditu was
actually told that her husband was dead, and if this played a role in her
demise. There are those who believe that the Empress was poisoned as soon as
news of her husbands defeat was certain, by radical modernist elements in the
Palace. It had hovever, been a palace secret that the Empress had long suffered
from diabeties, and that in addition to western medicine, she also took
traditional folk treatments, and visited shrines to bathe in holy water and holy
springs in hopes of a cure. Members of the diplomatic corps reported to their
home governments that the Empress had been taken early that morning to be
emmersed in a container of frigid holy water for a cure, and that she had
promptly gone into shock and died. They reported that she had not been told of
her husbands death. Other more romantic rumors reported that the Empress had
fainted in sorrow upon hearing of the death of her husband, and had then died of
a broken heart. Her Swiss doctor would report years later that her cause of
death was diabeties, and it is this that is stated in Emperor Haile Selassie's
autobiography, and in a book by General Virgin, a Swedish military advisor.
Nevertheless, this event marked the end of the conservative feudal era in
Ethiopia, and the beginging of the new centralized beaurocratic Empire. The day
after the death of Empress Zewditu, Nigus Taffari Makonnen was proclaimed
Emperor Haile Selassie I, Elect of God, Conquering Lion of Judah+ , King of
Kings of Ethiopia. His wife became Empress Menen of Ethiopia, and his children
all assumed the titles of Prince and Princess.
Emperor Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God, King
of Kings of Ethiopia in full Coronation Regalia
On
November 1st, 1930, the new Emperor of Ethiopia paid his respects to his
illustrous predicesor, by erecting a equistrian statue of Emperor Menelik II
infront of the Cathedral of St. George. Addis Ababa's streets had been newly
repaved, electrical lights put up and unsightly slums cleaned up for the
spectical that would follow the next day. On November 2nd, 1930, Haile Sellasie
I was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia by the Coptic Archbishop, Abune Kyrillos at
the Cathedral of St. George. His wife was also crowned as Empress, and Crown
Prince Asfaw Wossen anointed as Heir to the Throne. The coronation was the most
splendid yet. The Emperor and Empress were driven to the Cathedral in an open
car as footmen riding behind them held red velvet umbrellas, heavily embroidered
in gold, over their heads on November 1st. After an all night vigil at the
Cathedral, the foreign guests arrived to witness the anointing and crowning of
the Imperial couple and the anointing of the crown prince. Around the outdoor
dias were four large live lions, chained to the platform on which the Emperor
sat with gold chains. The Emperor and Empress were crowned outdoors infront of
the Cathedral and enthroned there, as canons boomed a 100 gun salute, church
bells rang, women ulultated and men cheered. The Imperial family, under a large
portable gold encrusted canopy of red velvet, the upper nobility and clergy
along with the foreign delegations then entered the cathedral to hear mass. The
coronation was witnessed by royalty and important dignitaries from around the
world. Representing the British Empire was H.R.H. Prince Henry, Duke of
Gloucester, son of King George V, brother to Kings Edward VIII and George VI,
and uncle to Queen Elizabeth II. Representing Italy was H.R.H. Prince Eugenio Di
Savoia, Duke of Udine, cousin of the King of Italy. France was represented by
Marshal Franchet D'Esperry. The King of Belgium was represented by Monseiur
Gerard, the King of Sweden by Baron Dabells, the Queen of the Netherlands by Mr.
Unhar Hersmadd, the Emperor of Japan by Baron Ezbur, the King of Egypt by Tewfik
Nessim Pasha, the Greek government by Count Metaxis, the government of Turkey by
Muhitin Pasha, the government of Poland by Count David Bazaki, the President of
Germany by Baron Balthaussen, and the President of the United States by Mr.
Jacobi. The international press was also present, a first for Ethiopian
coronations. Following the church ceremonies, the Emperor and Empress boarded
the former Imperial Coach of Germany, which had been purchased from the German
government earlier. Thousands of Ethiopian subjects and nobles lined the streets
to the palace and witnessed the procession, the last coronation the country
would see.
The Official Coronation Portrait of Their Imperial Majesties, Emperor
Haile Selassie and Empress Menen of Ethiopia.
National Geographic took photographs of the Emperor in his coronation robes and
covered the events in their next issue. The pagents did not go off without a
glitch however. During welcoming ceremonies for the foreign delegations there
was one significant event that caused minor disruption. As Crown Prince in 1923,
the Emperor had visited Jerusalem. While there, the Armenian Patriarch and
Catholicos of Jerusalem had met him, and told him of the plight of the large
number of Armenian orphans being raised by the Patriarchate, and the financial
dificulty this had placed on the patriarchate. These children were among the
survivors of the huge massacres of Armenians by the Turks a few years earlier.
The then Crown Prince had decided to help the Armenian Patriarch by taking some
of these orphans to Ethiopia to raise them in a country that shared the Oriental
Orthodox heritage of their dead parents. These Armenian youths had formed a
marching band in Ethiopia that played at many public events, and at the Palace
as well for Imperial occasions of state. During the welcoming ceremonies before
the coronation, they would play the national anthem of which ever delegation was
arriving at the train station. When the Turkish delegation arrived, the Armenian
youths staunchly refused to play the Turkish anthem causing the Emperor to be
very embarrassed and quite angry. The Emperor decided to put the matter before
the senior princes and nobles in council to decide how to punish the Armenians
for disobeying the monarch. When the council demanded an explanation from the
band, the Armenians tearfully replied that it was against their conscience to
honor those who had butchered their fathers and mothers. Much moved, the council
agreed that it was too much to expect the Armenians to honor the representative
of Turkey, so they recomended that they not be punished. The Emperor agreed and
the Armenians were allowed to disobey the Emperor and refuse to play the Turkish
National Anthem as it was in violation of the commandment "Honor your Father and
Mother". Among the guests at the coronation was the novelist Evlyn Waugh who
would one day be a major defender and apologist for the fascists and Mussolini's
invasion and occupation of Ethiopia.
Ras Birru Wolde Gabriel at the time of Emperor Haile Selassie's
coronoation. The Ras was often rumored to be the illegitimate son of Emperor
Menelik II
Emperor Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen of Ethiopia at their
Coronation, November 2nd, 1930
Emperor
Haile Selassie began an agressive programme of modernization and centralization
of the structure of the state. He ordered the drafting of the first written
constitution for the Empire, which was completed and promulgated in 1931. The
First Imperial Constitution, which borrowed heavily from the Meiji Constitution
of Japan, provided for a Parliament for the first time in Ethiopian History. The
Parliament was composed of two houses, a House of Deputies (lower house) and an
Imperial Senate (upper house). The Senate was comprised of High Nobles, and
important personages who were appointed to their seats by the Emperor. The lower
house was made up of land owners, and was also filled by appointment of the
Emperor. Although the structure of this new constitution maintained the absolute
power of the monarhcy, it did set down the rights of the people. As was
traditional, the Supreme Court of Ethiopia remained the Emperor's Chilot, where
the Emperor heard the cases himself and passed down the final verdict. Every
subject had the right to appeal to this court and to be heard. The ministries
were staffed with men who shared the Emperors progressive views, and advisors
were employed from abroad to help them in their work. The cabinet of ministers,
established by Menelik II was expanded, and under the constitution it had an
advisory role to the monarch, as well as running the day to day affairs of
state. Emperor Haile Selassie being the type of person he was, however, was not
one to let others do the work of state. He was very active early in his reign
with the most minute details of government. However, as he grew older, and the
government grew in size and in function, he began to have less and less of a
role, and simply excersized his final approval/veto of policies formulated and
excecuted by the increasing number of technocrats. The Emperor had no Prime
Minister, but the Tsehafi Te-ezaz, a traditional title that had been converted
into the Minister of the Pen in the modern cabinet, was the most senior of the
ministers. After 1961, however, the Emperor decided to appoint a Prime Minister
to take on more of the Policy formulation role in government. Early in his reign
though, there were not enough educated Ethiopians to take on the
responsibilities this would entail. The Emperor also used the restructuring of
the government to severly curtail the powers of the aristocracy and the regional
princely and noble families. The 1931 constitution limited the succession to the
Imperial Throne not only to the House of Solomon, but within the House, to
direct decendants of Emperor Haile Selassie. This limit on the Imperial
succession caused considerable unhappiness among the Princes of the Imperial
blood who were expected to sign away their potential claims to the throne by
endorsing the constitution, particularly Ras Hailu of Gojjam and the princes of
Tigrai, Ras Gugsa and Ras Seyoum. Ras Kassa Hailu himself, a firm ally of the
Emperor in most matters, and a man who had refused to be considered for the
throne himself, was not the least bit pleased that his decendents should be
excluded in this manner. He pled illness and was not present for the signing of
the constitution, and did not sign it. The Emperor encouraged the spread of
modern education, and sponsored many young Ethiopians to go to Europe to study.
He built the Haile Selassie I Hospital (known today as the Yekatit 22), and
several schools. A modern military was being developed with the aid of European
advisors. The Swedes trained his Imperial Guard, and the Belgians his Imperial
Army. He recieved the Crown Prince of Sweden Gustav Adolph and his wife for a
state visit and housed them in the newly built Guenete Leul Palace, built on the
site of his fathers old house. After the visit, the Emperor and Empress moved in
to the new palace themselves, and it became known as the Little Guibi (the
Menelik or Imperial Palace being the Great Guibi). Ethiopia sought to emulate
Japan in it's development strategies, something that the colonial powers in the
region were not very pleased about.
Empress Menen (possibly shortly before the birth of H.I.H. Prince Sahle
Selassie)
Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, Prince of GojjamIt was during this
time, late 1931, that Lij Eyasu escaped from his detention at Selale. He was
hunted down and captured, and re-imprisoned, this time in much less comfortable
circumstances at Gara Muleta in Harar. Eyasuism would continue to be a thorn in
the side of the government. Lij Eyasu himself would remain a prisoner, but among
the people of Wollo and among various elements in the nobility, there were
strong feelings that he was the true and legitimate heir to Menelik II, and this
belief would persist for a long time. Upon the recapture of Lij Eyasu, it was
found that he had been aided by his former father-in-law, the Prince of Gojjam,
Leul Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, in concert with the Italian colonial authorities
in Eritrea. The Gojjami prince, who previously had been convicted of conspiracy
to murder someone, was now sentenced to life imprisonment. Behind his plot to
restore his ex-son-in-law was Hailu's deep resentment at not having been made
King of Gojjam in succession to his late father, Tekle Haimanot. Ras Hailu was a
fabulously wealthy man, he may have well been the richest man in the Empire. He
taxed Gojjam brutally, and he owned lavish homes both at his seat in Gojjam at
Debre Markos, and in the capital. His relations with his his brothers, Ras
Bezabeh, and Dejazmatch Bellew were not warm, and all three brothers at various
times had quarelled with their father and sought the protection of Menelik.
Menelik II always partial to the King of Gojjam, never tried to undermine him by
using his sons against him, but rather counseled the sons to honor their father.
Tekle Haimanot was aware of this, and appreciated it. Upon Tekle Haimanot's
death, his widow Laquech Gebre Medhin, sister of Emperor Tekle Giorgis III,
wanted to rule Gojjam as successor to her husband as did both Bezabih and Bellew
who were at court with Menelik. Her argument was that her stepsons had behaved
badly toward their father and so she should be considered his heir. Bezabih had
married Lij Eyasu's sister Zenebework, but it was Seyoum ( who changed his name
to Hailu) who ended up with the bulk of Gojjam. Now though, Emperor Haile
Selassie was determined not to create anymore vassal kings within the Empire
following Menelik's example. Menelik had chosen to recognize Tekle Haimanot as
king of Gojjam because that title had been granted by Yohannis IV, but he didn't
create any Kings elsewhere as he could have. Lij Eyasu had created his father
King of Wollo, and Zewditu had made her cousin Wolde Giorgis King of Gondar, but
the new Emperor was having none of that. The Tigrean and Gojjami royals were
created "Leul" or Prince, their wives granted the title of "Lielt" or Princess.
Thus Rases Seyoum Mengesha and Gugsa Araya (succeeded by Dejazmatch Haile
Selassie Gugsa) in Tigrai, Hailu, Bezabih, and Bellew (succeeded by Hailu
Bellew) in Gojjam, and Kassa Hailu, and Imiru Haile Selassie in Shewa, made up a
tier of "Princes of the Blood". They were royals with Solomonic blood who
surrounded the throne of Haile Selassie, but knew that they could never hope to
be made kings in his reign. Ras Hailu was resentful, and his aid to Lij Eyasu
was probably in reaction to this. With his imprisonment though, The Emperor
replaced him with Ras Imiru, his own cousin, and sent representatives of the
central government to take over Hailu's property and the entire province of
Gojjam bringing under the direct rule of the central government and ending the
reign of the Gojjam branch of the dynasty in the province. His nephew, Ras Hailu
Bellew would briefly govern Gojjam in the 1950's.
From Left to Right, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Menen,His Imperial
Higness Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie,
His Imperial Highness Prince Makonnen Duke of Harrar, 1931
The
Emperor continued with his modernizing zeal. Foriegn advisors were appointed to
assist in advising and helping to set up a modern administration and beurocracy
in the various ministries. The cadre of young educated people known as the
"Young Ethiopians" made up a new domestic intelegencia which was rooted in
progressive and modernist philosopy, and were relied on by the Emperor to carry
out his plans for the Empire. They were eager and willing to work hard towards
this goal. The Emperor continued to promote men of humble background to
positions of the highest responsibility at the expence of the traditional
nobility. The commoners, he believed, would be more directly loyal to him
because they would owe him their education and high station completely, and be
more likely to act in his interests. The old nobility was too conservative, and
too ambitious with their own family interests and personal ambitions to promote.
The aristocracy was increasingly resentful of the commoners that the Emperor
seemed to favor, and they campaigned for him to return to appointing people from
the noble classes to powerful posts. The Emperor decided to balance one group
against the other by creating the Crown Council. The Cabinet of Ministers would
eventually be dominated by commoners with a few nobles here and there, while the
Crown Council would be dominated by the Aristocracy with a few commoners
included. It was into this situation that the country would spiral into the
Ethio-Italian conflict of 1936, and the prelude to World War II.
Her Imperial Majesty Empress Menen, 1930
Her
Imperial Majesty Empress Menen was born in Wollo in 1889. She was the daughter
of Jantirar Asfaw of Ambassel, and his wife, Woizero Sehin Michael. Woizero
Sehin was the daughter of King Michael of Wollo and half sister of Lij Eyasu.
Through King Michael, Empress Menen could trace her ancestry back to Emperor
Fasiledes and also to the Prophet Mohammed. Empress Menen had been married three
times prior to her marriage to Emperor Haile Selassie. Her husband immediately
before the Emperor had been Ras Leulseged Atnafseged. From her first husband
Empress Menen had two children, Woizero Belainesh Ali, and Jantirar Asfaw Ali.
From her second marriage, she had two more children, Jantirar Gebre Igziabiher
Amede and Woizero Desta Amede. She had no children from her brief marriage to
Ras Leulseged. The Empress thus had ten children altogether and the Emperor
therefore had 4 step-children. Empress Menen married Emperor Haile Selassie on
July 30th 1910, while he was still Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen of Harrar. Unlike
her previous marriages, this one was a church wedding with a communion service,
thus the only one of her marriages recognized by the Orthodox Church. The
marriage is said to have been promoted by the Lord Regent, Ras Tessema Nadew and
Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis Denagde in order to tie Dejazmatch Taffari more closely
to Lij Eyasu and ensure his loyalty. Some say Lij Eyasu ordered his paternal
niece to marry his maternal cousin, while others say he actively promoted the
match after the couple first met at his home in Addis Ababa and were smitten,
and he realized the political advantages to him. Whatever one believes, what is
certain is that their marriage proved very successful and long lasting. The
Emperor and Empress celebrated their golden wedding aniversary in 1960. Her
Imperial Majesty died in 1961 after 51 years of marriage, at the age of 71. She
had been Empress of Ethiopia for 32 years at the time of her death. She was
buried at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.
History of Emperor Haile Selassie Continued in Part 2
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