The Making of Modern Ethiopian State; the Process of Territorial Unification

(1855-1908)

The Making of Modern Ethiopian State

Einführung

One of the most magnificent Ethiopian leaders and founder of modern Ethiopia is Emperor
Tewodros II.

The Ethiopian state originated in the Aksumite kingdom, a trading state that emerged about the first
century A.D. The Askumites perfected a written language; maintained relations with the Byzantine
Empire, Egypt, and the Arabs; and, in the mid-fourth century, embraced Christianity.

By the early twelfth century, the successors of the Aksumites had expanded southward and had
established a new capital and a line of kings called the Zagwe. A new dynasty, the so-called "Solomonic"
line, which came to power about 1270, continued this territorial expansion and pursued a more aggressive
foreign policy. In addition, this Christian state, with the help of Portuguese soldiers

Ethiopia's modern period (1855 to the present)-- represented by the reigns of Tewodros II, Yohannis
IV, Menelik II, Zawditu, and Haile Selassie I; by the Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam; and,
since mid-1991, by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi--has been been
characterized by nation-building as well as by warfare.

Tewodros II started the process of recreating a cohesive Ethiopian state by incorporating Shewa into his
empire and by suppressing revolts in the country's other provinces. Yohannis IV battled to keep Ethiopia
free from foreign domination and to retard the growing power of the Shewan king, Menelik. Eventually,
Menelik became emperor and used military force to more than double Ethiopia's size. He also defeated an
Italian invasion force that sought to colonize the country.

Tewodros II, English Theodore II, original name Kassa, (born 1818—died April 13, 1868,
Magdela, Ethiopia), emperor of Ethiopia (1855–68) who has been called Ethiopia’s first modern
ruler. Not only did he reunify the various Ethiopian kingdoms into one empire, but he also
attempted to focus loyalty around the government rather than the Ethiopian church, which he
sought to bring under royal control. He worked to abolish the feudal system and create a new

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nobility of merit, dependent on the ruler alone. Although he failed in these aims, his example
was ultimately followed by his successors.

Not of noble birth, Tewodros came to the throne through warfare against the feudal chiefs. One
of his first acts as emperor was to break up the provinces into smaller districts with personally
appointed governors, a move that angered many provincial nobles who saw their status
diminished. He also wanted to reorganize and modernize the army. To get the necessary
weapons, he demanded first that European missionaries and adventurers then living in Ethiopia
build him a cannon (successful after much trial and error), and then he brought in artisans,
especially arms makers, from England. Contemporary European accounts portray him as an
Ethiopian Peter the Great, both for his hot temper and cruelty and for his courage,
ambition, military genius, and interest in technology.

Characteristics of the Zemnene Mesafint

 Decline of imperial power (centralgovernment)

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Emperor Tewodros II (1855–68)

Milestone of Tewodros II

 Born from the regional lords of the Zemene Mesafint

 He ended the Zemene Mesafint and is the first king of Modern Ethiopia.
 TewodrosII is credited for the beginning of unification of Ethiopia.
 He manufactured cannon at Gafat
 Tewodros is the symbol of unity and heroism due to his careers.

Aims of Tewodros for Ethiopia

 He believed in religious unity for national unity

Although Tewodros’s first years were marked by attempts at social reform, his effort to establish
garrisons nationwide lost the allegiance of the already heavily taxed peasantry, and he alienated parish
clergy by converting “excess” church land to military and secular tenure. Such measures gave heart to the
regional aristocrats, who returned to rebellion.

The emperor held Ethiopia together only through coercion. In 1861 he conceived a bold foreign policy to
bolster his kingdom and promote his reforms. In 1862 Tewodros offered Britain’s Queen Victoria an
alliance to destroy Islam. The British ignored the scheme, and, when no response came, Tewodros
imprisoned the British envoy and other Europeans. This diplomatic incident led to an Anglo-Indian
military expedition in 1868. Sir Robert Napier, the commander, paid money and weapons to Kassa, a
dejazmatch (earl) of Tigray, in order to secure passage inland, and on April 10, on the plains below Āmba
Maryam (or Mekʾdela), British troops defeated a small imperial force. In order to avoid capture,
Tewodros committed suicide two days later.

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Emperor Tewodros modernization program, however, failed. Several incidents in the 1860s,
including a letter to Queen Victoria that remained unanswered, led Tewodros to feel insulted
by England. When he imprisoned several British missionaries and envoys, accusing them of
plotting against him, Great Britain sent the Napier expedition (1867–68) to rescue the prisoners.
Aided by rebellious nobles along the way, the British force attacked Tewodros’s forces at
Magdela on April 10, 1868. The emperor, realizing the hopelessness of his position,
committed suicide.

Modern Economies of Ethiopia

Through the 19th century, Ethiopia’s economy functioned on an essentially feudal system.
Wealth moved upward from an agricultural peasant base to merchants, tradesmen, the military,
and the aristocracy. Despite periodic efforts at modernization, Ethiopia remained a rural society
at heart. It worked with European colonial powers to build new infrastructure networks while at
the same time maintaining its own independence.

These efforts proved successful until 1936, when Italy conquered and occupied the region. The
brief colonial era saw further infrastructure improvements, at the cost of Ethiopian independence
and stability. Soon after the end of World War II, Ethiopia regained its sovereignty and its last
king, Haile Selassie, returned to his throne. Over the next few decades, agrarian traditions
became a liability as droughts and famines increased. Social unrest grew into 1974’s coup,
installing a militaristic socialist government in place of the monarchy.

This period saw the nationalization of land and industry across Ethiopia, as well as violent
clashes with Eritrean independence movements and the government’s own political opponents.
Continued drought and famine only worsened the plight of average Ethiopian people. In 1993,
Eritrea formally gained its independence, making Ethiopia the most populous landlocked nation
in the world. After the fall of the Derg, the common name for the socialist government, Ethiopia
reformed under the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has focused on
economic growth.

Today, Ethiopia represents a growing economy and a center of industry in Africa. Opportunity
and income vary around the nation, which is still heavily rural. Poverty, while still an issue, is
gradually lessening. According to the CIA World Factbook, the nation currently experiences

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some of the lowest income inequality in the world. Its major industries today include mining,
coffee, textiles, and agricultural exports.

The Ethiopian modernization is not only limited to one ruler, but also the following leaders
were also contributed for the state creation of modern Ethiopia:-such as

Emperor Menilek II (1889–1913)

Menilek subsequently directed the Solomonic state into areas never before under its rule.
Between 1896 and 1906 Ethiopia expanded to its present size, taking in the highlands, the key
river systems, and a buffer of low-lying zones around the state’s central core. Revenues from the
periphery were used to modernize the new capital of Addis Ababa, to open schools and hospitals,
and to build communication networks. Menilek contracted with a French company to construct a
railway between Addis Ababa and Djibouti, which thus spurred the exploitation of the country’s
produce by foreign merchants in cooperation with the ruling elites.

The Process of Territorial Unification (1855-1908)

Ethiopia was reunified in 1855 under Tewodros II, beginning its modern history and his reign was
followed by Yohannes IV who was killed in action in 1889. Under Menelik II Ethiopia started its
transformation to well organized technological advancement and the structure that the country has now.

Tewodros sought to unify and modernize Ethiopia. However, since he was nearly always away
on campaign during his tenure as emperor, disloyal leaders frequently tried to dislodge him while
he was away fighting. Within a few years, he had forcibly brought back under direct Imperial
rule the Kingdom of Shewa and the province of Gojjam. He crushed the many lords and princes
of Wollo and Tigray and brought recalcitrant regions of Begemder and Simien under his direct
rule.

He moved the capital city of the Empire from Gondar, first to Debre Tabor, and later to Magdala.
Tewodros ended the division of Ethiopia among the various regional lords and princes that had
vied among each other for power for almost two centuries. He forcibly re-incorporated the
regions of Gojjam, Tigre, Shewa and Wollo under the direct administration of the Imperial
throne after they had been ruled by local branches of the Imperial dynasty (in Gojjam and

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Shewa) or other noblemen (Wollo). With all of his rivals apparently subdued, he imprisoned
them and their relatives at Magdala. Among the royal and aristocratic prisoners at Magdala was
the young Prince of Shewa, Sahle Mariam, the future Emperor Menelik II. 

As soon as he went back to Gonder, Tewodros, now presiding over a reunited Ethiopia,
attempted to implement a number of reforms including land reform, the introduction of a
standing army, the collection of books in the form of a library, tax codes, church rules, and
above all a centralized political system with respective administrative districts. Despite his
reform attempts and his relatively strong centralized form of governance, however, the Ethiopian
Church opposed Tewodros that he confronted early on, and the mushrooming of revolts all over
his nascent empire clearly undermined his legitimacy to power.

Tewodros was not opposed to the Ethiopian Orthodox Religion as such, but he despised the
conservative clergy. To be sure, he was anti-Catholic and during his early reign he declared that
there should be only one Christian Orthodox Tewahdo religion and monogamy for all
Ethiopians. Thus, he himself fostered enemies that include not only the conservative orthodox
clergy but also Catholic and Moslem Ethiopians as well. Adding insult to injury, as mentioned
above, rebel leaders emerged all over Ethiopia. Prominent rebel leaders against Tewodros were
Dejach Neguse (relative of Wube) in Tigray, Lij Gared and Ginbaro Kassa in Amhara, Abeto Seifu (the
brother of Haile- Melekot) in Shewa, and Tedla Gualu in Gojjam. Instead of continuing his reform,
therefore, Tewodros was preoccupied with fighting the new rebel leaders and increasingly he began
punishing his foes with cruelty while causing huge collateral damage to the innocent people.

Tewodros’ dream of reigning over a united and strong Ethiopia and over Jerusalem (one of his motto was

‘husband of Ethiopia and fiancée of Jerusalem’ የ I ትዮጵያ ባል፡ የ E ሩሳሌም E ጮኛ) clearly vanished before
his eyes. But even in the middle of this crisis, Tewodros’ fame and popularity was not waning yet.

Despite his popularity, however, the Ethiopian Church turned against Tewodros, and in retaliation the
Emperor incarcerated the patriarch in solitary confinement at Meqdella. At this stage, Tewodros
increasingly became paranoid and his mental capacity became questionable. He began cutting hands and
legs of real and perceived enemies; he threw off people of the cliff of Meqdella, and massacred the clergy
who were even in good terms with his regime. His cruel actions, thus, gave rise to various organized
revolts, this time led by Dejach Bezbiz Kassa (future Emperor Yohannes of Ethiopia) in Tigray;

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Wagshum Gobeze (later Emperor Teklegiorgis) in Lasta; and Sahlemariam (who managed to escape from
Meqdella) in Shewa. On top of his “insanity,” Tewodros exhibited a major pitfall in his diplomacy with
the outside world.

In an effort to get military support during his arduous path to power, he had corresponded with the
Russians, English, and French, but he always remained skeptical of European motive when it comes to
their relations with Africa. But diplomacy with the English was severed when Tewodros negatively
interpreted the lack of response to his letter written to Queen Victoria. The folklore that he asked Queen
Victoria to marry him is unfounded and untrue. The content of his letter in brief was, “…because God
was displeased by my fathers who reigned before me, our country was divided and a part of it was taken
by the colonialists. Thus, he rose me from the ashes and bestowed me power to reunite my country…what
is remaining is what is still controlled by the Turks and the Egyptians.”2 By default or by design, this
letter did not get response and Tewodros put Captain Cameron and other English envoys in jail at
Meqdella.

His action, quite obviously precipitated the Napier expedition from India in an effort to set free the
English hostages. General Napier brought some four thousand English and eight thousand Indian troops,
landed at Zula in February 1867 and headed toward Meqdella. By contrast, Tewodros had four thousand
armed troops under his command and sixty thousand unconventional fighting and supporting combatants
rallied around him. Given artillery and other heavy guns, however, the Ethiopian troops were no match to
the English. On top of this, the Napier expedition enjoyed cooperation from Bezbiz Kassa and Seyoum
Gobeze. The battle of Meqdella took place in April 1867; the English had the upper hand and in the
middle of fierce fighting, the chief commander Fitwerari Gebrie was shot and killed; Tewodros became
desperate and made an attempt to communicate with the English and even offered them some sort of truce
preceded by the discharge of the hostages, but it was too little too late. Meanwhile, some commanders
close to Tewodros suggested ‘to fight till they die but to finish off the hostages first’ but the emperor is
believed to have said, ‘I can’t do that; I can’t see my people pay the price for the wrong that I do.’ Near
the end of the battle of Meqdella, when it was obvious that the Ethiopian army was in disarray, the
English commanders fighting at the forefront attempted to capture Tewodros alive at the entrance hall to
his palace, but the Emperor whose name is synonymous with courage retreated to his upper deck only to
shoot himself with his gun! Unfortunately, Tewodros the great unifier and visionary laid dead after 13
years in power (1855-1868) before his dream of founding a strong and united Ethiopia beyond what he
already presided over was accomplished.

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 Nevertheless, he set forth the reunification of Ethiopia and laid the cornerstone of its modernization.
Long after Tewodros is gone, however, he remained a legend and popular hero among Ethiopian youth in
particular and patriotic Ethiopians in general. But because he was radically different from his
predecessors, uncompromising in his principles, and at times cruel and lunatic, he became controversial in
Ethiopian history.