Governor of Guma and Illubabor Tessema Nadew was made governor, or
Shum of the defunct kingdoms of
Gumma and
Illubabor in 1886.
Conquest of Kaffa and Aari Immediately after Ethiopia’s victory over Italy at the Battle of Adwa, Tesemma participated in the nine-month campaign to subdue the
Kingdom of Kafa. Kafa was finally annexed in 1897.
Fashoda In March 1898, on Menelik’s orders, Tessema led a large Ethiopian army (with a
Russian contingent) from his base in
Gore, Illubabor, to join the French soldier Major
Jean-Baptiste Marchand at
Fashoda in the Sudan. It was, however, not Menelik’s intention to assist the French against the British during the
Fashoda incident between the two European powers. Menelik’s aim was largely to claim the territories in the Sudanese borderlands for Ethiopia. However, because of disease in the Nile Valley lowlands, Tessema’s army was forced to return to Gore in May before meeting with Marchand in Fashoda. He made, however, Fitawrari Haylu with eight hundred men and three Europeans move further to the confluence of the White Nile and the Sobat rivers, where they planted Ethiopian and French flags.
Bank of Abyssinia In 1900 Tesemma was promoted from Dejazmach to Ras. After 1900, he spent most of his time as advisor to the board of governors of the Bank of Abyssinia, which opened in 1905. ==Regency==