Ras Mengesha Yohannes

Early life Before 1889, Mengesha Yohannes was considered the Emperor's nephew, but on 9 March 1889 the Emperor on his deathbed, in Metemma, recognized him as his son, from a side-relation with his brother Gugsa's wife. Therefore, some informants still claim that Mengesha Yohannes was strongly attached to Yohannes throughout his life. Dejazmach Mengesha Yohannes was designated by the Emperor as his heir-to-the-throne, and allegedly crowned still on the battlefield of Metemma, but Mengesha Yohannes was not able to claim the throne. In the aftermath of the disastrous battle of Metemma, the Tigrayan ruling families found themselves embroiled in a power struggle that led to a regional civil war. This state of anarchy sapped the energy of Mengesha Yohannes's camp to unite the region under his authority. Quickly, instead atse Menelik II was proclaimed emperor in November 1889. Ras Mengesha Yohannes, however, had the strong military and political backing of Yohannes's chief military general ras Alula Engada. Additionally, he had inherited a considerable number of armaments and soldiers that had long bolstered the power of Yohannes IV. However, historians cast doubts on Mengesha Yohanens's basic military prowess and leadership skills to mobilize the available resources and prevail over rivals, in contrast to his predecessor Yohannes. Mengesha Yohannes's strong political ambition once nearly pushed him to ally with the Italians, as demonstrated by the Mereb Convention of 1891. By 1890, the Italians had taken control of the Mereb Mellash, and aimed at the control of entire Tigray. In the meanwhile, Mengesha Yohannes and his Tigrayan vassals had revolted against atse Menelik II. Italian attempts to instigate them were, nonetheless, short-lived. The Italians' non-committed stance, coupled with Mengesha Yohannes's hesitant attitude finally convinced him to end his rebellion, even against the opposition of his counsellors and his military supporters, such as ras Alula. Mengesha Yohannes's controversial political career, however, left a legacy of Tigrayan identity and autonomy. Indeed, his son leul ras Seyoum Mengesha and his grandson, leul ras Mengesha Seyoum were able to gain the governorship of Tigray, each at different stages of the history of this region (sometimes also partitioned among several governors, relatives of Mengesha Yohannes), until the 1974 Revolution. Mengesha Seyoum played then a role as the leader of an anti-Derg oppositional party, the Ethiopian Democratic Union, which dates back to the mid-1970s. == Succession problems ==

The confusion over Ras Mengesh's parentage is due to the fact that his mother Wolete Tekle Haymanot Tomcho (Woizero Tekle) was betrothed to Dejazmatch Gugsa. On the death of Ras Arya Sellassie, son and heir of Yohannes, the title of Ras was conferred on Mengesha and the army of Ras Araya Sellassie was transferred under his command. It was only on his deathbed, at Metemma, that Yohannes declared to Etchege Tewoflos and the important dignitaries present that Mengesha was not the son of his brother Gugsa, but his. He thus acknowledged him as his son and declared him as his heir. Immediately after this announcement, close relatives of Yohannes, such as Fitawrari Meshesha, son of Maru, Yohannes's brother, and Dejach Bogale Araya, son of Ras Araya Dimtsu, maternal uncle of Yohannes, refused to accept Mengesha as the son and heir of Yohannes, claiming that they were equally entitled to succeed the deceased Emperor. Since Gugsa had the same father and mother as Yohannes, the legitimacy of Mengesha would not have been affected if Yohannes had declared that he had chosen Mengesha, his nephew, as his heir. Mengesha, through his mother, had also additional claim to the Imperial lineage. The only reason for claiming Mengesha as his own son was simply to reveal the truth, which hitherto was kept secret due to the close association that had existed between Yoahannes's elder brother Dejazmatch Gugsa and Woizero Tekle, the mother of Mengesha. Augusus B. Wylde, a correspondent of the British paper, The Manchester Guardian, who had been in Ethiopia as a member of the Hewett Mission of 1884 and later, soon after the Battle of Adwa of 1896, contends that Mengesha was indisputably the actual son Yohannes. Bairu Tefla, on the other hand, although he is aware of the various sources, which assert that Mengesha was the natural son of Yohannes, has placed him as the son of Gugsa on the ground that "Most of the old people agree that Mengesha was the son of Gugsa, the eldest brother of the sovereign." Familial rivalry and division of Tigray Even after the submission of Mengesha Yohannes, familial rivalry between the two lines of descent from Emperor Yohannes IV proved to be a difficult issue for Emperor Menelik II and his successors. Yohannes IV was survived by his elder "legitimate" son Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes and by his younger "natural" son Mengesha. Ras Araya's son Gugsa Araya, and Ras Mengesha's son Ras Seyoum would for a time divide Tigray between them, with Ras Gugsa Araya ruling the eastern half and Ras Seyoum the western half. Eventually Mengesha's son Ras Seyoum was made Leul of all Tigray in succession to his father after the death of his cousin Ras Gugsa Araya and after the treason of Gugsa Araya's son, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa. In 1935, Haile Selassie Gugsa joined forces with the Italian invaders when they conquered Ethiopia and occupied the country. Ras Mengesha is regarded as the founder of one of the two senior cadet branches of the Ethiopian Imperial Solomonic Dynasty. ==See also==