Mikael of Wollo

''Negus'' Mikael of Wollo (born Mohammed Ali, 1850 – 8 September 1922), was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Lij Iyasu, and the grandfather of Empress Menen, wife of Emperor Haile Selassie. He changed his name to Mikael upon converting to Christianity.

Ras Mikael had a strong relationship with both Yohannes IV (who became his godfather) and Menelik II (who became his father-in-law).

Ras Michael had played a pivotal role in Ethiopian history. His Wollo army was one of the most powerful in Northern Ethiopia, and the Wollo cavalary was renowned throught the empire. Ras Michael fought with Emperor Yohannes in the Battle of Gallabat against the Mahdist Sudanese. Loyal to the end, he held the dying Yohannes in his arms. Ras Mikael also led the Wollo Oromo cavalary during the Battle of Adwa fighting together with Menelik II, Ras Mekonnen, Ras Mengesha and Negus Tekle Haimanot.

Biography

Early career

Ras Mikael was born in Wollo, and as a Muslim, he was named Mohammed Ali. His father was ''Imam'' Ali Abba Bula who was of Oromo descent and was from the powerful Mahammadoch dynasty of Wollo. His mother ''Woizero'' Getie was reportedly a Christian noblewoman. Mohammed Ali's lineage included both Oromo and Amharic speaking ancestors attesting to the multiethnic populace of Wollo.

Conversion to Christianity

In the infamous "Council of Boru Meda," Emperor Yohannes forced Mohammed Ali and the Muslim aristocrats of Wollo to convert to Christianity within three months or renounce their positions. "Having concluded that Wollo was worth a mass," Marcus claims, "Mohammad Ali led his people to Christianity." Nevertheless, while some of the leaders of Wollo converted to Christianity, the vast majority of the Muslim populace of Wollo refused to convert and revolted. As a consequence, Atse Yohanne campaigned throghtout Wollo, massacaring thousands of Wollo Muslims to break their resistance. Mohammed Ali was baptized with the name "Mikael" and became a ''Ras'' (equivalent to "Duke"). Many Muslims from Wollo left for sanctuary in Metemma, Jimma, and Harar.

Baptism and marriage

Emperor Yohannes IV stood as his godfather at his baptism. Ras Mikael of Wollo, as he was now known, eventually married Shoaregga Menelik, Menelik's natural daughter, becoming the third of his four wives.

Mikael founded Dessie, the first town in Wollo and its new capital. It is claimed that Ras Mikael became a deeply devout Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Christian, and a dedicated builder of churches.

Battle of Adwa

In 1896, during the First Italo-Ethiopian War, Ras Mikael fought with Menelik and led the feared Wollo Oromo cavalry against the invading Italians at the Battle of Adwa. An Italian brigade began a fighting retreat towards the main Italian positions. However, the brigade inadvertently marched into a narrow valley where Mikael's cavalry slaughtered them while shouting "Reap! Reap!". The remains of the brigade's commander were never found. Ras Michael's Wollo cavalry was the only army that fought in all three Adwa fronts.

Battle of Segale

Following Menelik's death in 1913, Mikael's son and Emperor Menelik's grandson, '' Lij'' Iyasu. Per Menelik's wishes, ''Ras'' Tessema Nadew became the Regent for Menelik's 18-year-old grandson. However, that same year, Tessema Nadew died. While Iyasu was now on his own, he was never fully accepted. More importantly, he was never formally crowned Emperor. However, on the instructions of Iyasu, his father Mikael was anointed Negus or king of Wollo and Tigray. Negus Mikael then became the power behind the throne.

During World War I, concerns arose over Iyasu's ties to the Central Powers, over his possible support for Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, and over his potential conversion to Islam. In response to these concerns, on 27 September 1916, Iyasu was deposed by a council of nobles and high clergy, and Mikael's sister-in-law, ''Woizero'' Zewditu, was pronounced ''Negiste Negest'' ("Queen of Kings") Zewditu I. Zewditu was another of Menelik's daughters, and at the same time that she was made Empress, the council also proclaimed as Regent and Heir to the Throne, young ''Ras'' Tafari Makonnen, the future Emperor Haile Selassie I. The new Regent and Heir Ras Tafari was married to ''Woizero'' (later Empress) Menen Asfaw, a granddaughter of ''Negus'' Mikael by his daughter ''Woizero'' Sehin Mikael.

Negus Mikael's response to Iyasu being deposed was swift. On 7 October 1916, Mikael set out from Wollo at the head of an army of 80,000 men to invade Shewa and to reinstate his son; Iyasu would join him there with an army of his own. On 27 October, Negus Mikael confronted the main body of the forces supporting Zewditu in the Battle of Segale. Mikael attacked first, but ammunition for his machine guns ran out early and his artillery was silenced quickly. His infantry and cavalry assaults ran directly into the murderous fire of an enemy ready for his attacks. Iyasu was detoured on his way to the battlefield and arrived too late to help. He was only able to see that his father was defeated, and fled the battlefield and went into hiding. Mikael was captured and put under the supervision of ''Fitawrari'' ("Commander of the Vanguard") Habte Giyorgis, who confined him on an island in Lake Chabo in Gurageland. After two and a half years, Mikael successfully petitioned to Empress Zewditu to be moved from the island, and he was put under house arrest at Holeta Genet at a former country home of the late Emperor Menelik II, where he died six months later.Gebre-Igzabiher Elyas, ''Chronicle'', pp. 400f As the grandfather of the wife of the Crown Prince, Negus Mikael was given full mourning by the royal court.

Death and interment

Negus Mikael died on 8 September 1922. The body was then carried from Holeta (Menagesha) to Tenta for burial. The king was buried in Tenta St Mikael Church.

A mausoleum, with a dome shaped roofing, is found in the church's compound about 20 metres from the church's building. The king, Negus Mikael, was buried in this mausoleum. Together with the king, two family members are also buried there: his sons Gebrehiwot Mikael and Ali Mikael, together with Negus Mikael's sister, Yetemegn Mere'ed.

See also

* List of field marshals
* Sultan Aba Jifar

Notes

;Footnotes

;Citations

References

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikael Of Wollo
1850 births
1918 deaths
Converts to Oriental Orthodoxy from Islam
Ethiopian Christians
Ethiopian former Muslims
Ethiopian nobility
Ethiopian Royal Family
Ethiopian military personnel
19th-century Ethiopian people
19th-century Oriental Orthodox Christians
20th-century Oriental Orthodox Christians