Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

Wand Bewossen (died 10 December 1777) was a prominent figure in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n history. He was governor of

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic district in northern Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Its original ...

and later Begemeder. He was on the losing side in the

Battle of Nefas Mewcha A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(1769), but one of the victorious generals in the

Three battles of Sarbakusa The three battles of Sarbakusa were three military engagements in Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint that took place in May 1771. They pitted Wand Bewossen and Fasil of Damot against the forces of Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Ras Mikael Se ...

(May 1771). For his valor in the

Battle of Faggeta The Battle of Faggeta was fought in Ethiopia at Faggeta Lekoma on 9 December 1769. Ras Mikael Sehul, Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Wand Bewossen fought and defeated Fasil of Damount in a large, costly battle. Tekle Haymanot Abune Tekle ...

(9 December 1769), which included pursuing Fasil for three days after the engagement, he was made governor of

Begemder Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means " ...

, as well as married to ''Woizero'' Ayabdar. He was also married to ''Woizero'' Yeworqweha, who was a descendant of

Iyasu I Iyasu I ( Ge'ez: ኢያሱ ፩; 1654 – 13 October 1706), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ), also known as Iyasu the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 19 July 1682 until his death in 1706, and a member of the Solomonic ...

and Woizero Wossen Azal, daughter of Dejazmatch Eshete Awsgenyos, sometime Governor of Agaw and Damot. Not long after his marriage to ''Woizero'' Ayabdar, Wand Bewossen desired to wed Wossen Azal, the sister of Hailu Eshte. Hailu would not consent to this marriage: according to

Herbert Weld Blundell Herbert Joseph Weld Blundell (1852 – 5 February 1935) was an English traveller in Africa, archaeologist, philanthropist and yachtsman. He shortened his surname from Weld Blundell to Weld, in 1924. Life to 1922 He was educated at Stonyhurst C ...

's translation Hailu considered this alliance bigamous, but Donald Crummy's interpretation of the Ge'ez text is Hailu was more concerned about the incestuous nature of the marriage. Wand Bewsossen then resorted to physical force to Hailu until he finally dropped all of his objections to the alliance. He was killed at Ashawa when he fell from his horse.Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', p. 331

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wand Bewossen 1777 deaths 18th-century Ethiopian people Warlords of the Zemene Mesafint Year of birth unknown

See also

Notes