Betul Haile Maryam (1812 – 29 June 1853, Ayshal) was a member of the Semien nobility through his paternal line in the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

Biography

Background

Betul Haile Maryam was a son of Haile Maryam Gebre, the provincial governor of Semien by Hirut Gugsa. His father, Haile Maryam, belonged to the Orthodox Christian

Amharas Amharas (; ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amh ...

. His mother, Hirut, was of mixed ancestry. She was the daughter of the Solomonic princess Amete Selassie, and the Solomonic Amhara Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis I Tekle Giyorgis I (; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817), throne name Feqr Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of Yohannes II and Woizoro Sanc ...

. Hirut's father was

Gugsa of Yejju Gugsa is a male name of Ethiopian origin. It may refer to: * Gugsa Araya Selassie * Gugsa of Yejju * Gugsa Welle ** Gugsa Wale's rebellion * Haile Selassie Gugsa * Shimeket Gugesa (Shimeket Gugsa) {{disambiguation, given name Ethiopian given ...

, who had

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

genealogy. His full siblings were Merso Haile Maryam and Yewub-dar Haile Maryam, both of whom were older. His half brother

Wube Haile Maryam Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799 – 1867), also called by his title ''Dejazmach'' Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’, was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades of ...

was one of the most famous protagonist of the

Zemene Mesafint The Zemene Mesafint ( Ge'ez: ) variously translated "Era of Judges", "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; taken from the biblical Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the cou ...

era.

Exile

After the death of his father, Haile Maryam Gebre in 1826. Semien military officers chose

to lead Semien instead of his brother Merso. Betul with his mother and Merso fled to

Tigray province Tigray Province (), also known as Tigre ( tigrē), was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed the present day Afar and Tigray regions. Akele Guzai borders with the Tigray province. It encompassed most of the territories of T ...

. Betul's sister Yewub-dar was married to

Sabagadis Woldu Sabagadis Woldu (; horse name: Abba Garray; baptismal name: Za-Manfas Qedus; 1780 – 1831) was a governor of Tigray Province of the Ethiopian Empire from 1822 to 1831. Sabagadis gained some notoriety in the first decade of the 19th century for r ...

, the Irob warlord that controlled much of Tigray.

Wube's conquest of Tigray

In 1831, however, when

Wube WUBE-FM (105.1 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio, it is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. WUBE-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 14,500 watts. It broadcasts using HD Radio t ...

went on to conquer

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

in the aftermath of the Battle of Debre Abbay. Humiliated, Betul and Merso entered into the service of Wube's army and joined his campaigns against the sons of

Sabagadis Sabagadis Woldu (; horse name: Abba Garray; baptismal name: Za-Manfas Qedus; 1780 – 1831) was a governor of Tigray Province of the Ethiopian Empire from 1822 to 1831. Sabagadis gained some notoriety in the first decade of the 19th century for r ...

, their former patron. Both of them despised their subordination and dependency to their half brother Wube.

Shifting alliances

In 1840, Betul and Merso allied with their mother's nephew, the regent

Ali II of Yejju Ali II of Yejju (c. 1819 – c. 1866) was ''Ras (title), Ras'' of Begemder and the ''de facto'' ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. He was a member of a powerful Wollo Yejju dynasty known as the Yejju, which ruled much of the Ethiopian Empire durin ...

, and this was soon followed by a battle with

Debre Tabor Debre Tabor (, lit. "Mount Tabor") is a town and woreda in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, about 100 kilometers southeast of Gondar and 50 kilometers east of Lake Tana, this historic town has a lat ...

in 1842. Wube, first victorious, was then captured during festivities by his half brothers and ras Ali's authority was restored. However, a quick reversal of alliances brought about the arrest of Betul and Merso on their way to Semien. After their brief imprisonment, they were given small districts to govern in

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, G ...

under Ras

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

's control.

Death

On 29 June 1853 a decisive battle took place on the plains of Ayshal, between the forces of Ras

against that of Kassa Hailu. The battle was one the bloodiest of the

era. The charges of the

cavalry were only smashed because of Kassa's personal bravery and because of the devotion of his Amhara followers. When it became apparent that Kassa was about to be victorious, Ras Ali was among the first to flee from the battlefield. Serving in Ali's army, Betul was killed during this battle.

Notable descendants

Betul Haile Maryam wife, also called Yewubdar, was from

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...

. They had four children (Wale, Alula, Taytu and Desta). * Welle Betul was his eldest son. * Alula Betul was his second eldest son. *

Taytu Betul Taytu Betul ( ''Ṭaytu Bəṭul'' ; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in the anti-colonial resistance during th ...

was his eldest daughter. She was the former

Empress of Ethiopia The royal consorts of Ethiopia were spouses of the Emperor of Ethiopia, monarchs of Ethiopia. In ancient times the territory of modern day Ethiopia included the Kingdom of Axum. In medieval times, a kingdom ruled by the Zagwe dynasty developed but ...

and was the spouse of Emperor

Menelik II Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...

. * Desta Betul was his third son.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betul Haile Maryam 1812 births 1853 deaths 19th-century Ethiopian people Warlords of the Zemene Mesafint