Menen Liben Amede (died 1858) was Empress consort of Ethiopia by marriage to
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Yohannes III
Yohannes III (c. 1797 – c. 1873) was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1840 and 1851, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Giyorgis. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the ''Enderase'' or ...
in 1840–1841, 1845 and 1850–1851.
She was also regent of
Begemder
Begemder (; also known as Gondar or Gonder) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. The alternative names come from its capital during the 20th century, Gondar.
Etymology
A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in t ...
in 1831–1841 during the minority of her son
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 ...
, who was her son in her first marriage to
Alula of Yejju Alula of Yejju was the son of Ras Ali I of Yejju (son of Abba Seru Gwangul) and cousin of Ras Gugsa. He was the first husband of Menen Liben Amede and father of her son, Ras Ali II, while governor of Damot, Ethiopia.Charles T. Beke"Abyssinia. B ...
. She was a significant personage during 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 ...
'' of the 19th century before
Tewodros II
Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to ...
reunited 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 ...
in 1855.
Life
She married first to
Alula of Yejju Alula of Yejju was the son of Ras Ali I of Yejju (son of Abba Seru Gwangul) and cousin of Ras Gugsa. He was the first husband of Menen Liben Amede and father of her son, Ras Ali II, while governor of Damot, Ethiopia.Charles T. Beke"Abyssinia. B ...
(sometime governor of
Damot and then of
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 ...
), with whom she had a son, ''
Ras''
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 ...
around the year 1819. After the death of her first spouse, she married the future emperor
Yohannes III
Yohannes III (c. 1797 – c. 1873) was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1840 and 1851, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Giyorgis. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the ''Enderase'' or ...
.
Regency
On a meeting of the chief nobles of the
Yejju
The Yejju , also historically known as the Yajju, Edjow, Edjou, leggiu are a sub-clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia, along with the Raayyaa.
The Yejju ...
at the dynastic capital of
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 ...
, after the death of ''Ras''
Dori in July 1831, Dori's cousin, Menens son Ali was appointed Ruler of
Begemder
Begemder (; also known as Gondar or Gonder) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. The alternative names come from its capital during the 20th century, Gondar.
Etymology
A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in t ...
and Imperial Regent at the age of 12. As his father Alula was dead by this time and Ali was a minor, a council of regents was appointed from the nobles of that people. However, Menen soon came to control this council and exerted much influence over political decisions for the next decade.
A palace was built for Menen Liben Amede, though it was not as large as her son's.
Empress
Following the death of ''Ras''
Kinfu, people fought for control of his lands in Gojjam. Eventually Menen gained the upper hand in the
Battle of Chenti Ber
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 ...
(October, 1839), defeating and capturing Kinfu's relative
Walda Tekle. Not long afterwards, she deposed
Sahle Dengel on 29 August 1840 in favor of her husband Yohannes. However, Yohannes offended her son ''Ras'' Ali by favoring his rival
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 ...
, and ''Ras'' Ali restored Sahle Dengel in October 1841.
Occupation of the imperial throne alternated between Yohannes and Sahle Dengel until Kassa of
Qwara (the future
Tewodros II
Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to ...
) defeated Empress Menen
in combat on 18 June 1847 near the northern shores of
Lake Tana
Lake Tana (; previously transcribed Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wide, with a maximum depth of , and ...
, capturing her and Yohannes. He then traded them to ''Ras'' Ali for the title of ''
Dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...
'' and the territories of the deceased ''Ras'' Kinfu in Gojjam. Another source states that when Kassa finally usurped the Imperial throne, Yohannes agreed to acquiesce to the change on the condition that the new Emperor guarantee that he would not ever be made to reunite with his much hated wife, Empress Mennen.
Later life
On her part, in order to have influence over Kassa Menen offered her granddaughter
Tewabech Ali as a bride to him. Nevertheless, Kassa came to love her and was faithful to her until her death in 1858. Menan also awarded Kassa all of Ye Meru Qemas for the same reasons.
[Rubenson, ''King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia'', pp. 36-39]
Menen disappears from the historical record soon after this.
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Chris Prouty Rosenfeld
"Eight Ethiopian Women of the 'Zemene Mesafint' (c. 1769-1855)" ''Northeast African Studies'', 1 (1979), pp. 63-85
Empresses consort of Ethiopia
19th-century Ethiopian people
19th-century Ethiopian women
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
19th-century women regents
19th-century regents