Sabla Wangel Hailu (Amharic: ሰብለ ወንጌል ሀይሉ; 1895/1896 – 1969) was an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

aristocrat and the second wife of the uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia, ''Lij'' Iyasu.

Name

Sabla Wangel Hailu is frequently confused with her 16th-century ancestor, Empress Sabla Wangel, whom the modern people 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 ...

also believe to have been connected to their region. To differentiate the two famous women, people refer to the earlier queen as Sabla Wangel 'Teleq' (the great) or 'Kedamawit' (the first), while the modern Sabla Wangel is referred to with the suffixes 'Hailu', derived from her

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

's name, 'Dagmawit' (the second), or 'Tinishi' (the little).

Biography

Sabla Wangel Hailu was born the daughter of

Hailu Tekle Haymanot Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868 – 1950), also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government ...

, the ruler of

, and Askale Mariam Mengesha.

Marriage to ''Lij'' Iyasu

At the age of 14, she was selected by the

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...

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 ...

, to marry his presumptive heir, ''Lij'' Iyasu. The marriage was an alliance between the throne and a powerful Christian family, as well as an attempt to reduce the political influence of Menelik's wife ''Itege'' Taytu, as Sabla Wangel had no links to Taytu's family. She was the first of ''Ras'' Mengesha's descendents to marry a designated heir to the throne, the second being

Medferiashwork Abebe Medferiashwork Abebe (Amharic: መድፈሪያሽወርቅ አበበ; 1922 – 13 March 2009), baptismal name Amete Maryam, was the titular empress consort of Amha Selassie, emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia. Her full title used by monarchists was "H ...

. As ''Lij'' Iyasu's first, brief marriage to Romane Werq was probably unconsummated, Sabla Wangel may have been his only official wife. Sabla Wangel had one daughter with Iyasu, named Alem Tsahai Iyasu. The pair divorced in 1916.

Later life

Sabla Wangel's paternal grandfather,

Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam Tekle Haymanot Tesema, also known as Adal Tesema, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam ( 1847 – 10 January 1901), was King of Gojjam. He was later an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. ...

, had rebuilt a church at Mängəśtä Sämayat in 1887. In 1956, Sabla Wangel restored this church once more. The church's founding was associated with the 16th century queen of

Lebna Dengel Dawit II (; – 2 September 1540), also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad (ወናግ ሰገድ, ''to whom the lions bow''), better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel (, ''essence of the virgin''), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 150 ...

, also called Sabla Wangel. A memorial text written on the modern Sabla Wangel's death in 1969 records:

Family

*Father:

(1868–1950) *Mother: ''Woyzero'' Askale Mariam *Husbands and their respective issue # ''Lij'' Iyasu (1895–1935, div. 1916) ##Alem Tsahai Iyasu, married ''Dejazmach'' Abebe Asfaw #''Dejazmach'' Yigezu Behabte #''Dejazmach'' Mangasha Jimbirre

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabla Wangel Hailu Date of birth unknown 1970 deaths Ethiopian nobility 20th-century Ethiopian women 20th-century Ethiopian people Empresses consort of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty 1890s births Year of birth uncertain