Sahle Dengel
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Sahle Dengel ( Ge'ez: ሣህለ ድንግል; 1778 – 11 February 1855) was
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 ...
intermittently between 1832 and 11 February 1855, towards the end 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 ...
. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of '' 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 ...
.


Description

The French explorer Arnaud d'Abbadie, described him thus:


Biography

Sahle Dengel was the son of Gebre Mesay, allegedly a descendant of a younger son of Emperor
Fasilides Fasilides ( Ge'ez: ፋሲለደስ; ''Fāsīladas''; 20 November 1603 – 18 October 1667), also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides (as in the works of Edward Gibbon), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a me ...
.
Eduard Rüppell Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell, also spelled Rueppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884) was a German Natural history, naturalist and List of explorers, explorer, best known for his collections and descriptions of plants and animals from ...
, who visited the capital of
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 ...
in 1833, stated that at the time the Emperor "barely had the income of an averagely well-to-do Ethiopian, and the great princes of the
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 ...
,
Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...
and Amhara were unable to prevent continuous strife and bloodshed." When Sahle Dengel was set on the throne by ''Ras'' Ali, the clergy of Azazo disapproved of his religious beliefs, and convinced ''Ras'' Ali to remove him; Sahle Dengel was sent to Zengaj. ''Ras'' Ali recalled Gebre Krestos from Mitraha, an island in northeastern
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 ...
, and restored him as Emperor. However, Gebre Krestos died after three months, and Sahle Dengel met ''Ras'' Ali in a village named Tagur, where he convinced the Ras to make him Emperor once again (October, 1832). About that same time, one Egwale Anbesa announced his claim to the throne; Sahle Dengel cut his head off, and set it in a tree at Adababay. Following the death of ''Ras'' Kinfu, people fought for control of his lands 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 ...
. Eventually
Menen Liben Amede Menen Liben Amede (died 1858) was Empress consort of Ethiopia by marriage to Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperor Yohannes III in 1840–1841, 1845 and 1850–1851. She was also regent of Begemder in 1831–1841 during the minority of her son Ali II of ...
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 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 ...
. However Yohannes offended 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. Sahle Dengel was still emperor in 1848, when
Goshu Zewde Goshu Zewde of Gojjam (1783 or 1788–1852), also known by his horse name Abba Kanno, was a prominent governor of Damot (historical region), Damot, Mecha (woreda), Mecha, and Yibaba during the first half of the 19th century. While his son Birru Go ...
entered
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 ...
and was invested with the title of ''Ras''. Yohannes somehow managed to get himself restored to the throne around 1850, only to be deposed again in 1851 and Sahle Dengel was once again restored. Despite this, Yohannes III persisted with his claim; different parts of the fragmented realm recognized one or the other as Emperor until
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 ...
consolidated Ethiopia under his control and declared himself Emperor. Significantly, Yohannes III accepted the accession of Tewodros II.


International relations

Although without power, Sahle Dengel wrote to officials outside Ethiopia using his title and seal. Existing letters include a packet of letters sent to
Samuel Gobat Samuel Gobat (26 January 1799 – 11 May 1879) was a Swiss Calvinist who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death. Biography Samuel Gobat was born at Crémines, Canton of Bern, ...
in April 1848, who had by that time become the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, which ask for his help in restoring the ownership of the Dar-es-Sultan monastery to the Ethiopian community. His name also appears as one of several signatories to a letter
Antoine d'Abbadie Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie d'Arrast (3 January 1810 – 19 March 1897) was a French-Basques, Basque explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer of Irish birth, renowned for his expeditions in EthiopiaAlthough referred to as Ethiop ...
delivered to Viscount
Henry Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
18 May 1839, which asked that Queen Victoria ask the ruler of Egypt,
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
, to recall his forces which were then ravaging Ethiopia and threatening Gondar.Discussed in Sven Rubenson, ''The Survival of Ethiopian Independence'' (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 76-82. Rubenson is suspicious of the letter in the form d'Abbadie delivered to Palmerston, and explains the missive as an attempt to create "the impression that he had been made the envoy of all Ethiopia on a national issue of some urgency."


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahle Dengel 1778 births 1855 deaths 19th-century emperors of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty