Menen Liben Amede

Menen Liben Amede was an empress and wife of Emperor Yohannes III of Ethiopia.[1]

Following the death of Ras Kinfu, people fought for control of his lands in Gojjam, and eventually Menen Liben Amede gained the upper hand in the Battle of Chenti Ber (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.[2]

However, Yohannes III offended Ras Ali by favoring his rival Wube Haile Maryam, and Ras Ali restored Sahle Dengel in October 1841. Sahle Dengel was still emperor in 1848, when Goshu Zewde entered Gondar and was invested with the title of Ras.[3] Yohannes III 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 consolidated Ethiopia under his control and declared himself Emperor. Significantly, Yohannes III accepted the accession of Tewodros II.

Menen Liben Amede's first husband was Alula of Yejju, and he was the father of her son Ras Ali II.[4] A second palace was built for Menen Liben Amede, though it was not as large as Ras Ali II's.[5]

Menen Liben Amede was a grandmother of Tewabech Ali, and offered Tewabech Ali as a bride to Kassa entirely for political reasons, although Kassa loved Tewabech Ali and was faithful to her until her death. This is shown by the fact they made their wedding official by partaking of Communion together at the same time he was proclaimed Emperor.[6] Menen Liben Amede awarded Kassa all of Ye Meru Qemas in the hopes of binding him firmly to her son and herself.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Yohannes Mekonnen (29 January 2013). Ethiopia: the Land, Its People, History and Culture. Yohannes Mekonnen. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-1-4823-1117-4.
  2. ↑ H. Weld Blundell, The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840 (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 491f
  3. ↑ Sven Rubenson, King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1966), p. 39
  4. ↑ Charles T. Beke, "Abyssinia. Being a Continuation of Routes in That Country", Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 14 (1844), p. 6
  5. ↑ Richard P.K. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), pp. 271ff.
  6. ↑ Sven Rubenson, King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1966), p. 44)
  7. ↑ Rubenson, Sven (1966). King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University. pp. 36–39.
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