- Ras Makonnen
Ras Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él,
KCMG (May 8 ,1852 –March 21 ,1906 ) was a general and the governor ofHarar province inEthiopia , and the father of Tafari Mäkonnen, later known as the EmperorHaile Selassie I. His father wasFitawrari Woldemikael Guddessa. Makonnen was a grandson of KingSahle Selassie ofShewa through his mother, Princess Tenagnework Sahle Selassie. As such, he was a first cousin of Emperor Menelik II, and a member of theSolomonic dynasty .He was born at
Derefo Maryam , nearAnkober and at the age of 14 his father took him to the court of Menelik, then ruler ofShewa , and became a special companion of Menelik. [Haile Selassie I, "My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I", translated from Amharic by Edward Ullendorff. (New York: Frontline Books, 1999), vol. 1 p. 13] married a woman of mixedOromo andGurage ethnicity,Yeshimebet Ali . Following her death, he was briefly married to a niece of EmpressTaitu Betul , Woizero Mentewab, but the marriage was never consummated, and was later annulled. He was given the governorship of Harar after it was incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire by his cousin, the Emperor. Other posts Ras Makonnen served included temporary governor of Tigray after the removal of the rebelliousRas Mengesha Yohannes , as a general during various military campaigns including during theFirst Italo–Ethiopian War , including a leading role at theBattle of Adowa where Ethiopian forces routed the Italians, and as a diplomat and "de facto" foreign minister.In the 1890s, as Governor of Harar, Ras Mäkonnen became a close friend of
Arthur Rimbaud , who was then living and doing business in Harar. [Nicholl, Charles. "Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa 1880-91". 1999, page 231.]In 1902, Ras Mäkonnen attended the coronation of King Edward VII in
England , and paid visits toItaly ,France ,Turkey , andGermany . He received the following decorations: Badge & Star of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (Knight Commander), Star of the Russian Order of St. Anne, Star of the French "Legion d'Honneur " (Third Republic), Star of the Order of the Crown of Italy, Star of the Ottoman Order of Osmania.Ras Makonnen also had a son previous to his marriage to Wayzero Yeshimabet, Dejazmach Yilma Makonnen, who succeeded him as governor of Harar in 1906, and who was in turn succeeded by the future Emperor, Haile Selassie I.
While travelling from Harar to Addis Ababa, Ras Makonnen came down with
typhus . His officers brought him toKulubi , where he died as daylight broke after having given his son Tafari a whispered benediction. [Harold G. Marcus, "The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913" (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1995), p. 6]References
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