Gugsa Welle

Ras Gugsa Welle (1875 - 31 March 1930), also known as Gugsa Wolie, was an Ethiopian noble. He was the son of Welle Betul, and the nephew of Empress Taytu Betul who arranged his marriage to Zewditu before her elevation to Empress in 1916; Gugsa was her fourth husband.Chris Prouty, "Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia 1883-1910" (Trenton: The Red Sea Press, 1986), p. 220] His half-sister, Kefey Welle, was the second wife of Ras Mangesha Yohannes, the natural son of Emperor Yohannes IV. [Prouty, "Empress Taytu", p. 165] Prouty quotes Bairu Tafla's favorable opinion of Gugsa as "one of the most enlightened men of the Ethiopian nobility, a renowned poet, great lover of books, and pious and fair in the administration of Begemder."

Life and career

Gugsa Welle married Zewditu in 1900, and was immediately promoted to Ras over Begemder. Prouty considers this alliance allowing Empress Taytu to extend her influence over this important province of the Ethiopian empire. Despite the political nature of this marriage, the two were happy although Gugsa was summoned to Addis Ababa in 1909 to respond to the charge that he had mistreated Zewditu. [Prouty, "Empress Taytu", pp. 219ff]

The Ras came close to becoming the power behind the throne during the intrigue that characterized the years of Emperor Menelik II's senility, for in 1909 the Empress Taytu made a serious effort to prevent the accession of Iyasu as Menelik's successor. This led to the rumor that Empress Taytu and her brother, Ras Wele Betul, intended to move the capital to Gondar and make Ras Gugsa Emperor. [Prouty, "Empress Taytu", p. 325] However, the Shewan aristocracy agreed that their authority, positions and honors depended on obeying Menelik's wishes, and they united behind Lij Iyasu as the successor. [Harold G. Marcus, "The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913", (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1995), pp. 236ff] Despite this setback, Ras Gugsa initially supported the resulting status quo: when Dejazmach Abraha Araya rebelled in Tigray, Gugsa supported Dejazmach Abate Bwalu who was sent to suppress this threat, helping him to defeat Dejazmach Abraha near Lake Ashenge on 9 October. [Marcus, "Menelik II", p. 240]

However, once Iyasu was secure as Emperor the following year, Gugsa was arrested "on a murder charge so patently false that he ultimately regained his freedom", but in late April he was in chains in Addis Ababa, "no longer a potential threat to the government." [Marcus, "Menelik II", p. 246] This confinement proved to be cruel, for Gugsa "was kept in chains for so long that his legs became swollen and the metal cut into his flesh," according to Prouty. Zewditu begged the regent Ras Tessema Nadew to ease his condition, but it was not until 1915, when she was relegated to Falle that Gugsa was released and the two allowed to live together. [Prouty, "Empress Taytu", pp. 333, 340] Following the successful coup against Iyasu in 1916, which made Gugsa's wife Zewditu Empress, he was restored to good graces but forced to divorce Zewditu and sent to Gondar where he served once again as governor of Begemder and also Semien. [Marcus, "Haile Sellassie I, The Formative years: 1892-1936", (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1996), p. 28]

The crowning of Ras Tafari Makonnen was controversial, as he occupied the same territory as the Empress, rather than going off to a regional kingdom of the empire. Two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the Emperor (in this case Empress), had never occupied the same location as their seat in Ethiopian history. Conservatives, including Balcha Safo, agitated to redress this perceived insult to the dignity of the crown, leading to Ras Gugsa's rebellion in 1930. The Empress Zewditu did not authorize his actions.

Gugsa Welle marched from his governorate at Gondar towards the capital but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Anchem. [Marcus, "Haile Sellassie I", p. 95] News of Gugsa Welle's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the Empress died suddenly on 2 April. Although it was long rumored that the Empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband, [Sorenson, John. "Ghosts and Shadows: Construction of Identity and Community in an African Diaspora". 2001, page 34.] or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband, [Brockman, Norbert C. "An African Biographical Dictionary". 1994, page 381.] it has since been documented that the Empress succumbed to a flu-like fever and complications from diabetes. [Henze, Paul B. "Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia" (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 205.]

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