Makonnen Wolde Mikael

Ras Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él Guddisa KCMG
Shum of Harar
In office 1887–1906
Monarch	Yohannes IV Menelik II
Succeeded by	Yilma Makonnen
Personal details
Born	Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él Guddisa 8 May 1852 Derefo Maryam, Shewa Ethiopian Empire
Died	21 March 1906(1906-03-21) (aged 53) Kulubi, Harar Ethiopian Empire
Nationality	Ethiopian
Spouse(s)	Yeshimebet Ali
Children	Yilma Makonnen Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Occupation	Military Officer, Diplomat, Court Official
Religion	Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox
Military service
Allegiance	Ethiopian Empire
Battles/wars	First Italo-Ethiopian War Battle of Adwa

Ras^{[nb 1]} Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él Guddisa, also Makonnen Wolde Mikael Gudessa (May 8, 1852 – March 21, 1906) or simply as Ras Makonnen, was a general and the governor of Harar province in Ethiopia, and the father of Tafari Mäkonnen, later known as the Emperor Haile Selassie I. His father was Fitawrari^{[nb 2]} Woldemikael Guddessa of a noble family of oromo orgin. Makonnen was a grandson of Negus^{[nb 3]} Sahle Selassie of Shewa through his mother, Leult^{[nb 4]} Tenagnework Sahle Selassie. As such, he was a first cousin of Emperor Menelik II, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

Biography

Governorship

Ras Mäkonnen, August 1902

Ras Mäkonnen was born at Derefo Maryam near Ankober, and at the age of 14 his father took him to the court of Negus Menelik, then ruler of Shewa, where he became a special companion of Menelik.^[1]

In 1887, Makonnen was given the governorship of Harar after it was incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire by his cousin, Emperor Yohannes IV. Other posts Ras Makonnen served included temporary governor of Tigray after the removal of the rebellious Ras Mangasha Yohannes, as a general during various military campaigns including during the First Italo–Ethiopian War, including a leading role at the Battle of Adowa where Ethiopian forces routed the Italians, and as a diplomat and de facto foreign minister.^{[citation needed]}

Ras Mäkonnen

In the 1880s, as Shum^{[nb 5]} of Harar, Ras Mäkonnen became a close friend of Arthur Rimbaud, who was then living and doing business in that province.^[2]

In 1902, Ras Mäkonnen attended the coronation of King Edward VII in England, and paid visits to Italy, France, Turkey, and Germany. 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1906, Dejazmach Yilma Makonnen succeeded Makonnen as Shum of Harar. Yilma Makonnen was his son from brefore his marriage to Wayzero Yeshimabet Ali. In 1907, Yilma Makonnen was in turn succeeded as Shum by his younger half brother, Tafari Makonnen, the future Emperor Haile Selassie.

Family

Around July 1873, Makonnen married a Muslim woman of Oromo descent named Yeshimebet Ali. She was a woman of mixed Oromo and Gurage ethnicity. In 1875, Yilma Makonnen was born to Makonnen and a woman who was not Yeshimebet Ali. In 1892, Tafari Makonnen, the son of Makonnen and Yeshimebet Ali, was born. In 1901, following the death of Yeshimebet Ali, Makonnen was briefly married to a niece of Empress Taitu Betul, Woizero^{[nb 6]} Mentewab Wale. Makonnen's marriage to Mentewab Wale was never consummated and, in 1902, it was annulled.

Death

While travelling from Harar to Addis Ababa, Ras Makonnen came down with typhus. His officers brought him to Kulubi, where he died as daylight broke after having given his son Tafari Makonnen a whispered benediction.^[3]

Notes

Footnotes

1. ^ Roughly equivalent to Duke.
2. ^ Equivalent to Commander of the Vanguard. Roughly equivalent to Baron.
3. ^ Roughly equivalent to King.
4. ^ Roughly equivalent to Princess.
5. ^ Roughly equivalent to Governor.
6. ^ Roughly equivalent to Lady.

Citations

1. ^ 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
2. ^ Nicholl, Charles. Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa 1880-91. 1999, page 231.
3. ^ Harold G. Marcus, The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913 (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1995), p. 6

References

• Marcus, Harold G. (1995). The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913. Lawrenceville: Red Sea. ISBN 1-56902-010-8. 

Persondata
Name	Makonnen, Ras
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	8 May 1852
Place of birth	Derefo Maryam, Shewa Ethiopian Empire
Date of death	21 March 1906
Place of death	Kulubi, Harar Ethiopian Empire