19th century – 20th century
Shoa, Ethiopia
Menelik II, presented here as the ruler of Shoa and later emperor, was Yohannes IV’s principal Christian Ethiopian rival in the late 1870s. He mobilized against Yohannes but avoided civil war through an agreement recognizing his independence under taxation. Yohannes then crowned him king of Shoa and Wallo, while Menelik retained hereditary rights over those provinces and later continued to govern a powerful southeastern Ethiopian polity.
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The Story
Menelik governed Shoa, one of the two most powerful sections of Christian Ethiopia. His position was complicated by dependence on supplies moving through territories occupied by Egypt, and by his failure to support Yohannes during the Egyptian crisis. He also conducted an expedition into Bagemder and Gojam while maintaining friendly correspondence with the Khedive.
War between Menelik and Yohannes appeared imminent in early 1878. Menelik mobilized his forces in January after learning of Yohannes’s harsh demands, but both sides feared that a conflict between Christian rulers would benefit their common enemies. Clergy and monks moved between the camps to discourage the shedding of Christian blood.
Negotiations produced an agreement in March. Menelik renounced the title of emperor, accepted taxation, and received recognition as king of Shoa and Wallo. Yohannes’s coronation of his former enemy expressed formal imperial supremacy, while also acknowledging Menelik’s practical independence.
19th century – 20th century
Shoa, Ethiopia
Menelik II, presented here as the ruler of Shoa and later emperor, was Yohannes IV’s principal Christian Ethiopian rival in the late 1870s. He mobilized against Yohannes but avoided civil war through an agreement recognizing his independence under taxation. Yohannes then crowned him king of Shoa and Wallo, while Menelik retained hereditary rights over those provinces and later continued to govern a powerful southeastern Ethiopian polity.
Continue exploring
The Story
Menelik governed Shoa, one of the two most powerful sections of Christian Ethiopia. His position was complicated by dependence on supplies moving through territories occupied by Egypt, and by his failure to support Yohannes during the Egyptian crisis. He also conducted an expedition into Bagemder and Gojam while maintaining friendly correspondence with the Khedive.
War between Menelik and Yohannes appeared imminent in early 1878. Menelik mobilized his forces in January after learning of Yohannes’s harsh demands, but both sides feared that a conflict between Christian rulers would benefit their common enemies. Clergy and monks moved between the camps to discourage the shedding of Christian blood.
Negotiations produced an agreement in March. Menelik renounced the title of emperor, accepted taxation, and received recognition as king of Shoa and Wallo. Yohannes’s coronation of his former enemy expressed formal imperial supremacy, while also acknowledging Menelik’s practical independence.
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