Imperial Family of Ethiopia

[sirhon11234]

The Imperial Family of Ethopia had such a magnificant ancestrysurpassing other Royal Families.

[BurberryBrit]

Do the children have any relationship with the current or former royal families? I never see them represented at state functions. But obviously at one point, Emperor Selassie had a relationship with other royals.

[fifiona]

Hello, All-

Is there any information on the Ethiopian royals?
I read they were at Austrian royal wedding, but there were no photos.
Any links or photos would be appreciated.

[Cakobau]

Originally Posted by fifiona

Hello, All-

Is there any information on the Ethiopian royals?
I read they were at Austrian royal wedding, but there were no photos.
Any links or photos would be appreciated.

Benjamin has provided a link on a website dealing with the Ethiopian Imperial Family in a previous post, here it is again IMPERIAL ETHIOPIA HOME PAGE), i have read it and it is really interesting. I read that the Rastafari faith believes that Emperor Haile Selassie is "the black messiah" following a prophecy, though the Imperial family has never associated themselves with this belief. This is evident in Bob Marley's concerts in which he intro's saying "Greetings to his Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, Jah RasTafari, King of Kings and Conquering Lion of Judah, aireh, aireh".....the faith owes its name to the title that Haile Selassie had before he became Emperor, Ras Tafari, translation Prince Tafari. The Imperial family claims descendency from the child of the biblical King Solomon of Israel and Queen Makeda of Sheba (modern day Ethiopia).

[Elsa M.]

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie - the grandson of Haile Selassie (Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 when he was deposed) - was recently in Portugal for a week’s visit, during which he participated in the celebrations marking the 600th anniversary of the Royal House of Bragança.

For more details and photos, please see this thread:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/793159-post51.html

[Next Star]

Here is a link to the line of succession to the headship well other would proably say throne.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of...hiopian_throne

To get information about who is line you have to look up on the search page which will lead to list of those in the line of sucession to the throne.

[HMTLove23]

13.3 Empress Medferiaswork of Ethiopia died at Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, aged 84

courtesy Netty royalty Page.

[principessa]

Here is a portrait of Prince Asfa Wossan Asserate, grandnephew of Haile Selassie.

STUTTGARTER WOCHENBLATT | Seine Kaiserliche Hoheit gibt sich die Ehre

[princebrisk]

The letter above was made public today by the Ethiopian Reporter just ahead of the anniversary of the massacre of "the 60" on November 23, 1974. The letter is from the then "First Vice Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam" of the Derg and is addressed to the "Campaign and Security Command" of the Derg, it is marked as "Very Urgent" and the subject is "Action required on the Political Decision in regard to the Officials of the Former Imperial Government". As a piece of historic documentation it is a stunning piece of evidence. Mengistu writes that since the Derg "demolished feudalism and swept away the crown" it has been closely studying the case of the former officials of the government of Haile Selassie I. It has now reached a decision on the fate of those officials who for over 40 years have been "oppressing and looting" the wide masses of the Ethiopian people. He states that following a meeting of it's full membership, the Derg has unnanimously decided that "Revolutionary action" should be taken on the 54 former civilian and military officials listed on the following page. It was therefore hereby ordered that

1) Lt. General Aman Andom (the then chairman of the Derg who had refused to sanction the executions and other Derg decisions engineered by Mengistu) should be immediately arrested at his home and made to join the prisoners.

2) That a bulldozer be taken to the central "Kerchele" prison and made to dig a pit and at exactly 8 pm the former civilian and military leaders numbered 1 to 54 on the attached list are to be separated from the other prisoners.

3) That at exactly 2 am in the morning, the 54 named prisoners are to be loaded onto military vehicles and taken to "Kerchele", and put to death together "by bullets".

The letter is signed by First Vice Chairman Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, and is on the letter head of the derg (then bearing the Lion of Judah stripped of it's crown and cross which briefly served as it's symbol until it was scrapped in favor of more communistic symbols).

The letter exposes as lies the various attempts by members of the Derg and Mengistu himself to blame a larger group known as the "neus derg" of rank and file soldiers of being to blame for this decision. Lt. General Aman Andom who had served briefly as interim head of state following the deposing of the Emperor had refused to sanction the executions without trial and refused to authorize a new offensive in his native Eritrea which was the reason for the order for his arrest. When the army came to seize him, he and 6 followers encamped at his house engaged in a blazing battle with them and were all killed (as a boy I lived a short distance from his home and remember the sounds of battle quite vividly). Their bodies ended up in the bulldozer pit at Kerchele along with the 54 officials who included several heroes of the Italian occupation, noblemen, educated and experienced officials of the government and the Imperial court. The full list of the executed follows in the next post.

[princebrisk]

The list of ex-officials of the Imperial government that were brutally murdered in the early hours of November 23, 1974 without trial. Titles are in italics-
Prime Minister Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Haptewold
Prime Minister Lij Endalkatchew Makonnen
Lt. General Abiye Abebe
H.H. Prince (Leul Ras) Asrate Kassa
Prince Rear Admiral Iskinder Desta
Ras Mesfin Sileshi
Ato Abebe Retta
Ato Akale Work Haptewold
Lt. Colonel Tamirat Yigezu
Dejazmatch Kifle Irgetu
Lt. General Kebede Gebre
Lt. General Issayas Gebre Igziabiher
Lt. General Asefa Ayana
Ato Mulatu Debebe
Dr. Tesfaye Gebre Igzi
Dejazmatch Workineh Wolde Amanuel
Lt. General Debebe Haile Mariam
Brigadier General Deresse Dubale
Lt. General Asefa Demisse
Dejazmatch Aemero Selassie Abebe
Dejazmatch Solomon Abreha
Dejazmatch Sahelu Difeye
Dejazmatch Worku Inqu Selassie
Dejazmatch Legese Bezu
Colonel Solomon Kedir
Blata Admasu Retta
Ato Nebiye Leul Kifle
Ato Solomon Gebre Mariam
Ato Tegegn Yetashework
Afe Nigus (Lord Chief Justice) Abeje Debalke
Lt. General Haile Baikedagn
Lt. General Abebe Gemeda
Lt. General Yilma Shibeshi
Lt. General Belete Abebe
Dejazmatch Kebede Ali Wele
Major General Gashaw Kebede
Major General Seyoum Gedle Giorgis
Major General Tafesse Lemma
Lij Hailu Desta
Fitawrari Amde Abera
Fitawrari Tadesse Inqu Selassie
Fitawrari Demisse Alamirew
Kegnyazmatch Yilma Aboye
Brigadier General Wendimu Abebe
Brigadier General Girma Yohannes
Brigadier General Mulugeta Wolde Yohannes
Colonel Yigezu Yimene
Colonel Alem Zewd Tessema
Colonel Tassew Mojo
Major Berhane Mecha


On this same day, the following men died fighting the Derg over the Derg Chairman Lt. General Aman Andom's refusal to sanction the execution of the Imperial officials

Lt. General Aman Mikael Andom
Leutenant Belai Tsegaye
Leutenant Demisse Shiferaw Goshiye
Lance Corporal Bekele Wolde Giorgis
Sub-Corporal Tekle Haile
Lance Corporal Tesfaye Tekle
Junior Aircraftsman Yohannes Fitiwi


These are known today in Ethiopia as "Silsawochu" or "The Sixty". Their deaths marked the beginning of the Derg's reign of terror.

[princebrisk]

Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia (1844-1913)


Menelik II (August 17, 1844 - December 12, 1913),
Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia was negus negust (emperor) of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death.
Menelik II The son of King Haile Melekot of Shoa (1847 - 1855), was born in 1844 in Ankober, Shoa and heir to the Shewan branch of the Solomonic Dynasty which claimed descent from King Solomon of ancient Israel, and the Queen of Sheba. On the death of his father in 1855 he was taken prisoner by Emperor Tewodros II (Theodore II), a former minor noble originally named Kassa of Kwara, who had usurped the Imperial throne from the last Emperor of the elder Gondar branch of the Solomonic dynasty, Emperor Johannis III (John III). Menelik was imprisoned on Tewodros' mountain stronghold of Magdala, but was treated well by the Emperor, even marrying Tewodros's daughter Alitash. However, he would eventually succeed at escaping from Magdala and abandoned his wife, returning to Shoa to reclaim his ancestral crown and at once attacked the usurper claiming the Imperial throne for himself as well. These campaigns were unsuccessful, and he turned his arms to the west, east and south, and annexed much territory to his kingdom, still, however, maintaining his claims of divine right to the Imperial Crown of Ethiopia in addition to the royal one of Shoa.
In 1883, King Menelik married Taytu Betul, a noblewoman of Imperial blood, and a member of the leading families of the regions of Simien, Gojjam and Begemder. Her uncle Dejazmatch Wube had been the ruler of Tigre and much of northern Ethiopia. She had been married four times previously and exercised considerable influence. Menelik and Taytu would have no children. Menelik had previous to this marriage, sired not only Zauditu ( eventually Empress of Ethiopia), but also another daughter, Shoaregga (who married Ras Mikael of Wollo), and a son Prince Wossen Seged who died in childhood. Menelek.s clemency to Ras Mangasha, whom he compelled to submit and then made hereditary Prince of his native Tigre, was ill repaid by a long series of revolts by that prince.
After the suicide of Tewodros II in 1868 following his defeat at the hands of the British at Magdalla, Menelik continued to struggle against the various other claimants to the Imperial throne. The eventual successor, the Emperor Yohannes IV (better known to Europeans as King John of Abyssinia) was however able to better exert his claims due to the large number of weapons left to him by the British whom he had aided against Tewodros. Being again unsuccessful, Menelik resolved to await a more propitious occasion; so, acknowledging the supremacy of Yohannes. In 1886 Menelik of Shoa married his daughter Zauditu to the Emperor.s son, the Ras Araya Selassie. Ras Araya Selassie died in May 1888 without any issue by Zauditu of Shoa, and the Emperor Yohannes IV was killed in a war against the dervishes at the battle of Gallabat (Matemma) on May 10, 1889. The succession now lay between the late emperor.s natural son, the Ras Mangasha, and Menelek of Shoa, but the latter was able to obtain the aliegance of a large majority of the nobility on November 4, and consecrated and Crowned as Emperor Menelik II shortly afterwards.
In 1880, at the time when he was claiming the throne against Mangasha, Menelek signed at Wuchale in Wollo province (Uccialli in the Italian version), a treaty with Italy acknowledging the establishment of the new Italian Colony of Eritrea with its seat at Asmara. This colony had previously been part of the northern Tigrean territories from which Ras Mangasha had generated support, and the establishment of the Italian colony weakend the Ras. However, it was soon found that the Italian version of one of the articles of the treaty placed the Ethiopian Empire under Italian domination, while the Amharic version did not. Menelik denounced it, and after negotiations failed, abrogated it, leading Italy to declare war and invade from Eritrea. After defeating the Italians at Amba-Alagi and Mekele, he inflicted an even greater defeat on them, in the battle of Adowa on March 1, 1896, forcing them to capitulate. A treaty was signed recognizing the absolute independence of Ethiopia.
Menelik II's French sympathies were shown in a reported official offer of treasure towards payment of the indemnity at the close of the Franco-Prussian War, and in February 1897 he concluded a commercial treaty with France on very favorable terms. He also gave assistance to French officers who sought to reach the upper Nile from Ethiopia, there to join forces with the Marchand Mission; and Ethiopian armies were sent towards the Nile, but withdrew when the Fashoda Crisis between France and the United Kingdom cooled off. A British mission under Sir Rennell Rodd in May 1897, however, was cordially received, and Menelik agreed to a settlement of the Somali boundaries, to keep open to British commerce the caravan route between Zaila and Harrar, and to prevent the transit of munitions of war to the Mahdists, whom he proclaimed enemies of Ethiopia.
In the following year the Sudan was reconquered by an Anglo-Egyptian army and thereafter cordial relations between Menelek and the British authorities were established. In 1889 and subsequent years, Menelik sent forces to co-operate with the British troops engaged against the Somali mullah, Mahommed Abdullah.
Menelik had in 1898 crushed a rebellion by Ras Mangasha (who died in 1906) and he directed his efforts henceforth to the consolidation of his authority, and in a certain degree, to the opening up of his country to western civilization. He had granted in 1894 a concession for the building of a railway to his capital from the French port of Jibuti, but, alarmed by a claim made by France in 1902 to the control of the line in Ethiopian territory, he stopped for four years the extension of the railway beyond Dire Dawa. When in 1906 France, the United Kingdom and Italy came to an agreement on the subject, granting control to a joint venture corporation, Menelek officially reiterated his full sovereign rights over the whole of his empire.
In May 1909 the emperor.s grandson Lij Iyasu (or Lij Yasu) by his late daughter Shoaregga, then a lad of thirteen, was married to Romanework Mangasha (b. 1902), granddaughter of the Emperor Johannes IV by his natural son Ras Mangasha, and was also the niece of Empress Taytu. Two days later Yasu was publicly proclaimed at Addis Ababa as Menelek.s successor. At that time the emperor was seriously ill and as his ill-health continued, a council of regency . from which the empress was excluded . was formed in March 1910. Lij Iyasu's marriage to Romanework Mangasha was dissolved, and he married Seble Wongel Hailu, daughter of Ras Hailu, and granddaughter of King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam. Emperor Menelik II died on December 12th, 1913, and is buried at the Baeta Le Mariam Monastery Church of Addis Ababa.

[Kasumi]

A century-old Ethiopian prayer book stolen decades ago was returned to the African nation late Wednesday after the American collector who held it agreed to the restitution. The precious relic is a psalter written in the liturgical Geez language and illuminated with bright and colourful pictures of saints that belonged to Emperor Menelik, who ruled the country from 1889 to 1913.
Experts say it disappeared three decades ago and was only located recently by Steve Delamarter, a visiting American scholar who made contact with several collectors of Ethiopian items in the United States.
"Gerald Weiner is the largest collector of Ethiopian antiquities in north America. I went to him and said they belonged to Ethiopia," said Steve Delamarter, professor of Old Testament at US-based George Fox University.
"To my surprise, he thought it was a good idea and decided to act in good will," he said, before handing the relic to Addis Abeba University officials at a ceremony late Wednesday.
Delamarter said he was still working with the Ethiopian authorities on ways of repatriating all the items in Weiner's collection. - Nazret.com

[David V]

The Emperor's visit to Jamaica in 1966 resulted in much jubilation and commotion among the population.

[Kasumi]

From the archive: 15 October 1954 - Royal welcome for Emperor Haile Selassie - The Guardian
Great dynasties of the world: The Ethiopian royal family - The Guardian

[Kasumi]

Kings without a country - Express
The article mentions the Imperial family of Ethiopia and the royal families of Scotland, Zanzibar, Pakistan, Albania, Burma, Yugoslavia, Greece and Libya, whos members live in London.

[Lakshmi]

I wonder how Ethiopians feel today about monarchy... The head of former Imperial House spends part of year in Ethiopia, wonder if he is popular in his country.

[KNIGHTRRF]

It is sad to me that the Jamaican Rastafarians have kidnapped the good name of Haile Selassie for their own use. I lived in Jamaica for almost 10 years, and saw how his memory was perverted.

[ortiz]

A lovely video tribute about the members of the Imperial Family of Ethiopia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XRhiHS8Aws

[Burzg]

nice video thanks you

[ortiz]

^^You're very welcome! Here is another video/picture tribute that I found...this one of is of Empress Menen

YouTube - ‪Haile selassie I-Empress Menen_0002.wmv‬‏