Yohannes
IV of Ethiopia: A Political Biography
Revised Edition, The Red Sea Press 2014
Authored
by Zewde Gabre-Sellassie, PhD
Reviewed
by Ghelawdewos
Araia, PhD
May 6, 2014
Zewde
Gabre-Sellassie’s book pioneered in fully
exploring and documenting the political biography
of Emperor Yohannes in detail and in depth. Other
books on Yohannes include that of Bairu Tafla’s Chronicle
of Yohannes IV: 1872-1889; Tekle Tsadiq
Mekuria’s Atse Yohannes ‘na Ya Ethiopia
Andinet (Emperor Yohannes and the Unity of
Ethiopia); and Mamo Wudneh’s Yohannes (fiction
in Amharic), not to mention numerous articles
including mine entitled The Martyred King of
Kings: Emperor Yohannes IV that I wrote in
2006 (www.africanidea.org/atse_yohannes.pdf)
The
Red Sea Press posthumously published Yohannes
IV of Ethiopia: A Political Biography, first
put out by the Clarendon Press in 1975, now
revised and updated by the author.
The book is organized into thirteen chapters and
supplemented by nine appendices that greatly
enriched the respective chapters and more
specifically the historical themes of the text,
and this becomes handy for the casual reader as
well as the scholar engaged in serious research.
The
author’s immaculate presentation of Yohannes’
role in Ethiopian history in the context of the
complex and real or imaginary political events of
the last quarter of the 19th century,
gives the book an edge in capturing the dramatic
Ethiopian phenomena of the time in an enduring
language. The book furthermore explores and
discusses the complex diplomacy Yohannes engaged
with now the British, now the Italians and the
conflict he entered with the Egyptians, Italians,
and the Mahdist Derbush of Sudan. The author also
clearly and candidly delineates the challenges
Yohannes faced from local princess like Gobeze,
Menelik and Teklehaimanot.
As
noted above, the book is essentially a political
biography of Emperor Yohannes, but it also briefly
touches upon the social background of Yohannes
when he was still known as Kassa (his name at
birth). Kassa or Kahsai and his elder brother
Gugsa were temporarily residing at the court of
Emperor Tewodros, and when they were about to
depart to Tigray, the Emperor “confirmed
Gugsa’s command over Enderta with the title of
Dejazmach [highest ranking in the Ethiopian
feudal-aristocratic hierarchy] and Kassa, the
younger brother, was given the title of Balambaras
[the lowest title]”. Following these
appointments, thus, Kasa sought a rebel life and
he chose Afar, Eastern Tigray, as his strategic
area for his guerrilla operations; and during his
stay in the Afar district, he married an Afar girl
by he name Dato Halima, a sister of Yakume Sire
Ali, chief of the Damohoita part of the Ab’ala
tribe. He had converted Dato to Christianity and
changed her name to Tibebe Sellassie.”
While
Kassa was conducting operations in Eastern Tigray,
the fate of Emperor Tewodros was about to be
sealed sometime in the late 1867, following the
English hostages at Maqdella and the British
expeditionary forces led by General Napier, who
came to rescue their incarcerated citizens at
Tewodros’ court. Initially, Kassa was kind of
hesitant to cooperate with the Napier forces, but
upon learning of the two other princes, namely
Gobeze (later Emperor Teklegiorgis) and Menelik,
willing to cooperate with the British, and also
anticipating the fall of Tewodros, he reconsidered
to cooperate with the British but with
reservations. “Kassa was the only one among the
Ethiopian princesses,” says Dr. Zewde, “who,
to his credit, raised such questions before
offering his cooperation.” Based on one of
Kassa’s subordinates, Mircha Worque, the author
substantiates the ‘questions’ raised by
Yohannes: “The operations against Tewodros
should be successful, that the English should then
leave the country as soon as possible, that they
(the British) should not assist the Egyptian enemy
and no consul should be appointed.” (p. 13)
Once
Kassa (now Emperor Yohannes) ascended to power in
1872, his immediate top agenda was to reunite
Ethiopia and iron out the doctrinal differences
amongst the sects of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. The author, thus, discusses Yohannes’
endeavors and his achievements during the
formative period of his reign.
The
predominant sect within the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church was the Tewahdo (Unitarian), followers of
the Alexandrian doctrine that preached only Two
Births of Christ (from the Father and the Virgin
Mary). The Qibat (Unction) sect that evolved
mainly in Gojjam argued, “the flesh had become
divine in the womb of the virgin through
Unction”. The third sect, known as Sost Lidet
(Three Births), also known as Tsega and one that
flourished in Shoa, attributed Unction only to the
Word at the time of Baptism, when Christ attained
a Third Birth.
Under
the supervision and instruction of Emperor
Yohannes, the sects ultimately resolved their
differences at the Council of Boru Meda in May
1878 in favor of the Tewahdo sect. Following the
resolution of doctrinal differences, in an attempt
to ‘strengthen the Orthodox Tewahdo Church’
and “stimulate the evangelization process and
facilitate the spread of church education,
“Yohannes built several churches in Tigray,
Begemdir, Wollo, Shoa, and Gojjam.”
After
the Council of Boru Meda, Yohannes “issued a
proclamation stating the rationale for the
conversion of Muslims throughout the greater Wollo
area.” The Emperor claimed that all Wollo was
Christian until Grań came and compelled the
people to abandon their Christian religion and
embrace Islam instead. However, a more compelling
reason for Yohannes’ proclamation, I gather, was
“influenced by the successive Egyptian invasions
of 1875 and 1876 and the fact that a state of
hostility had persisted between Egypt and Ethiopia
until the Hewett Treaty in 1884. It was basically
motivated by strategic and political
considerations focusing on Wollo” (p. 27)
However,
some historians have misunderstood Yohannes’
policy of religious conversion because they
perceived him as fanatic as I have tried to
critically examine and clarify in my debut book, Ethiopia:
The Political Economy of Transition. Dejazmach
Zewde, to his credit, succinctly explains why the
Emperor wanted to issue the Proclamation in the
first place: “One must not overlook,” Dejach
Zewde says, “Yohannes’ instruction to Menelik
and Ras Adal (later King Teklehaimanot) of Gojjam
‘not to treat Muslims too harshly, less the
Copts in Egypt suffer reprisal’.” (p. 30)
There
is no doubt that Yohannes was in favor of
Ethiopian Muslims embracing Christianity, and he
was also in favor of the Holy City of Askum to be
free of Muslims but he did not support the idea of
congregating Muslims at Addi Gwatsiya, a
ghetto-like area for the followers of Islam. On
the contrary, he granted them land in Mekelle, not
far from his palace and in many other cities such
as Koda and Mai Kumel near Aksum; Edaga Malka in
Naeder, and Addi Dahno in Shire; Addi Agam in
Awger; Hatsiba in Enda Abba Tsahma; Addi Tegemes
in Zengui; Begié Ella in Segli; Addi Zeamere in
Enticho; Enda Abba Qendi in Enda Chewa, and Negash
in Kilte Awlaélo. (p. 31)
In
regards to the Falasha or Béte Israel, Yohannes
adopted a tolerant policy toward their religion
although he would have wished them converted to
Christianity. When attempts were made by the local
chiefs to convert the Falasha, the latter under
the leadership of Abba Mehari from Dembia, Wolkayt,
and Semien went to Yohannes’ palace to appeal
and the Emperor is believed to have said, “They
should not be compelled to adopt our religion.”
One
important contribution of this book is the fact
that Dejach Zewde documented Yohannes’
contributions and achievements that other
historians ignored or belittled. In an attempt to
introduce modern technology, medicine, and crafts
into Ethiopia, Emperor Yohannes recruited foreign
experts in many fields and invited them to come to
Ethiopia. Among the many foreign experts, J. C.
Kirkham was hired to train professional Ethiopian
army; the Greek physician Nicholas Parisis was
assigned to take care of health matters; among
craftsmen employed in Yohannes’ court were the
Italian builder Giacomo Naretti, the French
mechanic René, and the Hungarian gunsmith André.
The
author also pointed out “Yohannes was
desperately in need of professional experts. He
even wrote to Memehir Wolde Semaét, the Abbot of
the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem, to identify
and send a sound botanist with all the different
seeds from abroad as well as a medical doctor –
whom he will pay and accord them all the comfort
that they deserve.” (p. 34) One missing link
that is not mentioned by the author is that
Yohannes, in an effort to demonstrate and
encourage his people accept modern medicine, he
was the first to be vaccinated in public.
With
respect to Yohannes’ policy on the general
welfare of the Ethiopian people, it is most
instructive to quote what he issued in regards to
slavery: “This was demonstrated by the warning
he sent to Menelik that he would send troops to
protect the Guraghes if Menelik could not protect
them from seasonal raids which were afflicting the
population.” Yohannes got first hand information
of the enslavement not only of the Guraghe, but
also of the Oromo and other Southern Ethiopian
peoples, from an ex-slave Guraghe who managed to
escape and find himself at the court of the
Emperor in Mekelle.
Other
major contribution of Yohannes was the
introduction of flourmills and supply depots in
order to relieve the peasants from supplying
provisions to the massive fighting forces of the
Emperor.
Yohannes
also introduced a unique style of governance
hitherto unknown in Ethiopian history by
appointing regional kings to administer their own
provinces as autonomous political entities. In
effect, he introduced a semi-federal system under
a monarchy and truly presided over Ethiopia as the
king of kings in the literal sense of the term.
Dejach Zewde believes that Yohannes’ style of
governance and power sharing may have undermined
“his own authority, but it contributed greatly
in accelerating the process of reunification of
the Ethiopian Empire.” (p. 41) Yohannes,
however, did not simply compromise his authority;
he was well aware of the contending princesses
like Menelik, Teklehaimanot, and Gobeze who had
ambitions to become kings and who were pandering
with outside forces, which is not unique to
Ethiopians and which was a universal norm during
the incipient stage in the formation of
nation-states. He also had misgivings on the
behavior of his subordinates and he had no choice
but to deal with them by appeasing and at times
punishing them in order not to give a chance to
European imperial powers take over Ethiopia at a
time when they almost partitioned the whole
continent. In
regards to Egyptian, Italian, and Mahdist enemies,
however, he was not ready too mollifying them, let
alone negotiates Ethiopian territory. He combined
diplomacy with firm determination to challenge
and/or confront foreign enemies at the
battleground.
In
my article on Yohannes (mentioned above), I
stated, “After Emperor Tewodros, Emperor
Yohannes IV is another great visionary whose
person is characterized by unparalleled altruism,
incomparable sense of justice and humanist
principle at its core. By his utmost commitment to
his people and his country and his indefatigable
patriotism, Yohannes makes every Ethiopian a
dwarf-thinking animal.”
When
I wrote the above statement on Yohannes in 2006, I
was not trying to elevate the martyred emperor to
sainthood by embellishing words; on the contrary,
I was making a reflection of a selfless human
being with exceptional sense of sacrifice for his
people and his country. This is a man who forgave
his erstwhile enemies including Dejach Gabre-Michael
of Tsraé who was responsible for the death of his
own mother, Weizero Silas Dimtsu. In a similar
vein, Dejach Zewde portrays Yohannes as follows:
“Throughout his reign Yohannes demonstrated
selfless devotion to the defense of the
territorial integrity of the Ethiopian Empire
against successive waves of external aggression by
Egyptians, Italians, and Mahdist Sudan…his
devotion to his country and people culminated in
the supreme sacrifice of his life at the border of
his empire, in the Battle of Metema.” (p. 42)
What
I have put so far in the above is a summary and
synthesis of the book, which I hope will enable
the reader to easily grasp the essence of the
leitmotif, that is, the political biography of one
of the remarkable emperors of modern Ethiopia. In
writing this book, Dr Zewde made a great
contribution to Ethiopian historiography and
political discourse of the late nineteenth century
Ethiopia, and as Edward Ullendorff aptly put it in
the Preface to the first edition of the book,
“Yohannes IV alone was not hitherto had serious
and sustained scholarly attention, and this lacuna
has now been most worthily filled by Dejazmach Dr.
Zewde Gabre Sellassie’s present study.”
The
book, no doubt is extremely rich in the overall
documentation of historical narratives of Emperor
Yohannes and while Chapter One is the Introduction
itself, Chapter Two discusses the ‘historical
perspective’; Chapter Three covers the struggle
for power by the principal princesses in the post-Tewodros
period; Chapter Four discusses and deals with the
Ethiopian-Egyptian conflict, the Battle of Gundet
(1875) and Battle of Guraé (1876), and the
victory of Ethiopians. Although things have
changed dramatically between now and then, Chapter
Four – if read between lines – may very well
depict the current Egyptian ambitions in their
futile attempt to control the waters of the Nile.
Chapters Five to Seven are essentially focused on
the reunification of Ethiopia, the Hewett or Adwa
Treaty, the expansion to the peripheral regions
like Harar. Yohannes encouraged Menelik (then King
of Shoa) to recapture Harar (the word
‘recapture’ is Yohannes’s own term to imply
that Harar was part of historic Ethiopia) and the
Southeastern territories lost to outsiders.
Chapter
Nine is about the ‘first encroachment of the
Italians’ and the relations of the latter with
Ethiopians in the context of Ras Alula’s victory
over Italian forces in 1885 and 1887 at Saati and
Dogali respectively.
While Chapter Twelve deals with the Battle
of Metema, which the author calls ‘The Crucial
Decision’, Chapter Thirteen is the concluding
part of the Book.
Most
of the text in the book is easy to read and there
is indeed a smooth flow between chapters, but
unfortunately Dejach Zewde left some Italian
references without translating them into English
and readers could have difficulty understanding
them. For instance, on page 222 a certain Mancini
is quoted stating in Italian on the significance
of the strategy of the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean in the Italian territorial ambitions
in Africa. I will roughly translate it as shown
below so that some readers could get the gist of
the text:
Perche
non-volete riconoscere che nel mar Rosso, il piu
viccino al Mediterraneo, passiamo torvare la
chiave di quest’ ultimo, la via che ci riconduce
ad una efficace tutela contro ogni nuovo
turbamento del suo equlibrio
Why
not want to admit that the Red Sea is close to the
Mediterranean; we find the key to the latter and
the track that takes us back to an effective
protection against any new disturbance of the
equilibrium.
Before
I conclude, I like to include two important
ubiquitous quotations, one uttered by Emperor
Yohannes in rallying the Ethiopian people and
mobilizing his forces against Italian incursion,
and the other stated by the magnanimous and
charismatic Empress Taitu in telling the truth and
in defending Ethiopian sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
In
the Saati campaign against Italians, “Emperor
Yohannes tried to bolster the morale of his army
with a characteristic proclamation”: “Hear my
countrymen, my nobles, my soldiers, and my people.
Your government orders you to march towards
Massawa for a war…March forward and do not
remain behind. Oh sons of Ethiopia bear in mind
that Ethiopia is primarily your mother, secondly
your crown, thirdly your wife, fourthly your
child, and fifthly your grave. Hence, when you
march, you must realize that you will be defending
your country, which corresponds to the love of a
mother, the glory of a crown, the kindness of a
wife, the joy of a child, and the charity of a
grave.” (p. 289)
And
as noted earlier, Yohannes was not ready to cede a
piece of land to the Italians and Empress Taitu
beautifully depicts this character of the Emperor
when she challenged her own husband, and this is
what she said: “How is it that King Yohannes
never wished to cede a hand’s breath of land,
beat the Italians, beat the Egyptians, and for
this was killed, and you, after such an example,
wish to sell your country? What will history has
to say about you?” (p. 322)
I
personally have great admiration and respect for
Emperor Yohannes, and as noted above I have
dedicated an article to the martyred king of
kings, but I was saddened to come across some
denigrating remarks against Yohannes made by some
Diaspora Ethiopians. Unlike these marauding
ethnocentric chauvinists who portrayed Atse
Yohannes as a fool (e.g. Ambassador Emiru Zeleke)
and an emotionally-driven or angry leader for
going to Metema (e.g. Getachew Haile), I have
extended the respect he deserves as I have done to
Emperors Tewodros, Menelik, Haile Selassie, and
even Lij Eyasu who was unfairly judged by the
powers that be in the first quarter of the
twentieth century. Interested readers can still
make reference to my articles written in 2006 on
Emperors Tewodros and Menelik, entitled The
Great Unifier: Emperor Tewodros of Ethiopia and
Emeye Menelik Abba Dagnew: Emperor of Ethiopia (www.africanidea.org/emperor_tewdros.pdf
and www.africanidea.org/Emeye.pdf).
Unlike
some elements who have no regard for their history
and respect for their leaders, I have enjoyed the
company of hundreds and upon hundreds of
Ethiopians who have read my articles and my books,
and I like to use this opportunity to mention one
Ethiopian who loves his country and who, to his
credit, reconstructed the Menelik palace at
Ankober that was destroyed by the Italian
Fascists. His name is Ato Terrefe Raswork and he
gave me the following feedback when I wrote the
article on Emperor Menelik: “I read your article
on the above subject [Emeye Menelik] with great
interest. I think your article is well balanced
and reflects the actual historical facts, as most
people understood them. I think it is important
for Ethiopians to look back on our history not
only with fairness but most importantly make
judgment, if one has to do so, within the then
current realities. Thank you for a good historical
presentation, which I consider a useful
contribution to revisiting our history…”
We
must indeed look back and examine the rich
Ethiopian history and learn lessons from it, and
for this apparent reason Dejach Zewde’s book
plays a major role in enabling Ethiopians to study
the complicated political history of Ethiopia of
the mid to late 19th century. More
importantly, when we retrospectively explore the
history of Ethiopia, our inquiry must be
reflective, objective, critical, and balanced. As
scholars and students of history, we have an
obligation to tell the tale as is, without
exaggeration or distortion. I say this,
particularly to address the current trend among
some Ethiopians in the Diaspora who at best seem
to suffer from lack of compatibility of relevant
historical knowledge, or at worst exhibit
propensity of outright cynicism. Our
responsibility should be to elevate above narrow
sentiments and transcend the ills of chauvinism
and narrow nationalism and promote the primacy of
the Ethiopian nation-state in all its facets!
I
also like to be candid and frank to the reader
this time, and this would be the first time ever I
wanted to make public my genealogical and genetic
connection to Atse Yohannes. Emperor Yohannes is
the son of his father Shum Tembien Mirach and his
mother Weizero Silas who is the daughter of Dejach
Dimtsu of Enderta and Embeytey (Weizero) Tabotu of
Agame. Weizero Tabotu is the sister of Dejazmach
Sibagadis Woldu, my great great-grandfather who
died in 1831. The genealogical equation is pretty
simple and abundantly clear: Sibagadis is the
great uncle of Emperor Yohannes by his mother
side.
All
Rights Reserved. Copyright © IDEA, Inc. 2014. Dr.
Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted for educational
and constructive feedback via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
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