List of rulers of Shewa

This article lists the rulers of Shewa, a historical region of Ethiopia.

Ruler of Shewa
Provincial
Family tree of the Shewan rulers
Details
StyleHis Majesty
First monarchAbeto Negasi Krestos
Last monarchNegus Sahle Mariam
Formationc. 1682
Abolition10 March 1889
ResidenceAnkober
Debre Birhan
Qundi (1808–1813)
Doqaqit (1745–1805)
Yifat
AppointerHereditary
Location of Shewa province (red) within the Ethiopian Empire.

c. 960–1270

According to tradition, the Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974) was descended from king Solomon and queen Makeda via the kings of Axum. After Axum was destroyed by Gudit in the 10th century, the royal family fled to Shewa and reigned there for 330 years before the accession of Yekuno Amlak.[1] A line of kings ruled at Shewa during the time of the Zagwe dynasty and claimed descent from Dil Na'od, the last king of Axum.[2] The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia includes eight unnumbered kings described as "8 generations of an Israelitish dynasty" who "did not mount the throne".[3]

Portrait Ruler[3] Reign Notes
Mahbara Wedemc. 960
Agbea Tseyon
Tsenfa Arad
Nagash Zare
Asfeh
Yakob
Bahr Asagad
Asgud Additional name found on one regnal list quoted by Egyptologist Henry Salt.[4]
Edem Asagad c. 1210–1255[5]
Yekuno Amlak c. 1255–1270 Defeated the last Zagwe king and became Emperor of Ethiopia (r. 1270–1285).

1682–1889

Claiming Solomonic descent, Negasi Krestos established Shewa as an autonomous region of the weakening Ethiopian Empire in the 17th century before requesting the title of Meridazmatch, which would be adopted by his successors, and beginning a southern expansion of his realm that would culminate in his descendant Menelik's Expansions.

Portrait Ruler Reign Notes
Negasi Krestosc. 1682 – c. 1703Abeto
Sebestyanosc. 1703 – c. 1718Merid Azmach
Kidane Kale (Abuye)c. 1718 – c. 1744Merid Azmach
Amha Iyasus (Amhayes)c. 1744 – c. 1775Merid Azmach
Asfaw Wossenc. 1775 – c. 1808Merid Azmach
Wossen Segedc. 1808 –
June 1813		Merid Azmach and Ras
Sahle Selassie12 June 1813 –
22 October 1847		Merid Azmach, after 1839 Negus
Haile Melekot22 October 1847 –
9 November 1855		Negus
Sahle Mariam9 November 1855 – 1856First reign as Negus
Haile Mikael1856 to 1859son of Sahle Selassie, appointed Meridazmach by Emperor Tewodros II
Bezabeh1859First reign, appointed by Emperor Tewodros II
Seyfe1859 – 1860Son of Sahle Selassie, self-appointed Merid Azmach against Emperor Tewodros II
Bezabeh1860 – 1865Second reign, restored by Emperor Tewodros II
Sahle MariamAugust 1865 –
10 March 1889		Second reign as Negus, became Emperor Menelik II

See also

References
  1. Henry Salt (1814). A Voyage to Abyssinia. London: W. Bulmer and Co. p. 472.
  2. Budge, E. A. Wallis (1928). A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume I). London: Methuen & Co. p. 218.
  3. Rey, C. F. (1927). In the Country of the Blue Nile. London: Camelot Press. p. 271.
  4. Henry Salt (1814). A Voyage to Abyssinia. London: W. Bulmer and Co. p. 473.
  5. Truhart, Peter (1984). Regents of Nations (Part 1). Munich: K. G. Saur. p. 103. ISBN 3-598-10492-8.
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