Sahle Dengel(Ge'ez:ሣህለ ድንግል; 1778 – 11 February 1855) wasEmperor of Ethiopiaintermittently between 1832 and 11 February 1855, towards the end of theZemene Mesafint.He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands ofRasAli II of Yejju.
| Sahle Dengel | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |
| Reign | 1832 |
| Predecessor | Gebre Krestos |
| Successor | Gebre Krestos |
| Reign | 1832 – 29 August 1840 |
| Predecessor | Gebre Krestos |
| Successor | Yohannes III |
| Reign | October 1841 – 1845 |
| Predecessor | Yohannes III |
| Successor | Yohannes III |
| Reign | 1845–1850 |
| Predecessor | Yohannes III |
| Successor | Yohannes III |
| Reign | 1851 – 11 February 1855 |
| Predecessor | Yohannes III |
| Successor | Tewodros II |
| Born | 1778 |
| Died | 11 February 1855(aged 76–77) |
| Dynasty | House of Solomon |
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
Description
editThe French explorerArnaud d'Abbadie,described him thus:[1]
Sahala Dinguil, an old man of about seventy years, had a colored complexion almost as fair as that of a European, with frizzy white hair like snow, a high and smooth forehead, a lively eye, a full and beardless face; his whole person, a bit common, was imbued with a sensual joviality. He sat serenely on an Indian wooden bed, still bearing the remains of rich ivory and mother-of-pearl marquetry, a worn and too-narrow Turkish carpet left part of the floor uncovered.
Biography
editSahle Dengel was the son ofGebre Mesay,allegedly a descendant of a younger son of EmperorFasilides.Eduard Rüppell,who visited the capital ofGondarin 1833, stated that at the time the Emperor "barely had the income of an averagely well-to-do Ethiopian, and the great princes of theTigray,ShewaandAmharawere unable to prevent continuous strife and bloodshed. "[2]
When Sahle Dengel was set on the throne byRasAli, the clergy ofAzazodisapproved of his religious beliefs, and convincedRasAli to remove him; Sahle Dengel was sent toZengaj.RasAli recalledGebre KrestosfromMitraha,an island in northeasternLake Tana,and restored him as Emperor. However, Gebre Krestos died after three months, and Sahle Dengel metRasAli in a village named Tagur, where he convinced the Ras to make him Emperor once again (October, 1832). About that same time, oneEgwale Anbesaannounced his claim to the throne; Sahle Dengel cut his head off, and set it in a tree atAdababay.[3]
Following the death ofRasKinfu,people fought for control of his lands inGojjam.EventuallyMenen Liben Amedegained the upper hand in theBattle of Chenti Ber(October, 1839), defeating and capturing Kinfu's relativeWalda Tekle.Not long afterwards, she deposed Sahle Dengel on 29 August 1840 in favor of her husbandYohannes III.[4]However Yohannes offended Ras Ali by favoring his rivalWube Haile Maryam,andRasAli restored Sahle Dengel in October 1841. Sahle Dengel was still emperor in 1848, whenGoshu ZewdeenteredGondarand was invested with the title ofRas.[5]Yohannes somehow managed to get himself restored to the throne around 1850, only to be deposed again in 1851 and Sahle Dengel was once again restored. Despite this, Yohannes III persisted with his claim; different parts of the fragmented realm recognized one or the other as Emperor untilTewodros IIconsolidated Ethiopia under his control and declared himself Emperor. Significantly, Yohannes III accepted the accession of Tewodros II.
International relations
editAlthough without power, Sahle Dengel wrote to officials outside Ethiopia using his title and seal. Existing letters include a packet of letters sent toSamuel Gobatin April 1848, who had by that time become theAnglican Bishop of Jerusalem,which ask for his help in restoring the ownership of theDar-es-Sultanmonastery to the Ethiopian community.[6]His name also appears as one of several signatories to a letterAntoine d'Abbadiedelivered to ViscountHenry Palmerston18 May 1839, which asked that Queen Victoria ask the ruler of Egypt,Muhammad Ali,to recall his forces which were then ravaging Ethiopia and threatening Gondar.[7]
Notes
edit- ^d'Abbadie, Arnaud (1868).Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute-Éthiopie.Hachette. p. 209.
- ^Edward Ullendorff,The Ethiopians,second edition (London: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 83.
- ^H. Weld Blundell,The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840(Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 489;Wallis Budge, E. A. (1970) [1928].A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia.Oosterhout, the Netherlands: Anthropological Publications. p. 482.
- ^Weld Blundell,Royal chronicle,pp. 491f
- ^Sven Rubenson,King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia(Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1966), p. 39
- ^Text and translation in David L. Appleyard (translator),Letters from Ethiopian Rulers (Early and Mid-Nineteenth Century)(Oxford: British Academy, 1985), pp. 91-118.
- ^Discussed in Sven Rubenson,The Survival of Ethiopian Independence(Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 76-82. Rubenson is suspicious of the letter in the form d'Abbadie delivered to Palmerston, and explains the missive as an attempt to create "the impression that he had been made the envoy of all Ethiopia on a national issue of some urgency."