Mentewab
| Mentewab ምንትዋብ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itege | |||||
 Itege (Empress) Mentewab lying prostrate at Mary's feet at Nerga Selassie inLake Tana,1748. | |||||
| Empress of Ethiopia | |||||
| Tenure | 8 November 1723 – 19 September 1730 | ||||
| Coronation | 23 December 1730 | ||||
| Born | c. 1706 Qwara,Begemder Province,Ethiopian Empire | ||||
| Died | 27 June 1773(aged 66–67) Qwasqwam Palace,Gondar,Begemder Province, Ethiopian Empire | ||||
| Burial | Monastery Church of St Mary of Qwasqwam | ||||
| Spouse |
| ||||
| Issue | Iyasu II WoizeroWalatta Takla Haymanot WoizeroWalatta Israel WoizeroAster WoizeroAltash | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | House of Solomon | ||||
| Father | DejazmatchManbare of Dembiya | ||||
| Mother | WoizeroYenkoy | ||||
Mentewab(Ge'ez:ምንትዋብ; c. 1706 – 27 June 1773) was Empress ofEthiopia,consort of EmperorBakaffa,mother (and regent) ofIyasu IIand grandmother ofIyoas I.[1][2]She was also known officially by her baptismal name ofWalatta Giyorgis(Ge'ez: ወለተ ጊዮርጊስ).[3]Mentewab was a major political figure during the reigns of her son the Emperor Iyasu and grandson Iyoas. Empress Mentewab was also known by the honorific ofBerhan Mogassa(Ge'ez: ብርሃን ሞገሳ). This was to complement the honorific of her son Iyasu II, who was Berhan Seged.
Life
[edit]Mentewab was born inQwara province.[4]She was a daughter ofDejazmachManbare ofDembiyaby his wife,WoizeroYenkoy. Mentewab married Emperor Bakaffa in Qwara on 6 September 1722, becoming his second wife (his first wife having mysteriously died on the day she was crowned, immediately following her coronation banquet).
Following the death of her husband, Empress Mentewab took up a romantic liaison with her late husband's nephew. The Empress' much younger lover was derisively called "Melmal Iyasu" (Iyasu the Kept) by members of the court. Melmal Iyasu on his part was the paternal grandson of EmperorFasilidesby his father and the offspring of Emperor Iyasu (Adyam Seged) by his mother, making him a Solomonic Prince to the highest degree. Mentewab had three daughters by "Melmal Iyasu": Altash, Walata Israel, and the famousWoizeroAster Iyasuwho married the powerfulTigreanwarlord RasMikael Sehul.
Empress Mentewab built several significant structures inGondar,including her own castle in theRoyal Enclosure,and a large banqueting hall as well.[5]Most significantly she built a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary atQusquam(named for a site in Egypt where the Holy Family had stayed during theirexile) in the mountains outside of Gondar. Empress Mentewab also built a palace adjoining her church, which became her favored residence.[6][2]
In 1728, Bekkafa developed a severe illness that left him unable to govern, and Mentewab became the unofficial ruler of the kingdom.[4]
Empress Mentewab was crowned co-ruler upon the succession of her son Iyasu II in 1730, and held unprecedented power over government during his reign. (She descended in her own right from emperors who reigned two centuries earlier.) Her attempt to continue in this role following the death of her son 1755 led her into conflict withWubit(Welete Bersabe), Iyasu's widow, who believed that it was her turn to preside at the court of her own son Iyoas. The conflict between these two queens led to Mentewab summoning her Qwaran relatives and their forces to Gondar for support. Wubit responded by summoning her ownOromorelatives and their considerable forces. Mentewab summoned the powerful Mikael Sehul (who was to become her son-in-law) to mediate the dispute and prevent a bloodbath. Upon arriving in Gondar, he was madeRas.Mentewab had hoped that he would land firmly on her side, but insteadRasMikael seized power for himself, and eventually engineered the murder by strangulation of Emperor Iyoas I, at which time Mikael also married the aunt of his victim.
Empress Mentewab was distraught at the murder of her grandson. She retreated to Qusquam and buried her grandson there next to her son, and refused to return to the city of Gondar. She lived at her palace there in seclusion till the end of her life.
Children and genealogy
[edit]Children by Emperor Bakaffa:
- AbetohunAgaldem Iyasu, succeeded asIyasu II
- WoizeroWalatta Takla Haymanot, married 1730,RasIlyas
Children byFitawrariIyasu Milmal:
- WoizeroWalatta Israel, married (first)DejazmachYosadiq Wolde Habib (d. 28 July 1759), sometime Governor of Gojjam, son ofDejazmachWolde Habib bin Ibido, sometime Governor of Gojjam; married (second)RasGoshu Wodago, sometime Governor of Amhara and Viceroy of the Empire, son ofRasWodago, sometime Governor of Amhara, Walaqa, Begameder, and Gojjam, by his wife,WoizeroSurantiya, ofAmbassel,a descendant of Abeto Yitbarek, son of EmperorNa'odand brother of EmperorLebna Dengel.
- WoizeroAster, married (first) c. 1755,DejazmatchNatcho (d. before 1760), of Chirkin, by whom she had one son; married (second) 1760,RasYa Mariam Bariaw(killed before 9 December 1769), Viceroy of the Empire, and Governor of Lasta and Begameder 1764-1768, son ofDejazmachAyo,sometime Governor ofBegemder;married (third) 1769,RasMikael SehulHezqiyas, sometime Viceroy of the Empire.
- WoizeroAltash (Eleni), married September 2, 1755Wolde Hayawrat[7](d. May 22, 1760,Tigray[8]), son ofRasMikael Sehul Hezqiyas.
| EmperorMenas | ItegeAdmas Mogassa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AbetohunYeshaq, later EmperorSarsa Dengel | AbetohunZa Hawaryat | AbetohunWalda Hawaryat | AbetohunFiqtor | WoizeroMarata Wangel of Bad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Za Krestos Sarsa | WoizeroNassahit | WagshumGabra Seyum ofLastaandSemien | ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AbetoLa'eka Maryam ofGenaza | WoizeroWalatta Maryam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AbetoZa Selassie ofWalaqa | WoizeroKeddeste Kristos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AzzazDamo | WoizeroKrestosawit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AbetoWaksos of Bula | WoizeroYolyana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DejazmatchManbare ofDembiya | WoizeroYenkoy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mentewab | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^Friedlander, María-José (2007).Ethiopia's Hidden Treasures: A Guide to the Paintings of the Remote Churches of Ethiopia.Shama Books.ISBN978-99944-0-017-1.
- ^abBriggs, Philip; Blatt, Brian (2009).Ethiopia.Bradt Travel Guides.ISBN978-1-84162-284-2.
- ^Chaillot, Chrisitne (2016-12-10)."The role of pictures, the veneration of icons and the representation of Christ in two oriental orthodox churches of the Coptic and Ethiopian traditions".Studies in African Languages and Cultures.50:101–114.ISSN2657-4187.
- ^abWubneh, Mulatu (2023-01-01).Planning for Cities in Crisis: Lessons from Gondar, Ethiopia.Springer Nature.ISBN978-3-031-18416-1.
- ^Donald N. Levine,Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture(Chicago: University Press, 1965), p. 26
- ^Paul B. Henze,Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia(New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 105
- ^Richard Pankhurst, "An 18th century Ethiopian Dynastic Marriage Contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre," inBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.School of Oriental and African Studies: 1979, p. 458.
- ^Pankhurst, "Marriage Contract," p. 461.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
