Seyoum Mengesha
Seyoum Mengesha KBE (Amharic: ሥዩም መንገሻ; 21 June 1887 – 15 December 1960) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Early life
Le'ul Ras Seyoum wed
and Iyasu was the uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia.Ras Seyoum fathered several children from various wives. With his first wife, Woizero Tewabech he had
From 1910 to 1935, Le'ul Ras Seyoum Mengesha was the Shum[nb 8] of western Tigray Province. Traditionally the governors of the provinces commanded the provincial Sefari[nb 9] in battle.
In the spring of 1924, LeulRas Seyoum Mengesha, Ras
Commander of the Army of Tigray
From October 1935 to February 1936, as Ras
Le'ul Ras Seyoum, his wife Princess Atsede Asfaw and youngest child, son Dejasmatch Mengesha Seyoum were accompanied by close family members during their two-year captivity as Prisoners of War. Their Italian captors accorded the family decent treatment and it was during this time that Le'ul Ras Seyoum and the Duke of Aosta developed a friendship that would later aid the return of Le'ul Ras Seyoum and his family to Ethiopia upon the appointment of the Duke as Viceroy to Ethiopia. Furthermore, his friendship with the Viceroy enabled Le'ul Ras Seyoum to play an influential role in securing the release of 3,000 Ethiopian POWs being held in Italian Somaliland.
In the period leading to the Italian withdrawal from Ethiopia, when Britain had committed forces to assist Ethiopia to liberate herself from Italian occupation, Le'ul Ras Seyoum led an army of 70,000 from Tigray in the fight to free the northern provinces from Italian forces. In 1941, following the complete liberation of Ethiopia from Italian occupation, he returned to the Capital Addis Abeba where he was formally re-appointed 'Teklay Gejee of Tigray' (Governor of Tigray Province), and remained in Addis Abeba until 1941 when he was given leave to return to Tigray until the 'Woyane Rebellion', which resulted in his return to the capital, Addis Abeba, where he resided under a form of 'house arrest'.
Italian occupation of Ethiopia. He spent much of his time under "house arrest" in Addis Ababa. Tigray Province. Emperor Haile Selassie held Ras Seyum in very deep regard, and depended on him as a senior advisor. He was a member of the Crown Council from 1945 until his death.
Woyane Rebellion
In 1943, the "
In 1947, Le'ul Ras Seoyum Mengesha was made Shum of eastern Tigray as well as western Tigray. This was because of the treason of the son of the late Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie, Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa. In 1935, Haile Selassie Gugsa had defected to the Italians during the early days of the war. The Italians had made much propaganda use out of the fact that Haile Selassie Gugsa was the husband of Leult Zenebework Haile Selassie and therefore Haile Selassie's son-in-law. As a result, Ras Seyoum Mangasha was Shum of all Tigray Province, which he held until 1960.[3]
Death
In December 1960, the Imperial Guard (
Aftermath
Le'ul Ras Mengesha Seyoum, as son and heir of the late Le'ul Ras Seyoum Mengesha, inherited his father's legacy in representing the Tigrean Royal House of Yohannes IV.
Honours
National honours
- Grand Collar and Chain of the Order of Solomon.
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Seal of Solomon.
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia.
- Grand Officer of the Order of Menelik II.
- Grand Officer of the Order of the Holy Trinity.
Foreign honours
- : Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (8 July 1924).
- : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star (16 May 1924).
- : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (19 May 1924).
- : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau (24 May 1924).
- : Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (10 June 1924).
- : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (1924).
- : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer.
- : Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour.
See also
- Monarchies of Ethiopia
- Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
- List of field marshals
- List of honorary British Knights
- Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen- Son-in-law
- Aberra Kassa - Son-in-law
- Aida Desta - Daughter-in-law
- Stefanos Mangasha Seyum - Grandson of Seyum Mangasha and son of Mangasha Seyum
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Prince.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Duke.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Lady.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Child.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to King.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Princess.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Great Dame.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Governor.
- Armed Forces.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Regent.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Commander of the Army.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Commander of the Vanguard.
- ^ Roughly equivalent to Commander if the Gate.
- Citations
References
- Marcus, Harold G. (1994). A History of Ethiopia. London: University of California Press. pp. 316. ISBN 0-520-22479-5.
- Mockler, Anthony (2002). Haile Selassie's War. New York: Olive Branch Press. ISBN 978-1-56656-473-1.