Emperor Tewodros II

June 9th, 2009 § 3

Emperor Tewodros II

Emperor Tewodros II was born Kassa Haile Giorgis, (often refered to as Kassa Hailu), the son of a minor nobleman of Qwara district of Dembia, a region of western Beghemider province bordering on the Sudan. His actual place of birth was in the small villiage of Dawa, located about 12 kilometers from the city of Gondar, in 1818. His father, Haile Giorgis Wolde Giorgis would die long before Kassa could possibly have remembered him. Kassa’s paternal grandfather was Dejazmatch Wolde Giorgis, a prominent nobleman of his time. Kassa’s mother was named Woizero Attitegeb Wondbewossen, and her paternal grandfather was Ras Wodajo, another powerful and prominent nobleman. Woizer Attitegeb’s mother, Woizero Tishal, was also of noble birth, Although Emperor Tewodros II is often refered to as a non-royal userper, he did claim that father was decended from Emperor Fasiledes through a daughter. Many of his contemporaries however did not believe that he was of Imperial blood. Indeed even today, he captures the imagination of his admirers more as a self made man rather than the scion of an ancient lineage of monarchs. It was however dificult in those days to rule the Empire without establishing some connection to the dynasty, so his claims may have been his attempt at ligitimation. While Kassa was still very young, his parents divorced, and his mother took her son from Kwara to her native Gondar. Not long afterwards, his father died, and his paternal relatives, eager to divide up the property among themselves, left Kassa without a share of his father’s property. Kassa’s mother apparently supported herself and her son by selling Kosso. Kosso is a powerful drug used to expel intestinal parasites such as tapeworms, which Ethiopians were prone to get due to their high consumption of raw meat. Kassa’s detractors would often refer to him as “the Kosso sellers son”, an insult he seldom forgave.

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