Menilek II

Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው abba daññäw); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam), was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest historical extent and defeated Italian colonial forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

A member of the Shewan branch of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik was born in Ankober, Shewa, as Sahle Maryam, the son of Haile Melekot (Negus of Shewa). Named "Menelik" by his grandfather King Sahle Selassie after the legendary Menelik I (son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba), he was imprisoned at age 11 by Emperor Tewodros II at the fortress of Magdala following his father's death in 1855. He escaped in 1865 amid Tewodros's declining power, returned to Shewa, and was acclaimed as its rightful king. Though harboring imperial ambitions, he avoided challenging northern rivals during the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868 and submitted to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878 after failed collaboration with the Egyptians during their invasion (1875–1876).

Early life Prince Sahle Maryam was born on 19 August 1844 in Ankober, in the Kingdom of Shewa. Designated heir to the Shewan branch of the Solomonic dynasty, he was the son of Haile Melekot, Negus of Shewa, and Ejigayehu, who was said to have been a young woman working for Bezabish, the sovereign’s mother. Bezabish, noticing that the palace employee was pregnant, questioned Haile Melekot, who acknowledged his relationship with Ijigayehu, thus giving her hope that her son might produce an heir.

At the birth of Sahle Maryam, a civil marriage ceremony was held, and Sahle Selassie (1795–1847), delighted by the news, decided to name his grandson Menelik, prophesying a glorious reign during which the Ethiopian Empire would be reconstituted. Initially, Haile Melekot refused to acknowledge Menelik, but Bezabish intervened, having him legitimized by a council of relatives who concluded that the resemblance between father and son was evident. Another version states that, at Menelik’s birth, Haile Melekot temporarily married the young woman in order to legitimize the child. The boy received the same education as his father; his tutor was Ato Nadew, who remained very close to Menelik throughout his life. Captivity at the Magdala Fortress

Upon his arrival at court, Menelik was received with all the honors due to a prince; Tewodros II treated him "like a son," and the officers were respectful and showed a certain admiration. Later, when he spoke of his captivity, he declared: "Although he killed my father and brought me to his court, he always loved me like a son; he educated me with the greatest care and showed me almost more affection than his own son." According to Menelik, Tewodros II told him "more than once … that he would reign after him." At court, Menelik met several figures with whom he maintained a long friendship, in particular Ledj Wale, a member of the Yejju family and brother of Taytu Betul.

Menelik’s education was provided by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Alongside this, he studied military strategy and horsemanship. His close ties to the upper levels of administration and power allowed him to gain political experience from a young age. He likely observed some of Tewodros II’s mistakes during this period, particularly his strained relations with Muslims, which caused instability in the Wollo region and made it difficult to govern. He was also influenced by Tewodros II’s policies of unification and centralization; later, he launched a series of campaigns aimed at building a vast empire. Despite his disagreements with the conduct of affairs, Menelik proved useful to the Emperor, who elevated him to the rank of Dejazmach and to whom he offered the hand of Princess Alitash. Menelik's escape and return to Shoa

During his time at court, Menelik maintained his desire to return to Shewa, although he did not intend to do so as long as Tewodros II controlled the entire empire. In 1864, the Emperor’s influence began to decline; his punitive expedition against Ato Bezabeh, who had proclaimed himself Negus of Shewa, failed. A return to his kingdom at a time when Bezabeh was firmly established in power could create tensions; moreover, supporters of his father, Haile Melekot, were urging him to return as soon as possible. The only solution seemed to be escape from the fortress of Magdala; however, some members of the court suspected this plan and informed Tewodros II. He took no specific action due to his trust in Menelik.

On 1 July 1865, in the middle of the night, Menelik, then 21 years old, and a few followers escaped from the fortress through the wide ravine between Amba Magdala and Wollo. As they left, Menelik instructed someone to deliver the following message to Queen Worqitu of Wello, an enemy of Tewodros II: "I have arrived. Send me men to receive me." At dawn, he arrived in Wello, where Worqitu likely planned to capture him in exchange for her son, an imam imprisoned at Magdala. The Queen of Wello sent a messenger to Tewodros II to present the offer, but the Emperor learned of the escape and declared: "The Queen has found a free son; she can do without the one who is chained." He then ordered her son’s execution.

From 1865 onward, a series of events further destabilized Tewodros II’s authority, for which he himself was partly responsible. A famine struck the Tigray and Begemder regions; in early 1866 he launched a punitive expedition whose victims were mainly civilians; in November 1866 he ordered the sacking of Gondar in response to a rebellion; and around mid-1867, fearing desertion among his troops, he ordered the massacre of 800 soldiers. These actions led many soldiers to join Menelik’s forces. Following the execution of Worqitu's son, the army concluded that Menelik's presence in the province was unnecessary, but that if he became ruler of Shewa, he could serve as an important ally. It therefore ordered its soldiers to escort Menelik back to his homeland.

In cooperation with Queen Worqitu, who sought to control Wello, Menelik launched an expedition and arrived on 30 November 1867, with 30,000 soldiers near Magdala. Under the pretext of troop exhaustion, he withdrew on December 2 without engaging in battle; in reality, he had learned of the arrival of Tewodros II and of the maneuvers of another claimant to the throne, Wagshum Gobaze, stationed with his troops about 50 km from Magdala. Gobaze left the region after learning of Menelik’s departure; both men feared the army of Tewodros II, despite its recent weakening.

The following week, Menelik and his troops left Were Ilu (Warra Hailu) for Wello and joined Queen Worqitu’s forces, preparing to march toward Magdala. Having assured the British of Shewa’s support, Menelik ultimately returned to Wello, ostensibly to celebrate Easter, without providing assistance to Great Britain. Beyond his reluctance to risk an alliance with the British, Menelik also felt unable to destroy the man who had treated him like a son. Ultimately, during the expedition, Tewodros II, refusing the prospect of being taken prisoner by the British, took his own life.

Menelik later confessed to Massaia that he had been deeply saddened by this event. The missionary, astonished, questioned him about the celebrations that followed the emperor’s death. Menelik replied that he had wished to “satisfy the passions of the people,” adding that he had not taken part in the festivities and had instead gone into a forest to mourn the premature death of the man who had educated him and toward whom he had always felt filial affection; the idea of betraying Tewodros had genuinely repelled him. His only concern had been the defense of Shewa’s interests; however, when he learned that Dejazmach Kassa, later Yohannes IV, had provided essential assistance to the British, Menelik barely concealed his anger at seeing the imperial throne slipping further away from him.

The confrontation with Yohannes

Driven by their imperial ambitions, Menelik indirectly came into conflict with Kassa Mercha, the future Emperor Yohannes IV; the latter had benefited from Napier’s expedition, gaining a considerable military advantage thanks to the weapons provided by the British in exchange for his assistance. Following the illegal coronation of Wagshum Gobaze in mid-August 1868 under the name of Tekle Giyorgis II, Menelik in turn claimed the title of Emperor; a purely symbolic gesture allowing him to express aspirations rather than to affirm a real situation.

While the two contenders clashed, Menelik did not remain idle; at the end of 1868, after Worqitu’s death, he began the pacification of Wollo, the buffer province between Shewa and Tigray. He founded the strategic ketemas (garrison towns) of Were Ilu and Enawari, which served as bases for offensives in areas still under the control of the new queen Mestewat, considered unreliable, and her son Abba Wato. For the governorship of Wello, Menelik supported a relative of Mestewat and Worqitu: Muhammad Ali, later Ras Mikael; the Negus of Shewa also secured the support of the dejazmach Wale, whom he appointed governor of Yejju. Menelik’s political influence was approaching Tigray in the north. In mid-November 1871, while Kassa and Tekle Giyorgis were fighting, Menelik was on the border of Begemder at the head of an army composed of Shoan and Wello soldiers; he had moved there to “take advantage of any opportunity.” However, his plans failed due to a rebellion by Queen Mestewat; her son, a commander in Menelik’s army, deserted with his men and marched toward Magdala. Weakened by this withdrawal, Menelik returned to Shewa, subsequently devastated Wello but failed to dislodge Abba Wato from Magdala.

However, he knew that dinners and receptions alone would not suffice and wished to acquire weapons at least as effective as those of Yohannes IV; to do so, he had to increase his financial resources. The Negus of Shewa was rich in livestock and land, but annually the million thalers available were used for the running of the administration and the army. Difficult access to the sea prevented him from selling the riches of the Southwest (including musk and ivory). The development of trade was largely hampered by the archaic laws and customs of the Kingdom; it was difficult for European merchants to do business with a conservative population and clergy. Under these conditions, an increase in trade revenue was not considered a sufficient resource to modernize his army.

Alliance with Egypt

With the arrival of Egypt in the Horn of Africa, an opportunity arose to get rid of Yohannes IV; the first contacts were established by alaqa Birru, a dissident who had fled the provinces controlled by the Emperor and who suggested to Menelik that he cooperate with the Egyptians then established on the shores of the Red Sea. Menelik approached the sons of Abu Parka Pasha, whom he sent to Cairo to negotiate an alliance with Khedive Ismail Pasha; however, Egyptian records make no mention of this agreement. Some sources claim that alaqa Birru acted as an intermediary between Menelik and Werner Munzinger.

A plan for the military encirclement of Yohannes IV was then allegedly devised; he, if forced to surrender, would then have been compelled to relinquish the imperial throne to Menelik, while the Egyptians would have taken possession of part of Tigray in exchange. The existence of such arrangements seems to be confirmed by the attitude of Khedive Ismail Pasha, since in the early 1870s he still did not recognize Yohannes IV as Emperor; a defeat of the latter by the Egyptians would have constituted a unique opportunity for the Negus of Shewa.

In his quest for national unity, Yohannes IV needed to unify the country religiously; Bafena proposed to the Emperor that Menelik be overthrown. Her plan was to take advantage of her husband’s departure northward, a departure she had allegedly instigated, to place Meridazmatch Haile on the throne during the rainy season so that Menelik could not return to Shewa. Menelik would have been defeated by Yohannes IV, who would in turn have overthrown Haile and replaced him with one of Bafena's sons, while she remained regent until one of the heirs reached the age of majority. Treaty of Wadara At the beginning of 1878, Emperor Yohannes IV marched toward Shewa; Menelik attempted to secure peace, but the conditions imposed by the Emperor were too numerous: the deportation of Masaia, the obligation to supply the imperial army during the occupation of Shewa, an annual tribute of 500 slaves, 50,000 thalers, 500 mules, 1,000 horses, 50,000 head of cattle, as well as significant quantities of grain, meat, and butter. Furthermore, Menelik had to grant the imperial army free passage through his territory toward Debre Libanos; finally, he had to appear, naked to the waist with a stone around his neck, before the Emperor to beg for forgiveness and swear an oath of allegiance.

At the end of January 1878, Yohannes IV entered Menz and Menelik issued a mobilization decree: soldiers had to be on the battlefield before February 2. Children and the elderly were evacuated from the possible war zone and the entire treasure of Shewa was sent to Feqra Gemb. On February 3, 1878 Menelik and his army left Liche to travel to the region between the Engolla and Facho rivers. Between the 6th and 10th of February the troops clashed sporadically, then Menelik withdrew to Liche where a council was held. On 12 February three days later, representatives of both parties began negotiations. A series of conciliatory gestures from both sides followed, and a treaty was signed on 20 March 1878: the Treaty of Wadara. Among the main conditions for peace, Menelik had to formally submit, with a stone around his neck as tradition dictated, before the Emperor, thus renouncing his imperial ambitions. In exchange, the Negus of Shewa received a considerable portion of Wello. After submitting, Menelik negotiated alone with Yohannes IV and was crowned Negus of Shewa a few days later.

During these early campaigns, from 1879 to 1884 the first, along the Rift Valley, covering the Hadiya kingdom and the territories inhabited by the Kambata, the Silté, and the Welaytas; the second conquest, toward the Arsi and the Bale Plateau, where the conquest began around 1881 but was not completed until 1890. In 1881, Ras Gobana Dache forced Kaffa to pay tribute; Jimma, Limmu, Gera, and Guma became tributary regions. The troops of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie faced resistance from the Arsi, who temporarily yielded in 1883 and then completely in 1886, when their territory came under Shoan control. With his dying breath, Yohannes declared his natural son, Dejazemach Mengesha Yohannes, to be his heir. On 25 March, upon hearing of the death of Yohannes, Menelik immediately proclaimed himself emperor.

In the end, Menelik was able to obtain the allegiance of a large majority of the Ethiopian nobility. On 3 November 1889, Menelik was consecrated and crowned emperor before a glittering crowd of dignitaries and clergy by Abuna Mattewos, Bishop of Shewa, at the Church of Mary on Mount Entoto. Menelik justified his coronation by asserting that his own branch descended from Solomon through the male line, while the Gondar branch, that of Yohannes IV, descended through the female line. Both branches, therefore, had equal rights to rule, even though the Gondar line was more ancient. The newly consecrated and crowned Emperor Menelik II quickly toured the north in force. He received the submission of the local officials in Lasta, Yejju, Gojjam, Wollo, and Begemder.

The continued expansion of the Empire

Having ascended the imperial throne, Menelik launched a second period of territorial conquests, interrupted in 1896 by the conflict with Italy. These campaigns, which began in 1894, aimed to address the great famine Kifou Qen (“terrible time”). The famine was caused by rinderpest, an infectious viral cattle disease which wiped out most of the national livestock, killing over 90% of the cattle. The native cattle population had no prior exposure and were unable to fight off the disease.

Driven by famine, the survivors migrated south to the territories recently incorporated into Shewa; among the emigrants, many Tigrayan and Gondarian soldiers joined Menelik's army. At the same time, the Italian government demanded payment of a debt of 4 million lire incurred in 1890. To resolve the crisis, Menelik decided to expand the southern borders: in 1889, the entire Gurage region was annexed; Bale, Sidamo (excluding Borana), the Ogaden, and Welayta were occupied from 1891 onward and subsequently incorporated into the Empire. Ras Welde Giyorgis Aboye conquered Konta and Kulo; in 1893, the integration of Kambata, occupied since 1890, was completed. In 1894, the integration of the new territories continued: Ras Gobena Dacche to the southwest, Ras Mekonnen Welde Mikael to the Ogaden, Ras Welde Giyorgis Aboye to Kaffa, in the province of Gofa; in the same year, Wollamo was conquered. Menelik did not care about the Italians taking over Eritrea including Assab and Hamasien as he was receiving ammunition and modern armanents to secure his ambitions to the throne in Abyssinia.

On 2 May 1889, while claiming the throne against Ras Mengesha Yohannes, the natural son of Emperor Yohannes IV, Menelik concluded a treaty with Italy at Wuchale (Uccialli in Italian) in Wollo province. On the signing of the treaty, Menelik said "The territories north of the Merab Milesh (i.e. Eritrea) do not belong to Abyssinia nor are under my rule. I am the Emperor of Abyssinia. The land referred to as Eritrea is not peopled by Abyssinians – they are Adals, Bejaa, and Tigres. Abyssinia will defend his territories but will not fight for foreign lands, which Eritrea is to my knowledge." Under the treaty, Ethiopia and Italy agreed to define the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia. For example, both Ethiopia and Italy agreed that Arafali, Halai, Segeneiti, and Asmara were villages within the Italian border. Also, the Italians agreed not to harass Ethiopian traders and to allow safe passage for Ethiopian goods, particularly military weapons. The treaty also guaranteed that the Ethiopian government would have ownership of the Monastery of Debre Bizen but would not use it for military purposes.

However, there were two versions of the treaty, one in Italian and another in Amharic. Unbeknownst to Menelik the Italian version gave Italy more power than the two had agreed to. The Italians believed they had tricked Menelik into giving allegiance to Italy. To their surprise, upon learning about the alteration, Menelik rejected the treaty. The Italians attempted to bribe him with two million rounds of ammunition but he refused. Then the Italians approached Ras Mengesha of Tigray in an attempt to create a civil war, however, Ras Mengesha, understanding that Ethiopia's independence was at stake, refused to be a puppet for the Italians. The Italians, therefore, prepared to attack Ethiopia with an army led by Oreste Baratieri. Subsequently, the Italians declared war and launched an invasion of Ethiopia.

Italo-Ethiopian War

Emperor Menelik II at the Battle of Adwa. Le Petit Journal, 1898 Menelik's disagreement with Article 17 of the treaty led to the Battle of Adwa. Before the Italians could launch the invasion, Eritreans rebelled in an attempt to push the Italians out of Eritrea and prevent their invasion of Ethiopia. The rebellion was unsuccessful. However, some Eritreans managed to make their way to the Ethiopian camp and jointly fought the Italians at Adwa.

On 17 September 1895, Menelik ordered all of the Ethiopian nobility to call out their banners and raise their feudal hosts, stating: "An enemy has come across the sea. He has broken through our frontiers to destroy our fatherland and our faith. I allowed him to seize my possessions and I entered upon lengthy negotiations with him in hopes of obtaining justice without bloodshed. But the enemy refuses to listen. He undermines our territories and our people like a mole. Enough! With the help of God, I will defend the inheritance of my forefathers and drive back the invader by force of arms. Let every man who has sufficient strength accompany me. And he who has not, let him pray for us". Menelik's opponent, General Oreste Baratieri, underestimated the size of the Ethiopian force, predicting that Menelik could only field 30,000 men.

Despite the dismissive Italian claim that Ethiopia was a barbaric African nation whose men were no match for white troops, the Ethiopians were better armed, being equipped with thousands of modern rifles and Hotchkiss guns together with ammunition and shells which were superior to the Italian rifles and artillery. Menelik had ensured that his infantry and artillerymen were properly trained in their use, giving the Ethiopians a crucial advantage as the Hotchkiss artillery could fire more rapidly than the Italian artillery. In 1887 a British diplomat, Gerald Portal, wrote after seeing the Ethiopian feudal hosts parade before him, the Ethiopians were "...redeemed by the possession of unbounded courage, by a disregard of death, and by a national pride, which leads them to look down on every human being who has not had the good fortune to be born an Abyssinian [Ethiopian]".

Ras Makonnen followed up that victory by defeating General Arimondi and forcing the Italians to retreat to the fort at Mekele. Ras Makonnen laid siege to the fort, and on the morning of 7 January 1896, the defenders of the fort spotted a huge red tent among the besiegers, showing that the emperor had arrived. On 8 January 1896, the emperor's elite Shoan infantry captured the fort's well, and then beat off desperate Italian attempts to retake the well. On 19 January 1896, the fort's commander, Major Galliano, whose men were dying of dehydration, raised the white flag of surrender. Major Galliano and his men were allowed to march out, surrender their arms, and go free. Menelik stated he allowed the Italians to go free "to give proof of my Christian faith," saying his quarrel was with the Italian government of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi that was trying to conquer his nation, not the ordinary Italian soldiers who been conscripted against their will to fight in the war. Menelik's magnanimity to the defenders of Fort Mekele may have been an act of psychological warfare. Menelik knew from talking to French and Russian diplomats that the war and Crispi himself were unpopular in Italy, and one of the main points of Crispi's propaganda was allegations of atrocities against Italian POWs. From Menelik's viewpoint allowing the Italian POWs to go free and unharmed was the best way of rebutting this propaganda and undermining public support for Crispi.

Crispi sent another 15,000 men to the Horn of Africa and ordered the main Italian commander, General Oreste Baratieri, to finish off the "barbarians". As Baratieri dithered, Menelik was forced to pull back on 17 February 1896 as his huge host was running out of food. After Crispi sent an insulting telegram accusing Baratieri of cowardice, on 28 February 1896 the Italians decided to seek battle with Menelik. On 1 March 1896, the two armies met at Adwa. The Ethiopians came out victorious.

With victory at Adwa and the Italian colonial army defeated, Eritrea was Menelik's for the taking but no order to occupy was given. Apart from a few cavalry units, the bulk of the Ethiopian army did not pursue the defeated Italians; only between March 3 and 4 did Ras Mangasha's troops advance to the old Italian camp at Sauria, while Dejacc Area advanced to the Mareb River. The Ethiopian army was severely weakened by losses suffered in battle, disease, and food shortages, so Menelik ordered a retreat to Addis Ababa, leaving only a few units under the command of Ras Alula and Ras Mangasha in Tigray. He instead sought to restore the peace that had been broken by the Italians and their treaty manipulation seven years before. Subsequently, the Treaty of Addis Ababa was reached between the two nations. Italy was forced to recognise the absolute independence of Ethiopia, as described in Article 3 of the treaty.

The final phase of expansion

Following the victory at Adwa, Menelik launched a third and final phase of conquests from 1896 to 1900. The conflict with Italy reinforced his belief in the need to create a buffer zone against colonialism. In 1896–1897, expeditions were launched into Borana (near Sidamo). At the same time, Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, having built a fort at Mega, controlled the Konso region. The Kaffa kingdom initially resisted and refused to pay tribute before being completely conquered. In 1898, Beni Shangul and the border with Sudan were controlled; Ras Welde Giyorgis Aboye subdued Goldea and Maji, reaching Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana). Finally, also in 1898, Ras Tassama annexed Massonge and Gimirra. Later, in 1899, Dejazmach Nikolay Leontiev, a Russian, led expeditions along the southern border of Lake Rudolf. Thus ended two decades of military campaigns.

Menelik II inspecting the railway with his entourage and a caravan of camels.

In 1894, Menelik granted a concession for the building of a railway to his capital from the French port of Djibouti but, alarmed by a claim made by France in 1902 to control of the line in Ethiopian territory, he ordered a stop for four years on the extension of the railway beyond Dire Dawa. In 1906 when France, the United Kingdom, and Italy agreed on the subject, granting control to a joint venture corporation, Menelik officially reaffirmed his full sovereign rights over the whole of his empire.

In terms of transport and communications, roads (Addis Ababa–Addis Alem and Dire Dawa–Harar) and bridges were built; in the capital, bicycles, imported by Bentley and C. Halle, made their appearance in December 1907 and automobiles were introduced there in January 1908 by A. Holtz. The quintessential symbol remains the Franco-Ethiopian Railway (now the Djibouti-Ethiopian Railway), whose construction, begun in 1897, was completed in 1917. A postal system was established in 1893 and post offices opened the following year. The central office, staffed by Frenchmen, developed urban service; two years later, Ethiopia joined the Universal Postal Union. In the field of education, public schools were built: the first in 1906, a second in 1908 (the Menelik II School in Addis Ababa), and finally a third in Harar; moreover, in 1894, students went abroad for the first time, some as far as Russia. On the health front, a vaccination campaign against smallpox was launched in 1898; various hospitals were built: the Russian Red Cross hospital (1897), the Ras Mekonnen hospital in Harar (1902), and the Menelik II hospital (1910).

Modernization also affected the economic sector: in 1892, the tax system was reorganized. The new taxation system (gebbar maderia) differed qualitatively from the system in place under his predecessors, particularly regarding army pay, revenue administration, and troop supplies. This new system was far more centralized; the tax rate was directly linked to military needs, based on a measure of the needs of an ordinary soldier, and the soldier, now a landowner, became directly responsible for his own supplies. Consequently, land taxes came under the direct administration of the ras. This form of taxation secured army pay and facilitated increased mobilization of both the peasantry and local ras. Furthermore, the system, directly controlled by the state, proved much more flexible (facilitating the transfer of resources from one region to another) and allowed for a considerable increase in the revenues of the Ethiopian Empire. In 1894 a form of universal taxation was introduced, the Asrat tax, which applied to local nobles as well as soldiers and landowners.

The old monetary system, linked to the Maria Theresa thaler of Austria, was replaced by a new one, based on the Menelik thaler, which appeared in 1894 and was minted in Paris and then in Addis Ababa from 1897, where the Austrian engineer Willy Henze had established a mint a year earlier. In 1903, a central bank producing the currency was created. Two years later, in March, the Bank of Abyssinia was established; Ethiopians quickly nicknamed it yé ingliz bank (“the English bank,” in Amharic), referring to the English capital that flowed through Egypt. The bank controlled the national financial system, and the first banknotes were printed as early as 1914.

In 1908, following a judicial reform, the country was divided into six districts, each maintaining contact with Shoa and comprising two wember (judges) appointed by the Emperor. In the event of a disagreement between two judges, the case was brought before the Afe negus, a supreme judge. Furthermore, the reform provided for the court to appoint two officials to record and keep the minutes of proceedings (the equivalent of a clerk).

Finally, at the political level, a Cabinet of Ministers was established on October 25, 1907. Its first president was Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis. Initially symbolic, the institution faced a certain regional entrenchment of the monarchy; the Addis Ababa court was still considered the court of the Shewa and not the national court. Nevertheless, the Cabinet gradually managed to acquire a life of its own. More generally, other elements contributed to this period of modernization: a print media was founded in 1911, hotels and restaurants appeared in the capital, which became a cosmopolitan city: traders, merchants, manufacturers, and adventurers came from all over (Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Indians, French). Thus, the establishment in 1907 of the Cabinet of Ministers was intended to address fears that the Empire might be left without an effective governing institution. He was struck by another stroke in May 1908, and in April 1909 a third stroke left Menelik paralyzed and barely able to speak.

The question of succession was being closely followed by the sovereign's wife, Taytu, who wished to shift imperial power towards Gondar, her region of origin, and her family, the Yejju. On May 18, 1909, at the proclamation of Menelik's will, Iyasu was designated as heir presumptive, a gesture intended to calm the various warring factions. However, at the last moment, Taytu managed to have the will changed so that the heir was designated by the word Lij (“my child”, in Amharic) in order to maintain the ambiguity between Iyasu (1897-1935), Menelik's grandson, and Zewditu, the sovereign's daughter. Taytu's objective was to remove Iyasu from power, as he was the son of Ras Mikael, and she feared that the young Lij rise to power would strengthen the province at the expense of the North of the Empire. Zewditu, for her part, was the wife of Gugsa Welle, Taytu's nephew, and she therefore hoped that the eventual son of the new imperial couple will quickly ascend to the throne in order to restore the Yejju dynasty.

After meeting him, Count Gleichen wrote: "In height he stands about six feet, without shoes, and is stoutly built. His skin is very dark, and he wears a short curly beard and moustache. His face is heavy in cast, but is redeemed from positive plainness by an extremely pleasant expression and a pair of most intelligent eyes. His smile is very wide, and shows an excellent set of teeth. He generally wears a large black Quaker hat over a white silk handkerchief tied round his head, and a black silk gold-embroidered cloak over a profusion of white linen underclothing".

Wives

Menelik married three times but he did not have any legitimate children with any of his wives. However, he is reputed to have fathered several children with women who were not his wives, and he recognized three of those children as being his progeny.

In 1864, Menelik married Woizero Altash Tewodros, whom he divorced in 1865; the marriage produced no children. Altash Tewodros was a daughter of Emperor Tewodros II. She and Menelik were married during the time that Menelik was held captive by Tewodros. The marriage ended when Menelik escaped captivity, abandoning her. She was subsequently remarried to Dejazmatch Bariaw Paulos of Adwa.

In 1865, the same year he divorced his first wife, Menelik married the much older noblewoman Woizero Bafena Wolde Michael. This marriage was also childless, and they were married for seventeen years before being divorced in 1882. Menelik was very fond of his wife, but she apparently did not have a sincere affection for him. Woizero Befana had several children from previous marriages and was more interested in securing their welfare than in the welfare of her present husband. For many years, she was widely suspected of being secretly in touch with Emperor Yohannes IV in her ambition to replace her husband on the throne of Shewa with one of her sons from a previous marriage. Finally, she was implicated in a plot to overthrow Menelik when he was King of Shewa. With the failure of her plot, Woizero Befana was separated from Menelik, but Menelik apparently was still deeply attached to her. An attempt at reconciliation failed, but when his relatives and courtiers suggested new young wives to the king, he would sadly say "You ask me to look at these women with the same eyes that once gazed upon Befana?", paying tribute both to his ex-wife's beauty and his own continuous attachment to her.

Finally, Menelik divorced his treasonous wife in 1882, and in 1883, he married Taytu Betul. Menelik's new wife had been married four times previously, and he became her fifth husband. They were married in a full communion church service and the marriage was thus fully canonical and indissoluble, which had not been the case with either of Menelik's previous wives. The marriage, which proved childless, would last until his death. Taytu Betul would become empress consort upon her husband's succession, and would become the most powerful consort of an Ethiopian monarch since Empress Mentewab. She enjoyed considerable influence on Menelik and his court until the end, something which was aided by her own family background. Empress Taytu Betul was a noblewoman of imperial blood and a member of one of the leading families of the regions of Semien, Yejju in modern Wollo, and Begemder. Her paternal uncle, Dejazmatch Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, had been the ruler of Tigray and much of northern Ethiopia. She and her uncle Ras Wube were two of the most powerful people among descendants of Ras Gugsa Mursa, a ruler of Oromo descent from the house of was Sheik of Wollo. Emperor Yohannes was able to broaden his power base in northern Ethiopia through Taytu's family connections in Begemider, Semien and Yejju; she also served him as his close adviser, and went to the Battle of Adwa with 5,000 troops of her own. From 1906, for all intents and purposes, Taytu Betul ruled in Menelik's stead during his infirmity. Menelik and Taytu Betul personally owned 70,000 slaves. Abba Jifar II is also said to have had more than 10,000 slaves and allowed his armies to enslave the captives during a battle with all his neighboring clans. This practice was common between various tribes and clans of Ethiopia for thousands of years.

Taytu arranged political marriages between her Yejju and Semien relatives and key Shewan aristocrates like Ras Woldegyorgis Aboye, who was Governor of Kaffa, Ras Mekonen who was governor of Harar, and Menelik's eldest daughter Zewditu Menelik who became Nigeste Negestat of the empire after the overthrow of Lij Iyasu. Taytu's step daughter, Zewditu, was married to her nephew Ras Gugsa Welle who administered Begemider up to the 1930s. and Dejazmach Kebede Tessema. The latter, in turn, was later rumoured to be the natural grandfather of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam,

Despite being generally considered the founder of modern Ethiopia, Menelik's legacy also garnered controversies due to the atrocities committed by his army against civilians and combatants during the annexation of territories into his empire, which are considered by many historians as constituting genocide. According to Awol Allo: The historical figure that masterminded the victory at Adwa, Emperor Menelik II, also presided over some of the most brutal atrocities committed against the various groups in the southern part of the country, particularly the Oromos, as they resisted his southward expansion. For Oromos, Menelik II is devil incarnate and is beyond redemption. Perhaps, the association of Adwa with Menelik II is the single most important reason behind Oromo ambivalence towards this historical event. Menelik is featured as the leader of the Ethiopian civilization in the New Frontier season pass of the 4X video game Civilization VI and the inspiration for Menelek XIV, fictional Emperor of Abyssinia in the novel Beyond Thirty by Edgar Rice Burroughs.