King Sahle Selassie of Shewa
Born in 1795 as the younger son of Meridazmatch Wossen Seged of Shewa, he had outmanuvered his elder brother Bakure for the princely throne of Shewa upon their father's death in 1813. With the aid of his Abichu Oromo allies was able to consolidate Shewan rule over the Tulama Oromo and over the districts of Bulga and Karayu extending his rule into Arsi and Gurage. After ensuring that the Wollo Oromo areas to his north would act as a buffer between his principality and the Yejju domains of the Imperial Regent Ras Ali II, Sahle Selassie abandoned his old titles of Ras and Meridazmatch proclaiming himself King of Shewa, Yifat, and the Oromo and Gurage people. The Emperor in Gondar aquieced to this new title although he had little ability to do otherwise. It was however significant that the increasingly powerful head of the junior branch of the Imperial Solomonic dynasty should adopt the title of King at a time that the head of the senior Gondar line (the Emperor) was little more than a puppet of northern warlords. Sahle Selassie and his heirs would henceforth be regarded as possible contenders for the Imperial throne itself. This ambition would be realized when his grandson became Emperor Menelik II.
King Sahle Selassie was close to his mother, Woizero Zenebework, ruler of the districts of Menz and Tegulet, and she exercised considerable power during his reign and the reign of his son Haile Melekot. He was married to the equally formidable Woizero Bezabish who ruled over the districts of Yifat and Bulga. The two queens remained powerful forces in Shewa well into the reign of his successor. He was succeeded as King of Shewa by his son Haile Melekot. Sahle Selassie, Nigus of Shewa was the grandfather of Emperor Menelik II, and great grandfather of both Empress Zewditu and Emperor Haile Selassie. He fathered scores of children by many women, making the House of Shewa the largest of all the branches of the Imperial Solomonic Dynasty.
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