Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia
Empress Zewditu was the daughter of Emperor Menelik II, by Woizero Abechi, a woman of mid-level nobility, born shortly after Menelik returned to Shewa following his captivity at Magdalla. Woizero Abechi died while Zewditu was still a very young child, so Zewditu was raised by her father, in the care of nannies, and was closer to him than any other person.
Zewditu also had a half sister, Woizero Shewaregga Menelik, the mother of Lij Eyasu, and a half brother, Prince Asfaw Wossen Menelik, who died in 1888 while still a child. She was often refered to by her close relatives by the nickname of “Mamite” which translates to “Baby”.
Unlike most of the rest of the Shewan aristocracy, Zewditu had very good relations with Empress Taitu. Although Taitu was brusque, and a stern mistress of Menelik’s household, Zewditu had deep affection for her step-mother. Taitu returned Zewditu’s affection, although often dispairing of her behavior. She believed that Zewditu was overly familiar with the palace serving maids saying “It’s imposible to separate Mamite from the servants”.
She often scolded her for not maintaining the dignity of a daughter of the House of Solomon. Zewditu had earned a reputation of kindness and completely lacked the haughty and imperious attitude of her step-mother and other female relatives. Zewditu treated everyone with the same sweet friendliness whether they were royalty or simple servants.
Underlying these traits was a truely innocent naivete that endeared her to many, but would perhaps be a drawback to her eventually.
Zewditu was married in 1882 at the age of 9 to Ras Araya Selassie Yohannis, son and heir of Emperor Yohannis IV, in order to cement the agreement between her father and the emperor when Menelik (then king of Shewa) submitted to Yohannis. However, Ras Araya Selassie died in 1888, and Zewditu, who had not produced any children returned to Shewa.
Ras Araya had fathered a son, Gugsa, by another woman. Zewditu maintaied very warm relations with her father-in-law who was very fond of Zewditu. Yohannis IV was very angered when Zewditu’s father rebled against him shortly after the death of Ras Araya Selassie.
Zewditu, upon recieving news that her father had rebled agains the emperor, is said to have wept bitterly, saying “My father and the Emperor would never have quarelled if only my husband had lived.” When the Emperor’s informants told Yohannis IV of Zewditu’s comments, he was much moved, and had her summoned, and the two of them wept over the cruel fate of Ras Araya together.
The Emperor then returned Zewditu to Shewa, eventhough her father was still defying him, along with a huge gift of cattle and property in 1889. Emperor Yohannis IV continued to hold Zewditu in deep affection until his death.
Zewditu did not stay a widow for long. In 1891, Zewditu married Dejazmatch Gwangul Zegeye. The marriage was short lived, not more than a few months, but Zewditu did have a daughter by him, who died in 1895 at the age of 4. Zewditu then married Wube Atnaf Seged, an unhappy marriage that ended in divorce after two and a half years.
In 1900, at the suggestion of her step-mother, Zewditu married Ras Gugsa Welle, son of Ras Welle Bitul and nephew of Taitu. Ras Welle was ruler of Simien and Yejju and younger brother of Empress Taitu Bitul. This marriage bound the princess even more closely to her stepmother, and the marriage proved to be a generaly happy one. Zewditu had no children who survived to adulthood.
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