| Intro | King of Tigray and Army commander | ||||||
| Was | Monarch | ||||||
| From | Ethiopia | ||||||
| Type | Royals | ||||||
| Gender | male | ||||||
| Birth |
1867 |
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| Death |
10 June 1888, Mek’ele, Tigray Region, Ethiopia |
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| Family |
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Araya Selassie Yohannes (1867–1888) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Biography
Leul Araya Selassie Yohannes was born in Enderta, a part of Tigray in Ethiopia in 1867, the legitimate son of Emperor (Nəgusä Nägäst) Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. Mengesha Yohannes was his illegitimate half brother.
In 1882, the fifteen-year-old Leul Araya Selassie Yohannes married six-year-old Leult Zewditu, eldest daughter of Negus Menelik of Shewa. The marriage was political, having been arranged when Menelik agreed to submit to Yohannes’ rule.
In 1883, Araya Selassie Yohannes was made Shum of Wollo Province and, in 1886, he was made Shum of Begemder Province.
In 1885, Araya Selassie Yohannes fathered a son, Gugsa Araya Selassie. The mother’s identity is unknown.
In June 1888, while in Mek’ele gathering an army for his father, Araya Selassie Yohannes died of smallpox.
Familial rivalry
Familial rivalry between the two lines of descent from Emperor Yohannes IV proved to be a difficult issue for Emperor Menelik II and his successors. Tigray Province was divided between Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie, the son of Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes, and Ras Seyum Mangasha, the son of Ras Mangasha Yohannes. Gugsa Araya Selassie ruled the eastern half of Tigray and Seyum Mangasha ruled the western half.
The balance was initially in Gugsa Araya Sellassie’s favor. Ras Seyum Mangasha, having married Lij Iyasu’s half sister, was suspected of hiding the deposed Emperor designate in his home. Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie as the former stepson of Empress Zewditu was seen as more firmly in the anti-Iyasu camp. This was further cemented when Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie captured Lij Iyasu and handed him over to the central government. Gugsa Araya Selassie then married as his third wife, Leult Yeshashework Yilma, the niece of Emperor Haile Selassie.
In 1935, the war with Italy and the occupation of Ethiopia changed the balance in Tigray completely.
In 1947, after the death of Gugsa Araya Selassie, eastern Tigray Province was incorporated back into western Tigray. All of Tigray Province was then governed by Ras Seyum Mangasha. This was done rather than have any part of Tigray be ruled by the dishonored Ras Haile Selassie Gugsa, the grandson of Araya Selassie Yohannes who openly supported the Italians during the invasion and occupation.