Taytu Betul was an Ethiopian noblewoman who, together with her husband, Emperor Menelik II, ruled Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913. She is remembered for her resistance against and victory over the Italian colonial forces and her political power at the royal court. She is the one who chose the area of Ethiopia's present-day capital city and named it Addis Ababa.
Taytu Betul was born in Semien, North Gondar, Ethiopian Empire. Scholarly consensus is that she was born at about 1851.
Taytu's father, Ras Betul Haile Maryam, was part of the ruling family of Semien that claimed to be descendants of the Solomonic Dynasty through Emperor Susenyos. Taytu's uncle was the Amhara warlord Wube Haile Maryam who governed the Semien and Tigray princedom. Her Ancestry hailed from a lot of places the north, including Yejju, Semien and Tigray.
She was raised in an aristocratic family. She was church-educated and is said to have excelled to the heights of composing traditional oral Qene poetry. After four failed marriages to important personages, she married Menelik when he was the ruler of Shewa. When Menelik became the emperor of Ethiopia in 1889, she became the empress of Ethiopia two days later with the regal title of “Etege Taytu Betul, Light of Ethiopia.”
It is believed that she was taught diplomacy, politics and economics. Additionally, she understood a language once exclusive to the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy.
Empress Taytu was known to play the begena, which is a 10-string instrument. Her other activities included playing Senterej, Ethiopian chess, and an interest writing poetry.
Historically, her family is claimed to have a ruling foothold in the Northern region of the country. Such places include: Semien, Begemeder, Lasta, Yejju and Wello. Her aristocratic lineage dates back to 1607–32, descending from the daughter of Emperor Susneyos. Her great-grandfather, Ras Gebre of Simien, ruled for 44 years during the period known as the Zemene Mesafint, or the "Era of the Princes". His fame was acknowledged through two measures. He was responsible for making the communities west of Gondar pay taxes in gold, as well as treating his subjects so well – providing an ample amount of food and drink so that they no longer needed to farm to sustain themselves. Her grandfather, Dejazmach Haile Maryam Gebre, also held a respected title. He governed Simien, where his children Wube, Betul and Merso were born. Additionally, her uncle Degazmach Wube followed in the family's footsteps by also acquiring a high position in the region. As the half-brother of Taytu's father, Degazmach Wube was responsible for ruling the Tigray province. Taytu had two brothers (Ras Welle Betul & Temru Betul) and two sisters.
Taytu Betul and Menelik's marriage was a powerful political union, as both parties brought alliances in northern and southern Ethiopia, respectively, to the table. Once the pair became emperor and empress, they forged more allegiances with the region's various rulers, partly through political prowess and partly through military force.

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