Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot (Amharic: ራስ መኮንን ወልደ ሚካኤል ወልደ መለኮት; 8 May 1852 – 21 March 1906), or simply Ras Makonnen, also known as Abba Qagnew (አባ ቃኘው), was an Ethiopian royal from Shewa, a military leader, the governor of Harar, and the father of future Emperor Haile Selassie. Described by Nikolai Gumilev as “one of the greatest leaders of Abyssinia”, he served in the First Italo-Ethiopian War, playing a key role at the Battle of Adwa.
Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot was born in Derefo Maryam near Ankober, in what was then in the province of Menz[3][4] to his mother Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie and his father Dejazmach Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot, who was the governor of the provinces Menz and Doba (which are located in Semien Shewa)[5][6] His maternal lineage is ethnically Amhara with a Solomonic genealogy, his mother was a daughter of Sahle Selassie of Shewa.
In 1865, at the age of 14 his father took him to the court of Negus Menelik, then ruler of Shewa, where he engaged in military training and imbibed the skills of statecraft. Around July 1873, Makonnen married Yeshimebet Ali, the Oromo daughter of Dejazmach Ali and Woizero Wolete Giyorgis. In 1875, Yilma Makonnen was born to Makonnen and a woman who was not Yeshimebet Ali. In 1892, Tafari Makonnen, the son of Makonnen and Yeshimebet Ali, was born. In 1901, following the death of Yeshimebet Ali, Makonnen was briefly married to a niece of Empress Taytu Betul, Woizero Mentewab Wale. Makonnen's marriage to Mentewab Wale was never consummated and, in 1902, it was annulled.[11]
In 1876, Makonnen was awarded the rank of Balambaras and by 1881 commanded 1,000 well armed troops. In the same year he served in a campaign against the Arsi Oromo who were disrupting trade caravans from Tadjoura. He served in the battle of Battle of Embabo, and fought against the Arsi for a second time. Makonnen lead the troops that captured the Amir's field cannons during the Battle of Chelenqo.
Governorship
In 1887, Makonnen was given the governorship of Harar after it was incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire by his cousin, Emperor Menelik following the Battle of Chelenqo. According to Jules Borelli, Harar was pillaged by Abyssinian soldiers with half its population fleeing, despite pleas from the despoiled locals to Makonnen.[12] According to Hararis, the oppression of Harari people began with the invasion of Harar by Ras Makonnen which followed mosques changed into churches and Abyssinian Christians arriving from the north to settle in the town.[13] Makonnen had ordered the primary mosque of Harar to be replaced by an Orthodox Church.[14] The French traveler Charles Michel notes that "the first years of the Abyssinian occupation were far from prosperous" as the Abyssinians "took for themselves what could have any value", while "the soldiers, several thousand in number, chased the Hararis from their dwellings to install themselves in their place, and devastated everything around them." Trade and traders were driven away from the city and markets were held instead in the remote countryside.[15] As the occupation progressed, Makonnen set about undermining Harari wealth by expropriating their land and offering it to his soldiers.[16][17]
At Harar, Makonnen enjoyed good relations with expatriates, including Capuchin missionaries and a growing number of Europeans enroute to the capital. From there he learned as much as possible about the outside world. He especially appreciated Russians due to their shared Orthodox faith, and unlike other western Europeans, did not have colonial pretensions. Makonnen also had a passion for firearms and was heavily involved in the local arms trade, he imported weapons, some of whom he shipped to Shewa, others he used to subdue or extract tribute from the nearby Somalis. Makonnen pushed the expansion of the empire to the east and south of Harar, conquering the territories of the Issa and the Gadabuursi. In 1890, more reinforcements from Addis Ababa allowed Makonnen to occupy all of the Ogaden by 1891.[11] In 1896 Ras Makonnen appointed Abdullah Tahir, governor of Jigjiga.[18]
Conditions in the city rapidly improved once the soldiers left for service in the Ogaden. The Harari nobility was allowed some participation in the city's government, as running of the city was entrusted to the Amir's nephew, Ali. However ravaging and additional atrocities against the populace by the Abyssinians did not cease, the Harari people soon revolted and Makonnen marched into town with his troops, cowed the population, and imprisoned Ali. Once in the town, the troops went wild, demolished and looted homes, tyrannized the population, and killed several people. According to historian Norman Bennett, Makonnen may have aroused an insurrection to obtain absolute power in Harar.
SOURE: WIKIPEDIA
