Menelik II

Who is Menelik II?

Menelik II, born Sahle Maryam, was King of Shewa before becoming Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889. He is best remembered for decisively defeating an invading Italian army at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, one of the few clear victories of an African state over a European colonial power, which secured Ethiopian sovereignty and forced Italy to recognize the country's independence. With his wife Empress Taytu Betul, he established Addis Ababa as the permanent capital in the 1880s. Menelik greatly expanded the empire to roughly its modern borders and pursued modernization, introducing the country's first railway (the Addis Ababa-Djibouti line), telephone and telegraph services, modern schools, a national bank, postal service and a hospital. His reign transformed Ethiopia into a more centralized state and left a lasting legacy as the ruler who kept Ethiopia free during the Scramble for Africa.

Sources: Harold G. Marcus, 'The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913' (1975) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Menilek II' · Raymond Jonas, 'The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire' (2011)