Menilek II

Menelik II (Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ dagmawi mənilək; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው abba daññäw); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam), was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest historical extent and defeated Italian colonial forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

A member of the Shewan branch of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik was born in Ankober, Shewa, as Sahle Maryam, the son of Haile Melekot (Negus of Shewa). Named "Menelik" by his grandfather King Sahle Selassie after the legendary Menelik I (son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba), he was imprisoned at age 11 by Emperor Tewodros II at the fortress of Magdala following his father's death in 1855. He escaped in 1865 amid Tewodros's declining power, returned to Shewa, and was acclaimed as its rightful king. Though harboring imperial ambitions, he avoided challenging northern rivals during the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868 and submitted to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878 after failed collaboration with the Egyptians during their invasion (1875–1876).

As quasi-independent ruler of Shewa from 1878 to 1889, Menelik built his power base through direct European diplomacy, securing modern weapons and expertise from advisors such as the Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg. He conquered southern territories inhabited by Oromo, Wolayta and Gurage peoples, exploiting ivory, coffee, gold, and slave trade revenues to fund arms, while establishing fortified katama settlements and the neftenya land system. The strategic conquest of Harar in 1887 turned it into principal trade hub under Ras Makonnen. Following the death of Yohannes at the Battle of Metemma in 1889, Menelik was crowned emperor at Mount Entoto on 3 November 1889.