Mentewab laying prostate at Mary's feet at Nerga Selassie in Lake Tana, 1748. Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሐይቅ Ṭānā Hāyḳ,"Lake Tana" an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez

Mentewab (Ge'ez : ምንትዋብ min-tiwwāb, Amharic: "How beautiful"; circa 1706 - 27 June 1773), was Empress of Ethiopia, consort of Emperor Bakaffa, mother of Iyasu II and grandmother of Iyoas I. Ge'ez (gez ግዕዝ) also called Ethiopic, is an Abugida script that was originally developed to write Ge'ez, a Semitic language Amharic (አማርኛ amarəñña) is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 1773 ( MDCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Bakaffa was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} (throne name Asma Sagad, later Masih Sagad Ge'ez Iyasu II or Joshua II ( Ge'ez ኢያሱ 21 October 1723 &ndash 27 June 1755) was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} Iyoas I or Joas I ( Ge'ez ኢዮዋስ throne name Adyam Sagad, Ge'ez አድያም ሰገድ "to whom the confines of the earth bow" She was also known officially by her baptismal name of Welete Giyorgis ("Daughter of St. George").

Mentewab was born in Qwara province, and was rumored to have had a Portuguese grandparent; because of this, she was often suspected of harboring secret Roman Catholic sympathies. Qwara (also spelled K'wara) was a province in Ethiopia, located between Lake Tana and the frontier with Sudan, and stretcing from Agawmeder Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[1] She was a daughter of Dejazmach Manbare of Dembiya by his wife, Woizero Yenkoy. This is a list of Ethiopian Aristocratic and Court Titles used in Ethiopia until the end of the Monarchy in 1974. Dembiya ( Ge'ez ደምቢያ dembīyā; also transliterated Dembea Dambya Dembya Dambiya etc Mentewab married Emperor Bakaffa in Qwara 6 September 1722, becoming one of his secondary wives. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 1722 ( MDCCXXII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Following the death of her husband, Empress Mentewab took up a romantic liaison with her late husband's nephew. The Empress' much younger lover was derisively called "Melmal Iyasu" (Iyasu the Kept) by members of the court. Mentewab would have three daughters by "Melmal Iyasu", including Woizero Aster Iyasu, who would marry the powerful Tigrean warlord Ras Mikael Sehul. The article has so much wrong statements Readers should not take it serious Mikael Sehul ( Tigrinya "Mikael the Astute" – his name at birth was Blatta Mikael; c

Empress Mentewab built several significant structures in Gondar, including her own castle in the Royal Enclosure, and a large banqueting hall as well. Gondar or Gonder ( Ge'ez: ጎንደር Gōnder, older ጐንደር Gʷandar, modern pronunciation Gʷender) is a city in Fasil Ghebbi is a fortress-enclosure located in Gondar, Ethiopia. ^[2] Most significantly she built a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary at Qusquam (named for a site in Egypt where the Holy Family had stayed during their exile) in the mountains outside of Gondar. The flight into Egypt describes an event in the Gospel of Matthew ( in which Joseph fled to Egypt with his wife Mary and Jesus Empress Mentewab also built a palace adjoining her church, which became her favored residence. ^[3]

Empress Mentewab was crowned co-ruler upon the succession of her son in 1730, and held unprecedented power over government during his reign. (She descended in her own right from emperors who reigned two centuries earlier. ) Her attempt to continue in this role following the death of her son 1755 led her into conflict with Wubit (Welete Bersabe), Iyasu's widow, who believed that it was her turn to preside at the court of her own son Iyoas. The conflict between these two queens led to Mentewab summoning her Qwaran relatives and their forces to Gondar for support. Wubit responded by summoning her own Oromo relatives and their considerable forces from Yejju. Mentewab summoned the powerful Mikael Sehul (who was to become her son-in-law) to mediate the dispute and prevent a bloodbath. She hoped that he would land firmly on her side, but instead Ras Mikael seized power for himself, and eventually engineered the murder by strangulation of Emperor Iyoas I, at which time Mikael also married the aunt of his victim.

Empress Mentewab was distraught at the murder of her grandson. She retreated to Qusquam and buried her grandson there next to her son, and refused to return to the city of Gondar. She lived at her palace there in seclusion till the end of her life.

Children and Geneaology

Children by Emperor Bakaffa:

• Abetohun (Prince) Agaldem Iyasu, succeeded as Iyasu II
• Woizero (Princess) Walatta Takla Haymanot, married 1730, Ras Ilyas

Children by Abetohun Iyasu Milmal:

• Woizero Walatta Israel, married (first) Dejazmach Yosadiq Wolde Habib (d. Iyasu II or Joshua II ( Ge'ez ኢያሱ 21 October 1723 &ndash 27 June 1755) was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} 28 July 1759), sometime Governor of Gojjam, son of Dejazmach Wolde Habib bin Ibido, sometime Governor of Gojjam; married (second) Ras Goshu Wodago, sometime Governor of Amhara and Viceroy of the Empire, son of Ras Wodago, sometime Governor of Amhara, Walaqa, Begameder, and Gojjam, by his wife, Woizero Surantiya, of Ambassel, a descendant of Abeto Yitbarek, son of Emperor Na'od and brother of Emperor Lebna Dengel. Ambassel (also spelled Amba Sel) is one of the 105 Woredas of the Amhara Region in Ethiopia, and an amba, or mountain fortress Na'od was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} ( 1494 - 31 July 1508) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty Dawit II ( Ge'ez ዳዊት dāwīt) enthroned as Emperor Anbasa Segad ( Ge'ez አንበሳ ሰገድ anbassā sagad, Amh
• Woizero Aster, married (first) ca. 1755, Dejazmatch Natcho (d. before 1760), of Chirkin, by whom she had one son; married (second) 1760, Ras Ya Mariam Bariaw (killed before 9 December 1769), Viceroy of the Empire, and Governor of Lasta and Begameder 1764-1768, son of Dejazmach Ayo, sometime Governor of Begemder; married (third) 1769, Ras Mikael Sehul Hezqiyas, sometime Viceroy of the Empire. Begemder (also Gondar or Gonder after its capital) was a province in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. Mikael Sehul ( Tigrinya "Mikael the Astute" – his name at birth was Blatta Mikael; c
• Woizero Altash (Eleni), married September 2, 1755 Wolde Hayawrat^[4] (d. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. May 22 1760, Tigray^[5]), son of Ras Mikael Sehul Hezqiyas.

References