Nobleman and central figure of Zemene Mesafint in Ethiopia (1692–1784)
Mikael Sehul
Ras
Ras Mikael Sehul purported burst coin
Governor of Tigray Province
Reign
1748–1784
Predecessor
probably Takle
Successor
Wolde Selassie
Born
Blatta Mikael 1692 Naeder, Tigray Province, Ethiopian Empire
Died
1784(1784-00-00) (aged 91–92)
Issue
Ras Faris the Great
Father
Abeto Hezeqeyas Wolde Hawaryot
Mother
Woizero Ishate Mariam
Religion
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Mikael Sehul (born Blatta Mikael; 1692 – 1784) was a nobleman who ruled Ethiopia for a period of 25 years as regent of a series of emperors. He was also a Ras or governor of Tigray 1748–71 and again from 1772 until his death. He was a major political figure during the reign of Emperor Iyasu II and his successors until almost the time of his death.
The Scottish explorer James Bruce met Mikael during his stay in Ethiopia, and recorded the following description of the Ras when he granted Bruce an audience:
"We went in, and saw the old man sitting upon a sofa; his white hair was dressed in many short curls. He appeared to be thoughtful, but not displeased; his face was lean, his eyes quick and vivid, but seemed to be a little sore from exposure to the weather. he seemed to be about six feet high, though his lameness made it difficult to guess with accuracy. His air was perfectly free from constraint, what the French call degagée. In face and person he was liker my learned and worthy friend, the Count de Buffon, than any two men I ever saw in the world. They must have been bad physiognomists that did not discern his capacity and understanding by his very countenance. Every look conveyed a sentiment with it: he seemed to have no occasion for other language, and indeed spoke little.[1]"
^Bruce, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (1805 edition), pp. 416f; this passage can also be read in the abridged version, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, selected and edited with an introduction by C.F. Beckingham (Edinburgh: University Press, 1964), p.66
MikaelSehul (born Blatta Mikael; 1692 – 1784) was a nobleman who ruled Ethiopia for a period of 25 years as regent of a series of emperors. He was also...
powerful Ras MikaelSehul and the Oromo relatives of Iyoas. As Iyoas increasingly favoured Oromo leaders like Fasil, his relations with MikaelSehul deteriorated...
Ras Wolde Leul her brother, Waragna, Ayo governor of Begemder, and Ras MikaelSehul. One handicap with this tactic of ruling through a proxy, as Richard...
famous Woizero Aster Iyasu who married the powerful Tigrean warlord Ras MikaelSehul. Empress Mentewab built several significant structures in Gondar, including...
Ethiopia in Tigray and Gojjam by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras MikaelSehul, who was opposed to Ras Ali of Begemder. Joined by Ras Haile Yosadiq...
groups led by Wubit. The Gondarine period ended when Tigray governor Ras MikaelSehul assassinated Iyoas I in 1769 which marked the beginning of the country's...
lines. The more recent link was through Woizero Aster Iyasu (wife of Ras MikaelSehul, daughter of Mentewab and her lover, Melmal Iyasu, a Solomonic prince...
Hailemariam Desalegn. Atse Baeda Maryam – Atse a pretender, son of Ras MikaelSehul Dawit Kebede – winner of the 2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Award...
him as "a drunkard, a ruffian, and a profligate". On 5 June 1770, Ras MikaelSehul was forced to evacuate the city with Emperor Tekle Haymanot; they marched...
Mentewab's Quaregnoch and the Wollo group led by Wubit. In 1767, Ras MikaelSehul, a regent in Tigray Province, seized Gondar, killing the child Iyoas...
Bakaffa and his widow Empress Mentewab and the first Tigre warlord Ras MikaelSehul. However, the power was presided to Mentewab and the Amhara lords, where...
or 1730s. Then, later, following the murder of Iyoas I in 1769, Ras MikaelSehul summoned the late Emperor's great-uncle, Yohannes, from Wehni, although...
century. Its significance declined after the rise of Ras MikaelSehul of Tigray. Ras Mikael defeated Tseazega and placed their rivalry Hazega in power...
European scholars and theologians. When Bruce was leaving Gondar, Ras MikaelSehul, the powerful Inderase (regent) of Emperor Tekle Haymanot II, gave him...
newcomers, Iyoas was forced to appeal to the powerful warlord MikaelSehul. Ras Mikael thus became master of Gondar, and later had Iyoas deposed and murdered...
family Descendants of Emperor Yohannes IV: The Prince of Tigray Lij MikaelSehul Lij Yohannes Mengesha Seyoum Lij Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum Lij Jalye Mengesha...
of the emperor had been largely transferred to his deputies, like Ras MikaelSehul of Tigray (c. 1691 – 1779), who held actual power in the empire and elevated...
would go on to have five sons and a daughter. Woizero Ribka Mengesha Lij MikaelSehul Mengesha (born 1949) Lij Yohannes Mengesha (born 27 July 1951) Lij Estifanos...
(died 18 June 1788) was Ras of Begemder, and following the death of Ras MikaelSehul, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul...
grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, the granddaughter of Ras MikaelSehul and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab and Melmal Iyasu...
Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Ras MikaelSehul, with the former prevailing. This led to the end of MikaelSehul's hegemony in imperial politics and the...
described the unnamed ruler as a "brave, but simple man" and a deputy of Ras MikaelSehul, but he also considered the land to be a "barbarous and unhappy country...
granddaughters, Princess Aida Desta. They are the parents of five sons Lij Michael Sehul, Lij Yohannes, Lij Stephanos, Lij Jalye, Lij Seyoum and a daughter Immabet...
the Emperor) the title of either Ras or Dejazmach, beginning with Ras MikaelSehul. Rulers of Tigray such as Ras Wolde Selassie alternated with others,...
Iyasu, one of whom was the beautiful Woizero Aster Iyasu who took Ras MikaelSehul in 1769 as her third husband. Emperor Iyasu became very attached to his...
family Descendants of Emperor Yohannes IV: The Prince of Tigray Lij MikaelSehul Lij Yohannes Mengesha Seyoum Lij Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum Lij Jalye Mengesha...
Great forced the abdication of Peter III of Russia. 1769, Ethiopia: Ras MikaelSehul deposed and killed Emperor Iyoas I of Ethiopia in a demonstration of...
when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras MikaelSehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at the Battle of Faggeta...
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