30 Facts About Zewditu

Zewditu was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 until her death in 1930.

Zewditu was officially renamed Zewditu at the beginning of her reign as Empress of Ethiopia.

Zewditu was forty years old, and childless when she was crowned empress.

Zewditu is the most recent empress regnant, as well as the last female Ethiopian head of state until the 2018 election of Sahle-Work Zewde as president.

Empress Zewditu sought to maintain Ethiopia's traditional values during her reign through a series of conservative policies, resisting rapid modernization.

Zewditu's rule was characterized by efforts to uphold Ethiopian traditions and the Orthodox Christian faith, contrasting with the modernizing ambitions of her regent, Ras Tafari Makonnen, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie.

Zewditu's commitment to preserving Ethiopian independence and cultural heritage was a notable aspect of her leadership.

Zewditu's legacy reflects efforts to maintain traditional values while facing the inevitability of change.

Zewditu is remembered for her dedication to the Ethiopian Orthodox faith and her role in a transitional period that set the stage for the modernization efforts that followed.

Zewditu's reign remains a topic of study for its insights into the challenges of leadership during a time of significant political and social change.

Zewditu is an Amharic word meaning "She is the Crown", though it sometimes appears erroneously Anglicized as "Judith", with which it is not cognate.

Zewditu's mother, Weyziro Abechi, was a noblewoman of Wollo and a brief companion of Menelik II.

Zewditu's mother separated from Menelik when Zewditu was very young, and the future empress was raised by her father and his consort Baffana.

However, the Emperor remained closest to Zewditu, who had good relations with her stepmother, the Empress Taytu, and was part of her father's household for most of her life.

In 1886 the ten-year-old Zewditu was married to Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes, son and heir of Emperor Yohannes IV.

Zewditu's marriage was childless, since she was very young during her marriage, although her husband had fathered a son by another woman.

Zewditu had two further marriages, both brief, before marrying Ras Gugsa Welle.

Zewditu had already been on good terms with Taytu, but the direct tie between the two helped cement the relationship.

Zewditu was widely disliked by the nobility for his unstable behavior, and the church held him in suspicion for his alleged Muslim sympathies.

Zewditu was summoned to the capital, and on 27 September 1916, the Council of State and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church officially announced the death of Emperor Menelik II and deposed Iyasu in favour of Zewditu.

The early period of Zewditu's reign was marked by a war against Lij Iyasu, who had escaped captivity.

When Iyasu was captured, a tearful Empress Zewditu pleaded that he be kept in a special house on the grounds of the palace, where she would see to his care and he could receive religious counsel.

Zewditu found Ras Tafari and Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Dinagde to be unbendingly opposed, and so gave up.

Zewditu did ensure that special favorite foods and a constant supply of clothing and luxuries reached Iyasu at his place of arrest in Sellale.

Zewditu was a conservative, believing in the preservation of Ethiopian tradition.

Zewditu had the strong backing of the church in this belief.

Slowly Zewditu began to withdraw from active politics, leaving more and more power to Tafari.

Zewditu busied herself with religious activities, such as the construction of a number of significant churches.

Empress Zewditu was compelled to grant Tafari, who now controlled most of the Ethiopian government, the title of King.

Zewditu was succeeded on the throne by Negus Tafari, who took the name of Emperor Haile Selassie.