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Téwodros II (, baptized as Sahle Dingil, and often referred to in English by the equivalent Theodore II) (c. 1818 – April 13, 1868) was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death. He was born Kassa Haile Giorgis, but was more regularly referred to as Kassa Hailu ( — meaning "restitution" and "His (the ) power"). His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia, ending the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes). Tewodros II's origins were in the Era of the Princes, but his ambitions were not those of the regional nobility. He sought to reestablish a cohesive Ethiopian state and to reform its administration and church. He did not initially claim Solomonic lineage but did seek to restore Solomonic hegemony, and he considered himself the Elect of God. Later in his reign, suspecting that foreigners considered him an upstart and seeking to legitimize his reign, he added "son of David and Solomon" to his title. Tewodros II's first task was to bring Shewa under his control. During the Era of the Princes, Shewa was, even more than most provinces, an independent entity, its ruler even styling himself Negus. In the course of subduing the Shewans, Tewodros imprisoned a Shewan prince, Menelik II, who would later become emperor himself. Despite his success against Shewa, Tewodros faced constant rebellions in other provinces. In the first six years of his reign, the new ruler managed to put down these rebellions, and the empire was relatively peaceful from about 1861 to 1863, but the energy, wealth, and manpower necessary to deal with regional opposition limited the scope of Tewodros's other activities. By 1865 other rebels had emerged, including Menelik II, who had escaped from prison and returned to Shewa, where he declared himself Negus. In addition to his conflicts with rebels and rivals, Tewodros encountered difficulties with the European powers. Seeking aid from the British government (he proposed a joint expedition to conquer Jerusalem, he became unhappy with the behavior of those Britons whom he had counted on to advance his request, and he took them hostage and chained them. In 1868, as a British expeditionary force sent from India to secure release of the hostages stormed his stronghold, Tewodros committed suicide. Tewodros II never realized his dream of restoring a strong monarchy, although he took some important initial steps. He sought to establish the principle that governors and judges must be salaried appointees. He also established a professional standing army, rather than depending on local lords to provide soldiers for his expeditions. He also intended to reform the church, believing the clergy to be ignorant and immoral, but he was confronted by strong opposition when he tried to impose a tax on church lands to help finance government activities. His confiscation of these lands gained him enemies in the church and little support elsewhere. Essentially, Tewodros was a talented military campaigner. In his efforts to keep skilled Europeans in Abyssinia, Tewodros arranged a marriage between one of his daughters and a Swiss military engineer. That branch of Tewodros's family ended up in Russia. The late British actor Peter Ustinov claimed to be Tewodros's great-great-grandson.〔Previous rumours about an Ethiopian royal ancestry could not be confirmed by family documents. A recent publication based on genealogical documents preserved from his grandmother's family has clarified this open question. Peter's grandmother was Magdalena Hall, daughter of Katharina Hall, also known as Welette-Iyesus (wife of Tewodros II' cannon-caster Moritz Hall, a Jewish convert and employee of the Protestant mission in Ethiopia, later Jaffa), a confidante of Empress Taytu in the early 20th century. She was of mixed Ethiopian-German origin, the daughter of the German painter and immigrant to Ethiopia Eduard Zander and the court lady Isette-Werq in Gondar, daughter of an Ethiopian general called Meqado (active before the mid-19th century). See: Wolbert G.C. Smidt: Verbindungen der Familie Ustinov nach Äthiopien, in: Aethiopica, International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies 8, 2005, pp. 29–47; for older speculations on Ustinov's Ethiopian ancestry, which have been disproved, see (Frontline: Ustinov ), which wrongly claimed that Peter Ustinov's alleged ancestor, Susan Bell, was the daughter of Tewodros II. The supposed connection with Susan Bell is based on Ustinov's memory of some family relation with the Swiss missionary Theophilus Waldmeier (husband of Susan Sara Yewubdar Bell). But, he was a colleague and friend of Ustinov's great-grandfather, not his great-grandfather himself.〕〔(Frontline: Ustinov )〕 ==Early years== Kassa was the son of a Christian nobleman of the Qwara district of the province of Dembiya named Haile Giorgis Wolde Giorgis. His paternal grandfather, Dejazmatch Wolde Giorgis, was a widely-respected figure of his time. Dembiya was part of the large territory known as ''Ye Maru Qemas'', or "that which has been tasted by Maru". It was the personal fief of Dejazmach Maru, a powerful warlord, and relative of Kassa Hailu (possibly a half-uncle). Kassa's mother, Woizero Atitegeb Wondbewossen, was of the upper nobility, and was originally from Sayint(Wollo).〔Hormuzd Rassam, ''Narrative of the British Mission to Theodore of Abyssinia'' (London, 1869), vol. 1 p. 279〕 Her mother Woizer Tishal was a member of a noble family of Begemder, while her paternal grandfather, Ras Wodajo, was a powerful and highly influential figure Although generally regarded as a non-royal usurper, Tewodros II, would late in his reign claim that his father was descended from Emperor Fasilides by way of a daughter, although most of his contemporaries did not acknowledge the legitimacy of these claims. When Kassa was very young, his parents divorced and Woizero Atitegeb moved back to Gondar taking her son with her. Not long after their departure, news reached them that Kassa's father had died. Popular legend states that Kassa's paternal relatives split up the entire paternal inheritance, leaving young Kassa and his mother with nothing and in very dire circumstances financially. To make ends meet, it is often repeated that Woizero Atitegeb was reduced to selling "Kosso", a native herbal remedy used to purge patients of intestinal worms (a common occurrence because of the Ethiopian love of raw meat dishes). Kassa would be taunted often for being a "Kosso seller's son", an insult that Tewodros II seldom forgave. There is actually no evidence that Woizero Atitegeb was ever a Kosso seller, and several writers such as Paulos Ngo Ngo have stated outright that it was a false rumor spread by her detractors. Evidence indicates that Woizero Atitegeb was fairly well to do, and indeed had inherited considerable land holdings from her own illustrious relatives to lead a comfortable life. Kassa's youth was probably not lived lavishly, but he was far from a pauper. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tewodros II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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