Nonetheless, Seyoum Mengesha remained loyal to the sovereign, which ensured Tigray stayed connected to the center, at least at elite level. Haileselassie crushed the uprising with the help of the British. Mengistu Hailemariam once described it as ‘a region that doesn’t even produce writing chalk.’Ĭontinued marginalisation of Tigray was the main trigger of the so-called First Woyane rebellion (1941-1943). Although royal intermarriages played an essential role in maintaining elite Tigrayan loyalty, Tigray as a society remained marginalised. ![]() However, Tigrayan loyalty was not reciprocated by the south and provincialism and peripheralization persisted especially during Haileselassie’s reign. Menelik refused to give the title of King of Tigray to Mengesha and is seen as a traitor in Tigray for that and his deals with the Italians in undermining Tigray. That allowed Menelik to consolidate his grip over the Oromos and extend his territories further south and west, and modern Ethiopia was born.Īlula’s and Mengesha’s submission to Menelik also signified the start of intensification of center-periphery dynamics. Despite their initial hesitation and even temptation to join the Italians in closeby Eritrea, Alula’s and Mengesha Yohannes’ surrender to Showa’s Menelik was the main glue that kept Tigray and the rest of the north close to the center (Showa). Erlich, who is also Alula’s biographer, specifically mentions Alula, Mengesha (Emperor Yohannes’s son) and Seyoum (the Emperor’s grandson). In trying to explain why Ethiopia remained a united country for generations, especially during the tumultuous 19 th and 20 th centuries when it was attacked by European and Egyptian invaders, Mahdist incursions and later by fascist Italy, Haggai Erlich denotes loyalty of Tigrayan chiefs to central powers as the key factor. With that he brought on his side one of the most loyal but also formidable fighters of the time. True to tradition, Menelik, a master of diplomacy and tact himself, pardoned Alula. Here was the man who terrorised Hamasien and Mereb Melash and whose legends were talked about in the streets of Rome bowing to the feet of the old enemy. Alongside young Mengesha, he approached Emperor Menelik carrying a pebble on his head, traditionally a gesture of submission. Despite the detestation he had for Menelik, allegiance to king and country compelled Alula to travel south to Showa to pledge loyalty. Menelik, Yohannes’s archrival seized the opportunity and declared himself King of Kings of Ethiopia. Equally controversial, he is accused of destabilising the political system in highland Eritrea, and his excessive brutality against the Kunama and Nara is narrated in local folklore to this day.įollowing Emperor Yohannes’s death at Metema, the squabble among Tigrayan chiefs made it difficult for Mengesha, Yohannes’s son and heir, to take his father’s throne. He was instrumental in defeating the Italians alongside Menelik at Adwa (1896). As Emperor Yohannes’s loyal servant and the chief of Hamasien (now Eritrea), he routed invading Egyptians, defeated the Mahdists, ambushed Italian forces at Dogali. He was also obedient and loyal to his masters. In this article, I intend to write about the other crucial character of Alula – loyalty, and its importance in keeping Tigray close to the center and its meaning in the current context of Tigray.Īlula was a brave soldier, tactful diplomat but also ruthless and brutal to those that he considered as enemies. Achieving that position amidst the intrigues and conspiracies of the Abyssinian feudal court is no mean feat. If Alula’s name is being invoked to inspire and embolden the Tigrayan people and the TDF and terrorise and humiliate the invading forces, then it certainly has achieved its goal.Ī humble peasant from Temben, Alula was extremely loyal to his masters, which made him rise to the rank of Ras, one of the highest positions at the time. The Operation has succeeded in dismantling the Ethiopian federal, Amhara and Eritrean forces that had occupied Tigray for the last eight months and caused an untold havoc in the region. The counter-offensive by the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) Operation Alula, takes its name from the great Tigrayan and Ethiopian hero of the 19 th century. ![]() By waging a senseless war on Tigray, Abiy Ahmed could be burning the last bridge connecting Tigray with the center.Īlula’s generation: a case of absolute loyalty to central authorities ![]() It is a case of center-periphery relationship with a long history and diminishing loyalty that has morphed into an irredentist struggle. ![]() There could be some grain of truth in that but it is also TPLF centric and neglects the history of uneasy relationship between Tigray and the central powers in Addis Ababa/Showa. I have heard people describe the Tigray conflict as a struggle for power between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Abiy’s Prosperity Party.
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