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SAPIAShewa Amhara People International Association
River and green highlands beneath a mountain summit

Shewa Province History

Royal heritage of the highlands.

Royal heritage

Shewa, at the heart of the Ethiopian highlands, was home to royal courts across its mountains. Its rulers shaped modern Ethiopia.

Emperor Menelik II

Born in Ankober in 1844, Menelik II unified the nation, founded Addis Ababa, brought schools, telephones and railways, and led Ethiopia to victory at Adwa.

  1. 1700s

    Shewan kingdom rises with its court at Ankober.

  2. 1865

    Menelik becomes King of Shewa.

  3. 1886

    Addis Ababa founded with Empress Taytu.

  4. 1889

    Menelik II crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.

  5. 1896

    Victory of Adwa defends Ethiopia's independence.

Equestrian statue of Emperor Menelik II in Addis Ababa

The statue of Emperor Menelik II

This golden equestrian statue honors Emperor Menelik II, King of Shewa and later Emperor of Ethiopia. In 1888 he made Addis Ababa — the heart of Shewa province — the capital of Ethiopia, and the city has remained the nation's center ever since.

Menelik II unified Ethiopia, defended its independence at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, and brought the first schools, telephones, and railway to the country. The statue stands in Addis Ababa as a lasting symbol of Shewa's royal legacy.

After Menelik II: the road to Haile Selassie

Haile Selassie was not Menelik II's immediate successor. After Menelik died in 1913, his grandson Lij Iyasu held power until he was deposed in 1916 without ever being crowned emperor. Menelik's daughter Zewditu then reigned as empress from 1916 to 1930, with Ras Tafari Makonnen serving as regent and heir.

Shewan family links and Harar upbringing

Tafari Makonnen was born in 1892 at Ejersa Goro in the Harar region. His father, Ras Makonnen, belonged to the Shewan royal family as a cousin of Menelik II and served as governor of Harar. Tafari was a member of this wider imperial family, not Menelik's son, and he later governed Harar himself before becoming regent.

Emperor Haile Selassie I (1930–1974)

Crowned on 2 November 1930, he reigned until 1974, apart from exile during the Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. His reign brought modernizing reforms, including a written constitution, schools and international ties, alongside highly centralized imperial rule. Growing political and social tensions led to his deposition in 1974.

Emperor Haile Selassie I meeting President John F. Kennedy, Oval Office, Washington, D.C., 1 October 1963.

Emperor Haile Selassie I meeting President John F. Kennedy, Oval Office, Washington, D.C., 1 October 1963.

Archive credit: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

Public domain in the United States · U.S. federal government photograph.

JFK Library archival sourcePhoto and public-domain record

Timeline to 1974

  1. 1892

    Tafari Makonnen born at Ejersa Goro, Harar region.

  2. 1913

    Menelik II dies; Lij Iyasu holds power, never crowned.

  3. 1916

    Lij Iyasu deposed; Empress Zewditu reigns with Ras Tafari as regent and heir.

  4. 1930

    Crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I on 2 November.

  5. 1936

    Exile during the Italian occupation until 1941.

  6. 1941

    Returns to Addis Ababa and resumes his reign.

  7. 1945

    Ethiopia becomes a founding member of the United Nations.

  8. 1963

    OAU founded in Addis Ababa (25 May); UN address on racial equality and human rights (4 October).

  9. 1974

    Deposed amid political and social upheaval; the imperial era ends.

Contributions to Ethiopia and the world

Education and higher learning

University College of Addis Ababa opened in 1950. In 1961, it was consolidated with other colleges as Haile Selassie I University, now Addis Ababa University. The emperor provided his Guenete Leul Palace for its central campus, while educators, students and institutional partners developed higher learning.

Institutions and international connections

Ethiopian Airlines was founded on 21 December 1945 and began operations on 8 April 1946 during his reign, strengthening Ethiopia's international connections. Its establishment and development were collective achievements of Ethiopian staff, government institutions and international partners, not the work of one person alone.

Resistance to fascist aggression

On 30 June 1936, after fascist Italy's invasion, Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for collective security against aggression. He returned in 1941 as Ethiopian patriots and Allied forces fought to end the occupation; liberation was a shared struggle, not a single-handed achievement.

African unity and human rights

Under his reign, Ethiopia was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945. On 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, he was a key convener of the Organization of African Unity, founded with other African leaders by 32 states; it was the predecessor of the African Union launched in 2002. In his address to the UN General Assembly on 4 October 1963, he called for racial equality and respect for basic human rights.

Ethiopia and the United Nations — founding membership (1945)Opens in a new tab

Collective security: Korea and Congo

Ethiopian troops joined the UN-command force in the Korean War in 1951: this was wartime combat service, not a UN peacekeeping mission. Ethiopia also contributed personnel to ONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Congo that ran from July 1960 to June 1964. These contributions reflect the service of Ethiopian soldiers and the country's collective-security policy during his reign.

Sources and further reading