Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-29
THE EMPRESS OF ABYSSINIA.
Empress Taitu One the Power Behind
the Throne.


month ago the authority of Taitu
was paramount not only in the Abys-
sinian capital but in Tigre, where her
arms had gained the field.
Yet today, it would seem, by means
of a successful coup d'etat, inspired by
the Shoan chefs-who hitherto have
been her principal suppOrters-and
carried through by the coregents of the
empress, that the consort of the late
emperor has been deposed and the
steps taken which in effect will prevent
her further participation in state af-
fairs.
For many years the empress has been
associated with Menelik in the admin
istration of the state, and though she
was considered to be more intent on
of the country says the Pail Mall Ga
zette, the emperor constantly turned
to her for advice. Born in 1853,
daughter of the king of Gondar and
hereditary princess of Siemen, she was
married to Menelik in 1883, by which
date she had already experienced"
four husbands. 1t is perhaps due to
this early acquaintance with marriage
that ner union with the Negus Negust
has been such a conspicuous success.
The emperor was devoted to his clever
wife, and as the slave of those charms
which before had stood the lady in
such good stead denied her nothing.
In the first instance Taitu was mar
ried to one of the leading generals in
the army of the powerful Theodore,
whose notice she soon attracted. When
her husband had been removed and
King Theodore was dead she was mar
ried, by way Of punishment and as the
outcome of a plot. to soldier of low
degree, from whom she was divorced.
Her third husband was the governor Of
an important province, and at his death
Taitu retired to a convent, where it
was announced she intended to remain.
however, and emerging from her seclu-
sion she took as her fourth husband
the chief Zekargateho, who in turn
gave room to Menelik. To Menelik
| Taitu has been married for twenty-sev-
en- years, and through the marriage
has had a son and two daughters as
issue ner position is complicated by the
| fact that her son has not survived.
In the present day appearance of the
empress there is little indication of the
charm which distinguished her in
youth. Yet Taitu at one time was re-
nowned for her beauty and the white
ness of her skin. Unfortunately mid
| die age has Overtaken her figure, and
with advancing years there has been
corresponding increase in weight. To-
day she must strike all who see her as
very fat and wrinkled woman, who,
in spite of the ravages Of time, never
| lost her influence over her husband.
| Ambitious, little whimsical, clever
and unscrupulous, even in the days
when there was no succession question,
Taitu always looked to a future which
offered at least the possibility Of the
throne passing to her house if not to
herself
So far as her interests have been
concerned the succession question has
never been settled to her satisfaction
since the death of the son which she
bore Menelik. At first Menelik favored
his nephew, Ras Makonnen. who died
some five years ago. Since then the
emperor indicated as mis- choice the IA
year. old son of his daughter and the
Ras Michael This little prince was
called Lidj Eyassu, and it is he whom
the council of regents now have pro-
claimed as Menelik's successor.
1t was against the selection of Lidj
Eyassu that the empress pitted all her
influence. Equally with her husband a
child of the south, while Eyassu was,
on his fathers side, of northern ORR
gin, Taitu appealed to the racial in
stincts of the southern chiefs in sup
port of her claims to the throne. From
the outset the appeal was destined to
fail, for the objections of the Abyssi-
mans to a woman's rule made it GER
tain that Taitu was playing a losing
game None the less she played bold
ly and, though the southern chiefs
waited to see how the position would
| develop, scored a few successes.
So long as Menelik remained in good
health the Empress Taitu was able to
hold her own against those who from
time to time urged the settlement of
| ~ Of no a
such representations the empress
pleaded her own interests or those of
her nephew, and the question might
not even now have been settled had not
Menelik suffered the stroke of paralysis
by which for the last eighteen months
he had been incapacitated.
Such a condition in the health of the
ruler was naturally fraught with peril
for the interests of the state. At the
instigation of the trusted ministers,
Menelik agreed to the formation of a
council of regents. Though the en-
press herself was appointed to the
council she was unable to prevent her
two coregents from dealing with the
|
/ in the summer of 1908 the Ras Tessama
and the Ras Apte Gioegis, the regents
in question, designated, in accordance
with the commands of the Negus,
Prince Eyassu as the heir presumptive
to the throne, while Ras Tessama be-
came guardian Of the little prince.
From this date the attitude of the en-
press was one of implacable hostility.
Taking advantage of the tluctuating
state of Menelik's health, Taitu pro-
ceeded to make her own influence su-
preme. To give effect to her plans sne
isolated the emperor from affairs and
surrounded him with a clique of Off
cials who were devoted tn her interests
and with few exceptions were her own
relatives. At the same time, while
the court was being filed up by Off
cialS of her own selection, she pushed
| forward the SubipctiOn of the north by