The Careers of Empress Mentewab (c.1706-73) and the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigre Mix in the Power Elites of Gondär
Abstract
Empress Mentewab was one of the most influential female political figures that the country saw in its long history. Her beauty which is eulogized by some writers of the time latter helped her to control power especially during the time of Emperor IYASU ll. Her political grip, as we shall see, was not, however, a result of sheer beauty. She was, rather, a person who could put beauty and understanding together to control the reins of government for about half a century. Her political skill was revealed, among others, in the political marriages that she arranged with the most influential lords of the time who ruled the major political units of the country; viz, Tigray, Lasta and Begemder, and Gojjam.References
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