When the Amhara tribe concocted a proverbial adage: ሥራ ያጣ መንኩሼ ቆቡን ቀዶ ይሰፋል they did not realise they were describing themselves. On daytime and that of a night, they tend to do things routinely through out their lives. On day time they take stock of facts and instead of dealing with realties they tend to fabricate convoluted reverse images and at nights they congregate in sorcerers’ hamlets
to gloat.
This was the culture they endeavoured to spread for well over the centuries when they did manage to have the upper edge.
Such people are so pleased with the stories they told that they were the first victims to genuinely believe it was the truth, and they would sacrifice their necks to defend it.
Listen to this, Yohannes permitted the Italians to occupy the coastal area of Bahere Negash. Menelik did perform better by limiting their move further inland by signing the Wechale Treaty. Neither of which were historically right.
The Treaty did not stop the Italians form attempting to move further south, nor Yohannes permitted the Italians to occupy the costal land of Aksumites.
The Italians were on the costal land of Bahere Negash as much as the Eritreans are now in Tigray. The Eritreans are in Tigray not because the Tigray government or the Tigrayans permitted them to occupy but because they have brutal internal and external enemies forces.
That was also the case with Behere Negash: occupied by sheer brutal force of western colonial powers Yohannes was detracted to push out, not by a good will and signing as Menelik did.
In world history Menelik was and will be the only monarch who sold out his land for Dual reasons. To weaken part of the people under his domain who he was under the fear of being undermined and removed from power. Likewise to obtain cash and arms to subjugate other tribes and ethnic groups, just like the European did to other Africans during the scramble for Africa.
Menelik was a black colonisers supported by Europeans for their own good reasons, as Haileselassie was who sought European support to wage war against Tigray in 1943 control and transferred land of Tigray to Amhara land.
Who would have thought a man who fled the battled field and sought refugee 6000 km away in the United Kingdom would be regarded as a hero and welcome back not only to rule but also claim land from Tigray by way of dowry for his son, as a governor of Wollo, who married a widowed daughter of Ras Seyum Mengesha, half an Amhara, who grew until the age of 24 in Gojam, brought to Tigray with Amhara wives; barely speaking the Tigrigna language, who in turn was complaisant for Tigray to be robbed and loose its land with out resisting the encroachments.
How on earth, except in Amhara Ethiopia, would a land, its rivers, plants, wild animals it’s people would be given away as dowries, for a woman in her second marriage that lasted only one single year and the again divorced.
There is nothing the Amhara ruling class wouldn’t do on this earth to stay in power.
Up until the fall of Haileselassie at a high school level preparing for Matriculation (Ethiopian School Leaving Certification) the Ethiopian History subject taught began from Menelik, forget Aksum, forget the middle age.
The course started from Menelik for two obvious reasons. They would have loved to include the period of Emperor Theodore as they were desperate to have their own hero/s. Even though unverified sources claim Theodros was haft Kemant and Tigrayan – Weldegeorigies as his father. His second wife, Denqinesh, who begotten Alemayohu Theodros, was the granddaughter of Sebagadis Woldu of Agame, Tigray.
Be Theodros an Amhara as he may, beginning the history of Ethiopia from him would eventually lead to including Yohannes, the Amhara loath to do for fear of the truth. Let alone history the Amhara ruling elites failed deliberately to dedicate a road, school or a public institution under his name.
The second reason is obvious, if in fact Theodros was not an Amhara, they would expose themselves that they are fabricators of myths.
At a university level the subject of Aksum was offered for a term for History major/minor students.
But the lecturer, and the book he wrote about Aksum was degrading, and infantile absurd.
Just an example mentioning Queen Shaba, in his book he mentioned a python spat a venom and her leg turned into a hoof, she had difficulty to walk and hid from the public, until she travelled to Israel to Meet Solomon to heal her trouble. Leave the the obelisks, the artefacts, inscriptions, the coins etc and archaeological facts untouched and explored.
I will leave the judgment for you if this is history you teach students.
The history curriculum setting in the last century was built on false narrations, deliberate exclusion and blatant lies to degrade and dehumanise pre- Menilik historical icons..
Temesgn Kebede