Zewditu I
| Zewditu | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Empress of Ethiopia | |
| Reign | 27 September 1916 – 2 April 1930 |
| Predecessor | Iyasu V |
| Successor | Haile Selassie I |
| Regent | Tafari Makonnen |
| Born |
29 April 1876 Werreyimenu, Wollo |
| Died | 2 April 1930 (aged 53) |
| Spouse |
Araya Selassie Yohannes (1882–1888) Gugsa Welle (1900–1930) |
| House | House of Solomon |
| Father | Menelik II |
| Mother | Weyziro Abechi |
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
Zewditu (also spelled Zawditu or Zauditu or Zäwditu; Ge'ez: ዘውዲቱ?; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. The first female head of an internationally recognized state in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first Empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire perhaps since the legendary Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir Ras Tafari Makonnen (who succeeded her as Emperor Haile Selassie I), about which she was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion. Zewditu was also the last Empress regnant in world history.
Baptised as Askala Maryam ("Askal of Mary," a type of flower), but using the given name Zewditu, the future Empress was the eldest daughter of the then Negus (or King) Menelik of Shewa, the future emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia. Zewditu is an Amharic word meaning "the Crown", though it sometimes appears erroneously Anglicized as "Judith", with which it is not cognate. Her mother, Weyziro (Lady) Abechi, was a noblewoman of Wollo and a brief companion of Menelek. Her mother had separated from Menelik when Zewditu was very young, and the future empress was raised by her father and his consort Baffana. Negus Menelik later married Taytu Betul, but had no children by this wife. Menelik had three acknowledged children: Zewditu herself, a son Asfaw Wossen who died in infancy, and another daughter Shewa Regga, the mother of Lij Iyasu, Menelik's eventual heir. However, the Emperor remained closest to Zewditu, who also had good relations with her stepmother Empress Taytu, and was part of her father's household for most of her life.
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