Tewodros II

Tewodros II or Theodore II, 1818–68, emperor of Ethiopia (1855–68), originally named Kasa or Lij Kasa. He was a commoner and a bold and clever warrior. He seized control of his native province, Kawara (in NW Ethiopia), in 1842 and steadily fought his way to the throne. At first he attempted to abolish slavery and to encourage trade. In his last years, however, he became unrestrainedly cruel. In 1868, embroiled in a dispute with Great Britain over his imprisonment of British subjects, he committed suicide after being defeated near Magdala by a British rescue force under Robert C. Napier.

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Tewodros II

 or Theodore II

(born c. 1818—died April 13, 1868, Magela, Eth.) Emperor of Ethiopia (1855–68). Often called Ethiopia's first modern ruler, he came to the throne through the conquest of other chiefs. He reunified the various Ethiopian kingdoms into one empire, attempted to focus loyalty around the government rather than the Ethiopian church, and worked to abolish the feudal system. Though he failed in his aims, his example was followed by his successors. His reign ended when a British force under Robert Napier attacked in response to the imprisonment of several British citizens.