He was a powerful emperor who unified Ethiopia and ruled a large area with numerous subjects. He also acquired modern weaponry for Ethiopia, including a heavy cannon of over 6 tons.
Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, was crowned on this day in 1855. He was a powerful emperor who unified Ethiopia and ruled a large area with many subjects. Namely, the Ethiopian Empire had, by then, already existed for around 700 years. Indeed, according to the belief, the Ethiopian emperors once claimed a lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the renowned Queen of Sheba from the Old Testament (the so-called Solomonic dynasty).
It is interesting that the Ethiopians are Christians by faith. Indeed their church today includes about 45,000,000 believers and is one of the largest Christian communities in the world after the Catholic Church. The Ethiopian Church is categorized as so-called pre-Chalcedonian church, which means that it differs even from the Orthodox churches.
Emperor Tewodros II unified and modernized Ethiopia. According to tradition, he gave audiences while sitting on a throne surrounded by live lions who lay around him as pets. He moved the capital city of the Empire from old Gondar in Debre Tabor (the name means Mount Tabor, which is a known toponym from the New Testament), and then to Magdala. Tewodros II acquired modern weaponry for Ethiopia, including a heavy cannon of over 6 tons, which was located in the new capital of Magdala.
