Governor of Wollo and longstanding friend of Menelik. Mikael had been born Mohammed Ali and was a Muslim until 1875, when he converted to Christianity by order of Yohannes IV in Boru meda council in order to stay in power.

Emperorship

Background

Late in his life, Emperor Menelik was confronted with the problem of his succession; if he did not explicitly name an heir before he died, the nation he had built would likely dissolve into civil war and be devoured by European colonial powers.

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