# Menelik II

> The Ethiopian emperor who handed Europe's scramble for Africa one of its most stunning defeats. At Adwa in 1896, Menelik II led over 100,000 troops against invading Italian forces and won outright — securing Ethiopia's independence when nearly every neighbor had fallen to colonial rule.

*Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Shewa (1844-1913)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/menelik-ii

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Politician
- **Category:** Politicians
- **Born:** 1844-08-17
- **Died:** 1913-12-12
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Born Sahle Maryam in Ankober in 1844, he was imprisoned at 11 by Emperor Tewodros II after his father's death and held at Magdala fortress until his escape in 1865. Returning to Shewa, he was acclaimed king and spent the next decade building power through European arms deals and conquest of southern territories — Oromo, Wolayta, Gurage lands — funding expansion with ivory, coffee, and slave trade revenue. After submitting to Emperor Yohannes IV in 1878, he ruled Shewa quasi-independently, took Harar in 1887, and was crowned emperor in 1889 following Yohannes's death at Metemma. He signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy that year, discovered the Italian version claimed a protectorate, rejected it in 1891, and crushed the subsequent invasion at Adwa on 1 March 1896. The victory forced European recognition and left him free to define borders, launch the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, and centralize the state with ministries and schools. Strokes from 1906 left him incapacitated; he died in 1913, leaving an empire at its greatest extent and a legacy split between resistance icon and architect of forced assimilation.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 60.5 / 100
- **Momentum:** 9.8 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 23.6 / 100
- **Now attention:** 5.0 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 60.0 / 100

## Topics
#Politicians, #Politician, #Politics, #19th Century

## Sources
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q244748)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Menelik%20II)
- [منليك الثاني](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%83_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A)
- [منليك التانى](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%83_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%89)
- [Menelik II](https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [ایکینجی منلیک](https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AC%DB%8C_%D9%85%D9%86%D9%84%DB%8C%DA%A9)
- [Менелік II](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA_II)
- [Menelik II d'Etiòpia](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II_d'Eti%C3%B2pia)
- [Menelik II.](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II.)
- [Menelik II.](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II.)
- [Μενελίκ Β΄](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%BA_%CE%92%CE%84)
- [Meneliko la 2-a (Etiopio)](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meneliko_la_2-a_(Etiopio))
- [Menelik II](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II.a](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II.a)
- [Menelik II d'Etiopía](https://ext.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II_d'Etiop%C3%ADa)
- [منلیک دوم](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D9%84%DB%8C%DA%A9_%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%85)
- [Menelik II](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II.](https://frr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II.)
- [Menelik II](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II](https://gpe.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [מנליק השני, קיסר אתיופיה](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A7_%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%99%2C_%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A8_%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%94)
- [Menelik II.](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II.)
- [Wikiquote](https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [Menelik II](https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_II)
- [ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ](https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%8B%B3%E1%8C%8D%E1%88%9B%E1%8B%8A_%E1%88%9D%E1%8A%92%E1%88%8D%E1%8A%AD)

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