Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II

Wagshum Gobeze was born in the highland province of Lasta in the early nineteenth century, the son of Wagshum Gebre Medhin, hereditary ruler of Wag province, and Princess Ayichesh Tedla Hailu. Through his father he was heir to the ancient Zagwe line of Wag and Lasta; through his mother he carried Solomonic blood descending from Emperor Iyasu the Great of Gondar. This dual inheritance would one day underwrite his claim to the throne of all Ethiopia.

His path to power was forged in grief and defiance. His father was executed by Emperor Tewodros II, and in 1864 Gobeze raised the banner of rebellion in Lasta. As Tewodros's power crumbled, Gobeze gathered the northern provinces to himself. In August 1868 he was proclaimed Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II at Soqota in Wag, and crowned at Debre Zebit — the very place where his father had died — by the Echege Abba Gebre Iyasus, the metropolitan see then being vacant.

His reign was brief and contested. His chief rivals were Menelik, king of Shewa, and Dejazmach Kassai of Tigray. On 11 July 1871, at the Battle of Adwa, Tekle Giyorgis led a cavalry charge into Kassai's ranks; wounded and unhorsed, he was taken prisoner. Kassai rose in his place as Emperor Yohannes IV. Tekle Giyorgis was imprisoned, and died in captivity around 1873.

Though some chronicles pass lightly over his name, Tekle Giyorgis II reigned as a true Emperor of Ethiopia, a son of Lasta who bore both the Zagwe and Solomonic crowns. May his memory be held in honor.