[1] Prouty quotes Bairu Tafla's favorable opinion of Gugsa as "One of the most enlightened men of the Ethiopian nobility, a renowned poet, great lover of books, and pious and fair in the administration of Begemder.

"[2] Taytu Betul arranged the marriage of Gugsa Welle to Leult[nb 1] Zewditu, the eldest daughter of Emperor Menelek II and an earlier wife.

This led to the rumor that Empress Taytu and her brother, Ras Wale Betul, intended to move the capital to Gondar and make Welle the Emperor.

[4] However, the Shewan aristocracy agreed that their authority, positions and honors depended on obeying Menelik's wishes, and they united behind Lij Iyasu as the successor.

[6] However, once Iyasu was secure as Emperor the following year, Ras Gugsa was arrested "on a murder charge so patently false that he ultimately regained his freedom."

Zewditu begged Iyasu's short-lived Regent, Ras Tessema Nadew,[8] to ease conditions for Gugsa.

With Iyasu deposed, Zewditu became "Queen of Kings" and Empress of Ethiopia, and her young cousin Tafari Makonnen became heir to the throne and Regent of the Empire.

But the Shewan leadership, leery of a resurgence of the influence of Dowager Empress Taitu and her family, forced Gugsa to separate from Zewditu and he was sent to Gondar where he served once again as Governor of Begemder.