Mersha belongs to a generation of Ethiopians who took advantage of the relative stability of the late 19th – early 20th century to implement a series of wide-ranging political, military, economic and social reforms, paving the way to the founding of present-day Ethiopia.

In addition to holding lands, churches at the time received considerable assistance from the royal palace[2] which they then used to provide key services to their members and communities, including the education of children.

Whether or not he had any siblings remains unknown although the name Mersha in the Amharic language often implies a parental wish or mechanism to cope with a traumatic experience such as the loss of a previous child.

Founded as a frontier outpost in the late-eighteenth century, fifty years later Ankober stood amidst a rich agricultural area and controlled the Red Sea trade through regional markets such as Aliyu Amba.

As a result, there was strong public interest in international affairs, foreign languages, history, geography and medicine, as well as the design, manufacturing and function of machines and tools as documented by missionaries.

The second half of the nineteenth century was a turning point in the sense that it marked the end a long period of deep divisions within and between the various kingdoms located in the northern part of the country known as the Era of Princes or Zemene Mesafint (1769–1855).

According to the prominent Ethiopian historian Tekletsadiq Mekuria,[5] Menelik's top priorities included: negotiating Ethiopia's borders with the three European colonial powers (i.e., France, Britain and Italy) who controlled much of Eastern Africa; securing access to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea as a way of improving trade relations with Europe and beyond; maintaining security and stability across the vast empire; implementing a wide-ranging political, economic and social reforms; and building Ethiopia's image abroad.

Not only was Jaldessa a frontier town to Menelik's empire, but it was also located along an important caravan route connecting Ethiopia with the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea coast.

For instance, in 1896, he hosted Cyrille Macaire (Kyrillos Makarios), a coptic Egyptian bishop who came as a special envoy of Pope Leo XIII to plead with Menelik to free the Italian prisoners from the battle of Adwa.

Despite robust diplomatic efforts by Menelik and his domestic as well as foreign advisors, there was a great deal of skepticism initially among many Europeans that Ethiopia was ready to embrace modernization.

In an interview that he gave to The New York Times, in 1898, Mondon defended Ethiopia's records and potential:[19] The country lends itself easily to civilization, and its organization, still encumbered by feudal relations, tends more and more to become modelled on the lines of European constitutional monarchies.

Menelek, powerful and respected, an enlightened reformer and administrator, who abolished slavery in his dominions, and dislikes fanatics to whatever sect they belong, has revealed himself as a really great sovereign, worthy of admiration by his conduct, as well as by the dignity of his character.

When the Djibouti railroad reached the Ethiopian border town of Dewele (Dawale), in July 1900, he represented the emperor at the inaugural ceremony attended by a delegation of the French government led by Gabriel Louis Angoulvant, acting governor-general of the French Somaliland as well representatives of shareholders and other domestic and foreign diplomats, including Ato Yosef Zagalan, the Ethiopian consul in Djibouti and a dear friend of Mersha.

[20] According to one source, emperor Menelik himself was to be present, but he changed his mind later in protest of the growing interference by the French government in the affairs of the Compagnie Imperiale d'Ethiopie to which he granted concession.

Spinner further observed: When the railroad connecting the Empire and the sea was projected, a route was naturally selected which should give the greatest advantages to commerce...A town was created at this point, to which was given the name Dire Douah, and it has already become an important business center....

In the meantime, Ato Märsha Nahusänay, the first governor, and his followers, cleared and settled an area of land across from Käzira on the opposite side of the Dächatu that was largely covered with dense brush and cacti then.

Historian Shiferaw Bekele noted:[27] The officials shared certain important characteristics which sharply set them apart from the general run of Ethiopian officialdom at the time… Almost in every province, one would meet one or two men who belonged to this category.

As early as September 1900, for example, Mr. J. Gerolimato, the British consul agent in Harar, sent the following message to his boss, James Hayes Sadler, the Consul-General of the British-Somaliland: Dear Sir: BEFORE yesterday, Atto Marcha, Governor of Jildessa, who was in Jibuti arrived here.

[39] But then in July 1916, a few months before his ouster, Iyasu took the unprecedented step of deposing Teferi from his governorship creating further tensions between them and leading to anger in a province traditionally governed by that family.

Suddenly, at the end of last July, Yasu left Adis Abeba for Harrar and came on to Jibuti on August 8th, where he renewed his protestations of friendship to M. Simoni, Governor of French Somaliland ....

His wife Tedeneqyalesh was the daughter of Ato Mekbeb (also Mekev, Makeb and Makbeb) who was converted to Catholicism in the late 1860s by the Italian missionary Cardinal Guglielmo Massaja or Abba Messias as he was known in Ethiopia.

Martial De Salviac, the French missionary who lived in Ethiopia at the end of the 19th century, wrote the following: The one which Menelik called 'a man of my confidence', that was Ato Makeb, officer of the royal house.

English translation: In the absence of Ras Mekonnen, kept by the Emperor in Addis Ababa, for the conclusion of the peace treaty with Italy was the Gerazmatch Banti who filled the delicate functions of governor.

He expressed in a cordial way his joy to see me, and after emptying the tedj or mead of friendship, he offered me hospitality at the residence of Ato Marcha, Chief of Customs of Gildessa, with all the children raised in the French Catholic Mission currently headed by the friendly Mgr André who was recently promoted Bishop.

In his autobiography, Captain Alemayehu Abebe, one of the pioneers of Ethiopian aviation and the first black African pilot of a commercial jet airliner, wrote:[51] አቶ መርሻ ከነቤተሰቦቻቸው በሐረር ከተማ የታወቁና የተከበሩ የካቶሊክ ሃይማኖት ተከታይ ስለነበሩ ምንሴኘር አንድሬ ዣሩሶ በሚያስተዳድሩት የካቶሊክ ሚሲዮን ገብቼ በአዳሪነት እንድማር ተደረገ English translation: Since Ato Mersha, along with his family, was a well-known and respected follower of the Catholic faith in the city Harar, I was allowed to attend the mission school headed by Mgr Andre Jarousseau.

In his book titled Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia: The reformist Intellectuals of the early twentieth century,[65] Professor Bahru Zewde describes the contributions of many historic personalities of that dynamic era.

[66] Fitawrari Tekle Hawariat Tekle-Mariam (1884–1977), who later became governor of Jigjiga; credited for founding Asebe Teferi; and is best known for playing a prominent role in the drafting of the 1931 constitution, was chief of the railway station briefly during Lij Iyasu.

We find the following interesting account in his autobiography,:[67] ጄልዴሳ ላይ ስንደርስ አቶ መርሻ ናሁ ሰናይ ከቤታቸው ወስደው ጋበዙኝ ። ያስቀሩኛል ብዬ ፈርቼ በቶሎ ወጣሁና ወደ ሰፈሬ ሮጥኩ ። ፀሓይ እንዳይጎዳኝ አስበው አቶ መርሻ ጥላ ገዝተው ሰጡኝ ። (ከወንድሜ ከሟቹ ገብረ ጻድቅ ጋር በጣም ይፋቀሩ ነበር) (p. 78) English translation: When we arrived at Jaldessa, Ato Mersha invited me for lunch at his residence.

The last few decades of the 19th century marked the beginning of a long period of modernization in Ethiopian history in the sense that they opened the door to new ways and better conditions of life and work.

Despite some serious setbacks in the two decades after the 1974 popular revolution, primarily due to severe droughts and civil war but also poor policy choices, the country underwent a radical transformation.