Tewodros II (Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, c. 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868.

In the first six years of his reign, the new ruler managed to put down these rebellions, and the empire was relatively peaceful from about 1861 to 1863, but the energy, wealth, and manpower necessary to deal with regional opposition limited the scope of Tewodros's other activities.

[5][6] The British Consul Walter Plowden knew well the political events of Ethiopia during the 1850s and had foretold the rising star of Kassa the freelance warrior from Qwara.

He is persuaded that he is destined to restore the glories of the Ethiopian Empire and to achieve great conquests: of untiring energy, both mental and bodily, his personal and moral daring is boundless...

His faith is signal: without Christ I am nothing.The French explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer Antoine Thomson D'Abbadie describes him during his stay in Ethiopia:[7] Kassa passed for being twenty-eight.

At the date of his assumption of the regal title, Theodore was thirty-seven years of age, of medium stature but possessing a well-knit muscular frame capable of ensuring any amount of fatigue – a noble bearing and a majestic walk – and he was the best shot, the best spearmen, the best runner, and the best horseman in Abyssinia.The French traveler Émile Jonveaux, described him as: The Négus Theodore, King of the kings of Ethiopia, had none of the insignia of sovereign majesty.

He was in all things the man of energy, the fierce hero, of whom M. Lejean, who knew him intimately enough to call him his "terrible friend," has traced so life-like a portrait.

They were both born kings of men; both endowed with military genius; both lovers of the mechanical arts; both possessed of dauntless courage; and, while capable of noble and generous acts, both were frequently guilty of perpetrating most horrible atrocities.

When Maru died in October 1827, his fiefdom was given (albeit begrudgingly) to Dejazmach Hailu by the governor of the province, Empress Menen Liben Amede.

[11] Her mother, Woizero Tishal, was a member of a noble family of Begemder, while her paternal grandfather, Ras Wodajo, was a powerful and highly influential figure.

It is thought that Tewodros II's paternal side of the family carried with it a slim margin of Solomonic pedigree, however insignificant it proved when compared to the more prominently illustrious ancestries of some of his highborn rivals.

In hard times, his enemies came up with a rumour that she was reduced to selling Kosso – a claim for which Kassa would go on to imprison Henry Aaron Stern for publishing during his reign.

Evidence indicates that Woizero Atitegeb was fairly well-to-do, and indeed had inherited considerable land holdings from her own illustrious relatives from which to lead a comfortable life.

During this era, regional princes, and noble lords of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds vied with each other for power and control of the Gondarine Emperor.

Kassa began his career in this era as a shifta (outlaw), but after amassing a sizable force of followers, was able to not only restore himself to his father's previous fiefdom of Qwara but was able to control all of Dembiya.

Moreover, he gained popular support by his benevolent treatment of the inhabitants in the areas he controlled: according to Sven Rubenson, Kassa "shared out captured grain and money to the peasants in Qwara and told them to buy hoes and plant.

[19] Although all sources and authorities believe that Kassa truly loved and respected his wife, his relationship with his new in-laws deteriorated largely because of the disdainful treatment he repeatedly received from the Empress Menen.

Kassa announced that he was deposing Emperor Yohannes III, and then marched on his greatest remaining rival, Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.

In 1837, he led a successful attack on Ottoman forces in the town of Gallabat and fought in the Battle of Wadkaltabu where he helped defeat an Egyptian raid.

However, Tewodros' request for her hand in marriage was seen by her family as an opportunity to get Dejazmatch Wube and his sons freed from imprisonment, and so they prevailed on her to marry the Emperor.

The British did not want to conduct a Christian "crusade" against Islam but instead to cooperate politically, strategically and commercially with the Ottoman Empire, Egypt and the Sudan.

[30] After two years had passed and Tewodros had not received a reply, he imprisoned Cameron, together with all the British subjects in Ethiopia and various other Europeans, in an attempt to get the queen's attention.

His prisoners included an Anglican missionary named Henry A. Stern, who had previously published a book in Europe describing Tewodros as a barbaric, cruel, unstable usurper.

A modern commentator states "When Tewodros preferred self-inflicted death to captivity, he deprived the British of this ultimate satisfaction and laid the foundation for his own resurrection as a symbol of the defiant independence of the Ethiopian.

Yet as Gobeze was unresponsive to these overtures, much preferring to acquire Tewodros's cannons, and the two Oromo queens could not reach an arrangement, Napier decided to destroy the fortress.

[30] Lieutenant Stumm, an eyewitness, described the discovery of Tewodros's body: Climbing a narrow rock stairway, we advanced quickly toward a second gate, through which we passed without meeting resistance.

A strange smile was on the remarkably young and attractive-looking face, and I was struck particularly by the finely drawn, boldly aquiline nose.After Tewodros has been buried, Napier allowed his troops to loot the citadel as a punitive measure; according to historian Richard Pankhurst, "fifteen elephants and almost 200 mules were required to carry away the booty".

[42] Tewodros had asked his wife, the Empress Tiruwork Wube, in the event of his death, to put his son, Prince Alemayehu, under the protection of the British.

The German observer Josef Bechtinger, who accompanied the expedition, wrote: Most of them, instead of thanking Providence for their final rescue – were not all happy with the new turn of events.

Ras Meshesha would remain a loyal friend of Emperor Menelik II until his death, and his descendants were regarded as among the highest nobility and the leading representatives of Tewodros' line.