The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first and only empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire, her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir Ras Tafari Makonnen (who succeeded her as Emperor Haile Selassie I), about which she was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion.

[3] Empress Zewditu sought to maintain Ethiopia's traditional values during her reign through a series of conservative policies, resisting rapid modernization.

Ascending to the throne in 1916 after the deposition of Emperor Iyasu V, she was supported by conservative factions and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, who saw her as a stabilizing figure.

Her rule was characterized by efforts to uphold Ethiopian traditions and the Orthodox Christian faith, contrasting with the modernizing ambitions of her regent, Ras Tafari Makonnen, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie.

During her reign, Ethiopia experienced political manoeuvring, with Ras Tafari pushing for reforms and international diplomacy, creating a dual power dynamic that defined her rule.

[9] The death of Empress Zewditu in 1930, under circumstances that remain somewhat unclear, marked the end of an era and paved the way for Ras Tafari to become Emperor Haile Selassie.

However, the Emperor remained closest to Zewditu, who also had good relations with her stepmother, the Empress Taytu, and was part of her father's household for most of her life.

In a sign of his high regard and affection for his daughter-in-law, Emperor Yohannes IV sent Zewditu back to Shewa with a large gift of valuable cattle, at a time when relations between him and her father were at a particularly low point.

Menelik died in 1913, and Lij Iyasu, the son of Zewditu's half-sister Shewa Regga, who had been publicly declared heir apparent in 1909, took the throne.

Instead, her cousin Ras Tafari Makonnen was appointed regent, and her father's old loyal general, Fitawrari Hapte Giorgis Dinagde was made commander-in-chief of the army.

In an attempt to limit her influence, the aristocracy arranged for her nephew – Zewditu's husband Ras Gugsa Welle – to be appointed to a remote governorship, removing him from court.

Increasingly, the Empress retreated from state responsibility into a world of fasting and prayer, whilst the progressive elements that surrounded the heir, Tafari Makonnen, gained in strength and influence at court.

The Negus was paraded through the streets of Addis Ababa in chains, carrying a rock of repentance on his shoulders, before entering the throne room and kissing the Empress's shoes to beg for her mercy.

After years on the run, Iyasu was later captured by Dejazmach Gugsa Araya Selassie, the son whom Zewditu's first husband had fathered by another woman.

Gugsa Araya was rewarded with the title of Ras from his former stepmother, and with Princess Yeshashework Yilma, the niece of Tafari Makonnen, as his bride.

When Iyasu was captured, a tearful Empress Zewditu pleaded that he be kept in a special house on the grounds of the palace, where she would see to his care and he could receive religious counsel.

She did, however, ensure that special favorite foods and a constant supply of clothing and luxuries reached Iyasu at his place of arrest in Sellale.

As Empress Zewditu's reign progressed, the difference in outlook gradually widened between her and her appointed heir, Ras Tafari Makonnen.

Some diplomatic sources in Addis Ababa reported at the time that the fever-stricken Empress was immersed in a large container of frigidly cold holy water to cure her of her illness, but that her body went into shock, and she died shortly thereafter.