Tewodros
Tewodros II, born Kassa Hailu (c. 1818–1868), was emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 to 1868. He is traditionally viewed as the ruler who ended the Zemene Mesafint, a long period of regional warlords and fractured authority, and who attempted to unify the Ethiopian Empire under a centralized, modernizing state.
Kassa Hailu emerged as a regional strongman in the Amhara and Begemder highlands. Through a combination of
Tewodros II pursued centralization of authority, replacing many powerful provincial leaders with his own governors and
Conflict with foreign powers and death
In the mid-1860s, Tewodros II detained several European nationals and a number of British subjects at his
Tewodros II is remembered as a key architect of Ethiopian statehood who initiated efforts toward centralization