Taytu Betul

Taytu Betul was born circa 1851 into the aristocratic house of Semien and Begemder. Married to King Menelik II of Shewa in 1883, Empress Taytu was Menelik's most indispensable political and military strategist.

In 1886, she chose the location of Finfinne around natural hot springs to found Addis Ababa ('New Flower'). When Italian diplomats attempted to enforce Article XVII of the Wuchale Treaty to make Ethiopia an Italian protectorate, Taytu famously declared she would rather fight than accept vassalage. At the 1896 Battle of Adwa, she led her own corps of 3,000 infantry and cavalry, cutting off Italian water supplies at Mekelle and ensuring total African victory.