Tewodros II

Tewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. He was born Kassa Hailegiorgis. He was described as a 'romantic adventurer', a skillful and dauntless warrior, lion-like and an unselfish visionary. He had grown up fighting Ottoman-Egyptian invaders and was a Robin hood figure; while a bandit or Shifta against the tyrannical Royals, he would steal from the rich and give to the poor. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to the decentralized Zemene Mesafint.