Episode
Emperor Tewodros II: Ethiopia's Modernizer Who Defied Europe
- Published
- Jun 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 518
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Summary
For centuries, the Solomonic dynasty had ruled Ethiopia — but by the mid-19th century, the empire was fractured. Enter Kassa Hailu, a bandit turned emperor who took the name Tewodros II and set out to reunite Ethiopia by force. This episode follows his rise from a provincial warlord to the man who dreamed of modernizing his nation — building roads, forging a standing army, and even casting massive cannons out of scrap metal. But Tewodros's ambition clashed with the old nobility, the Orthodox Church, and eventually the British Empire. We explore the siege of Magdala, the emperor's tragic end, and how his legacy shaped the future of Ethiopia under Menelik II. Along the way, we meet his wife Empress Tiruwork Wube, the British consul Walter Plowden, and the disastrous mission of Hormuzd Rassam. This is the story of a ruler who tried to drag an ancient kingdom into the modern world — and paid the ultimate price. #TewodrosII #Ethiopia #Magdala #BattleOfMagdala #TiruworkWube #WalterPlowden #HormuzdRassam #SolomonicDynasty #Gondar #DebraTabor #BritishExpedition #NapierExpedition #Modernization #19thCentury #EastAfrica #History #FexingoHistory #AfricanHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo