Background
On 27 October 1928, thirty-two-years-old Ras Tafari Makonnen, the future Emperor Haile Selassie I, was crowned King. He was crowned by Empress Zewditu. Since 1916, during Tafari's minority, Zewditu had been Regent. As Regent, she exercised the real power in Ethiopia. The crowning of Tafari as King caused him to begin exercising power at the expense of Zewditu. His crowning also caused two factions to develop within the royal court: One faction was pro-Tafari and one faction was pro-Zewditu. The husband of Zewditu, fifty-three-year-old Ras Gugsa Welle, imagined a future where Zewditu remained Empress and he himself would be proclaimed Emperor. He was clearly the leader of the pro-Zewditu faction.
Within a month of Tefari being crowned King, the Raya Oromo revolted in Wollo Province. As King and with the tacit approval of the Empress, Negus Tafari called for the governors of several neighboring provinces to suppress the Oromo revolt. Ras Seyum Mangasha from Axum in western Tigre, Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie from Makalle in eastern Tigre, Dejazmach Ayalew Birru from Semien, and Ras Gugsa Welle from Begemder were called upon. Gugsa Welle and others were unhappy with the rise of Negus Tafari. As a result, the response to Tafari's call was less than enthusiastic, efforts to suppress the Oromo were dissipated in palace intrigue, and the revolt continued. A trusted cousin of Tafari, Ras Imru Haile Selassie, was made Shum of Wollo in an effort to end the revolt.
In addition to not being happy with the rise of Tafari, Gugsa Welle tried to rally "traditional Ethiopia" to his side in support of his wife, the Empress. In the opinion of this faction, Tafari was too young, too modern, and it was rumored that he had even secretly converted to Roman Catholicism. Gugsa Welle wrote letters to the leaders of Tigre and Gojjam seeking support for his revolt. He wrote to Ras Seyum Mangasha and Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie of Tigre and to Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam. All three initially appeared supportive. But, after reconsideration, none responded to the letters from Gugsa Welle and all three provincial leaders failed to join him. On the other hand, the rebelling Oromo did agree to join forces.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Anchem
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