The End of Zemene Mesafint
With the rise of Kassa Hailu of Quara known as Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia came the end of Zemene Mesafint. Originally little more than a bandit or an outlaw, surviving in the Ethiopian marches against the Sudan, Kassa won his way to control of first one province of Ethiopia, Dembiya, then following a series of battles beginning with Gur Amba (27 September 1852) and ending with Battle of Derasge (1855), came to control all of Ethiopia. With imperial power once again in the hand of a single man, Tewodros, the Zemene Mesafint had ceased to exist, and the beginning of a centralized authority had commenced.
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