Skip to main content

Primary sourcePhotograph

Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul

A photograph of Emperor Menelik II seated with Empress Taytu Betul, his wife and political partner.

This photograph shows Menelik II seated with Empress Taytu, his wife and political partner in rule.

Ask Emperor Menelik II about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black-and-white photograph of two people seated side by side. On the left, a woman wears a light, loose garment and looks toward the camera. On the right, an older man wears a white turban, a white shawl, and a dark robe with embroidered trim.
Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul, photograph.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white photograph shows two seated figures: a woman in a light, loose garment on the left, and an older man in a white turban, white shawl, and dark embroidered robe on the right. The man is identified as Emperor Menelik II and the woman as Empress Taytu Betul.

Why it matters

Taytu Betul was far more than a consort: she opposed the Treaty of Wuchale, which Italy later used to claim a protectorate over Ethiopia, and she governed as regent when Menelik became too ill to rule. This photograph records the two of them together, a reminder that Ethiopian imperial power in this period was shared and contested within the royal household.

Look closer

  • What differences do you notice in how the two figures are dressed and posed?
  • Why might it matter that Taytu is shown seated beside the emperor rather than apart from him?
  • What does this image not tell us about Taytu's own political actions?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emperor Menelik II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Emperor Menelik II sources

Meet the AI Emperor Menelik II →
Engraved portrait of a bearded man wearing a dark skullcap with a light band, a high-collared embroidered garment, and a large white cross on a beaded cord around his neck. Printed caption below reads: Menelek, Prince of Shoa and Emperor of Abyssinia. Text columns from the book page surround the portrait.Painting

Primary source

Menelek II illustration from The Wars of the 'Nineties

1899

Black and white photograph of a bearded man seated on an ornate chair, wearing a tall jeweled crown with fringe, large earrings, and a heavily embroidered velvet robe. He holds a long staff topped with a knob and gazes to the side against a draped patterned backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Menelik II in Coronation Garb

Front page of the newspaper Le Petit Journal Supplément illustré, dated Sunday 28 August 1898. A colour illustration shows Emperor Menelik II on a white horse wearing a red cape and a feathered headdress, with armed followers behind him on rocky ground.Newspaper article

Primary source

Menelik - Adoua

F. Méaulle · 28 August 1898

Black-and-white photograph of a bearded man seated on an ornate throne, wearing a tall jeweled crown, an embroidered velvet robe with medals, and large earrings. He holds a long staff and looks to the side.Photograph

Primary source

Emperor Menelik II Enthroned

Two sides of a copper coin. Obverse: a bearded man in a tall ornate crown and cloak, facing right, with Ethiopian script around the rim. Reverse: Ethiopian script around a central inscription in a circle, with a small mark at the bottom and decorative stars.Artifact

Primary source

Matonya Coin of Menelik II

Jean Lagrange · 1897 (1889 Ethiopian calendar)

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Emperor Menelik II now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions