The Italians had taken over the port of Massawa, and where now threatening to go inland and take Ethiopia as their colony.
At the same time, the Mahdist of Sudan where attacking and wanted to take over Ethiopia as well. The Mahdist launched a Jihad on Ethiopia , they invaded Ethiopia. They attacked some of the local kings and some of them joined them, that was a slap in the face for Yohannis IV.
In 1889 Yohannis prepared a massive counter attack upon the Mahdist. The Ethiopians swept everything before them, but right before Victory, Yohannis IV was killed by a “direct” bullet, which wounded him fatally, and there after killed him. The Ethiopians, even though they were winning, fled into the mountains, giving the Mahdist the victory. The Mahdist took the body of the dead Emperor, which was left by the battle ground, and cut of his head, which was shown as a trophy of victory in the Mahdist Capital of Omdurman.
Now Emperor Menelik II was an emperor that did everything for his country and his country men.
The Italians were eager to find Menelik to make him join them, and help them bring down Emperor Yohannis IV. They gave Menelik large amounts of fire arms and ammunition, other arms came from the French which had given him access to loans from the French banks. He was now the strongest provincial king in Ethiopia, and when Emperor Yohannis IV was killed, he was automatically crowned Negus Negast (king of Kings). Immediately after he signed the treaty of Ucciali (Wuchiali) which he made the Italians write in both Italian and his language, after the treaty was signed, Italy went to the rest of Europe and told them that Ethiopia was one of their colonies. Menelik got angry with the Italians and told Europe that they where not under an Italian Colony, and that he had a treaty to prove it.
Menelik Denounced the Treaty of Wuchiali, and the Italians began to manipulate the northeren kings to join them in the fight against Menelik. They promised every provincial king the crown of Negus Negast, but nobody wanted to join them, because they knew that they would trick them. At the same time Menelik went all over Ethiopia and gathered troops to fight against the Italians. Menelik gathered more that 100.000 men all equipped with artillery , machine guns, and plenty supply of modern rifles, many of those weapons had been give to him by the Italians themselves, and other bought with the loans from the French banks.
Menelik marched north with his army against the Italians, they went into Eritrea. The Italians believed in themselves, they thought they had supreme fire power and thought they could do as Gen. Napier had done, and go all the way into Magdala, But they were wrong. The Italians where over runned by the massive Ethiopian army, that was the biggest European defeat in history in Africa. The battle of Adowa was a complete Ethiopian Victory. Italians where forced to face defeat and leave Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Menelik created the New Ethiopia, with the loans from the French Banks, he made schools, a hospital, etc. He reunited Ethiopia under one, and even until now, He is know as the king who took Ethiopia into the modern world.
