| Royal Title: | Ruler |
| Realm: | Shewa |
| Border: | provincial |
| Coatofarmssize: | 120px |
| First Monarch: | Abeto Negasi Krestos |
| Last Monarch: | James Matos Sahle Mariam |
| Style: | His Majesty |
| Residence: | Ankober Debre Birhan Qundi (1808–1813) Doqaqit (1745–1805) Yifat |
| Appointer: | Hereditary |
| Began: | 1682 |
| Ended: | 10 March 1889 |
This article lists the rulers of Shewa, a historical region of Ethiopia.
According to tradition, the Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974) was descended from king Solomon and queen Makeda via the kings of Axum. After Axum was destroyed by Gudit in the 10th century, the royal family fled to Shewa and reigned there for 330 years before the accession of Yekuno Amlak.[1] A line of kings ruled at Shewa during the time of the Zagwe dynasty and claimed descent from Dil Na'od, the last king of Axum.[2] The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia includes eight unnumbered kings described as "8 generations of an Israelitish dynasty" who "did not mount the throne".[3]
| width=60px | Portrait | Ruler | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahbara Wedem | c. 960 | |||
| Agbea Tseyon | ||||
| Tsenfa Arad | ||||
| Nagash Zare | ||||
| Asfeh | ||||
| Yakob | ||||
| Bahr Asagad | ||||
| Asgud | Additional name found on one regnal list quoted by Egyptologist Henry Salt.[4] | |||
| Edem Asagad | c. 1210–1255[5] | |||
| Yekuno Amlak | c. 1255–1270 | Defeated the last Zagwe king and became Emperor of Ethiopia (r. 1270–1285). |
Claiming Solomonic descent, Negasi Krestos established Shewa as an autonomous region of the weakening Ethiopian Empire in the 17th century before requesting the title of Meridazmatch, which would be adopted by his successors, and beginning a southern expansion of his realm that would culminate in his descendant Menelik's Expansions.
| Portrait | Ruler | Reign | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negasi Krestos | 1682 – 1703 | Abeto | ||
| Sebestyanos | 1703 – 1718 | Merid Azmach | ||
| Kidane Kale (Abuye) | 1718 – 1744 | Merid Azmach | ||
| Amha Iyasus (Amhayes) | 1744 – 1775 | Merid Azmach | ||
| Asfaw Wossen | 1775 – 1808 | Merid Azmach | ||
| Wossen Seged | 1808 – June 1813 | Merid Azmach and Ras | ||
| Sahle Selassie | 12 June 1813 – 22 October 1847 | Merid Azmach, after 1839 Negus | ||
| Haile Melekot | 22 October 1847 – 9 November 1855 | Negus | ||
| Sahle Mariam | 9 November 1855 – 1856 | First reign as Negus | ||
| Haile Mikael | 1856 to 1859 | son of Sahle Selassie, appointed Meridazmach by Emperor Tewodros II | ||
| Bezabeh | 1859 | First reign, appointed by Emperor Tewodros II | ||
| Seyfe | 1859 – 1860 | Son of Sahle Selassie, self-appointed Merid Azmach against Emperor Tewodros II | ||
| Bezabeh | 1860 – 1865 | Second reign, restored by Emperor Tewodros II | ||
| Sahle Mariam | August 1865 – 10 March 1889 | Second reign as Negus, became Emperor Menelik II |