Menelik ll

(1844 –1913) was Negus (king) of Shewa (1866–89), then Nəgusä Nägäst (King of kings) of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. At the height of his power the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state had been completed by 1898. His victory over the Italian invaders at Adwa (1896) had earned him great fame: following Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia’s independence by external powers was expressed in terms of diplomatic representation at the court of Menelik and delineation of Ethiopia’s boundaries with the adjacent colonies.