Wossen Seged
Meridazmach of Shew
1775 CE to 1813 CE
Wossen Seged (ruled c. 1808 – June 1813) is a Meridazmach of Shewa, an important Prince of Ethiopia.
He is the elder son of Asfa Wossen, by a woman of the Solomonic dynasty.
He is the first ruler of Shewa to claim a higher title than Meridazmach, calling himself Ras.
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Henry Salt has explored the Cape of Good Hope, India, and the Red Sea area.
The son of Thomas Salt, a physician and Alice née Butt, Henry was born in Lichfield on June 14, 1780, as the youngest of their eight children.
He attended school in Lichfield, Market Bosworth, and finally in Birmingham under the teachings of his brother John Butt Salt.
He took an interest in portrait painting during his early life, studying under a water color artist named John Glover while in Lichfield and traveling in 1799 to London, where he first studied under Joseph Farington and later under John Hoppner.
After a time, he gave up being a portrait painter because he was unable to gain any substantial acclaim with his works.
After his time as a portrait painter, Salt was permitted to travel with the English nobleman George Annesley, Viscount Valentia as his secretary and draftsman after being recommended by Thomas Simon Butt.
They started on an eastern tour in June of 1802, traveling on the British East India Company's extra (chartered) ship Minerva to India via the Cape Colony.
Through their friendship, Valentia comes to describe Salt as a "secretary-draftsman" as Salt not only provides company for the Lord, but also sketches and illustrations of the various sites and scenes they encounter on their voyage.
In 1805, Valentia sends Salt on a journey into the Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) to meet with the ras of Tigré to open up trade relations on behalf of English.
While visiting there, Salt gains the respect of the ras of Tigré.
The son of Thomas Salt, a physician and Alice née Butt, Henry was born in Lichfield on June 14, 1780, as the youngest of their eight children.
He attended school in Lichfield, Market Bosworth, and finally in Birmingham under the teachings of his brother John Butt Salt.
He took an interest in portrait painting during his early life, studying under a water color artist named John Glover while in Lichfield and traveling in 1799 to London, where he first studied under Joseph Farington and later under John Hoppner.
After a time, he gave up being a portrait painter because he was unable to gain any substantial acclaim with his works.
After his time as a portrait painter, Salt was permitted to travel with the English nobleman George Annesley, Viscount Valentia as his secretary and draftsman after being recommended by Thomas Simon Butt.
They started on an eastern tour in June of 1802, traveling on the British East India Company's extra (chartered) ship Minerva to India via the Cape Colony.
Through their friendship, Valentia comes to describe Salt as a "secretary-draftsman" as Salt not only provides company for the Lord, but also sketches and illustrations of the various sites and scenes they encounter on their voyage.
In 1805, Valentia sends Salt on a journey into the Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) to meet with the ras of Tigré to open up trade relations on behalf of English.
While visiting there, Salt gains the respect of the ras of Tigré.
Henry Salt had returned to England on October 26, 1806, his journey home taking him through Egypt where he met the pasha Mehmet Ali.
Salt's paintings from the trip are used in Valentia's Voyages and Travels to India, published in 1809.
The originals of all the drawings were kept by Valentia, as also the copper plates after Salt's death
The format and style of the plates is similar to Thomas and William Daniell's work, "Oriental Scenery" (1795-1808).
Salt returns to Ethiopia in 1809 on a government mission to explore trade and diplomatic links with the Tigrayan warlord Ras Wolde Selassie.
Upon arrival, he is unable to meet with the king due to unrest in the country so instead he goes to stay with his friend the ras of Tigré.
During this venture, Salt takes on the side mission of verifying and correcting the information about the region reported by the Scottish traveler James Bruce many years earlier.
Salt's paintings from the trip are used in Valentia's Voyages and Travels to India, published in 1809.
The originals of all the drawings were kept by Valentia, as also the copper plates after Salt's death
The format and style of the plates is similar to Thomas and William Daniell's work, "Oriental Scenery" (1795-1808).
Salt returns to Ethiopia in 1809 on a government mission to explore trade and diplomatic links with the Tigrayan warlord Ras Wolde Selassie.
Upon arrival, he is unable to meet with the king due to unrest in the country so instead he goes to stay with his friend the ras of Tigré.
During this venture, Salt takes on the side mission of verifying and correcting the information about the region reported by the Scottish traveler James Bruce many years earlier.
The chronology of Shewa becomes stable during the reign of Wossen Seged.
One mention that helps date the Meridazmach's reign is that of Henry Salt, an English artist, traveler, collector of antiquities, diplomat, and Egyptologist, who mentions him as ruling Yifat (the contemporary name of Shewa, from "Ifat") during his visit to Ethiopia in 1809–1810.
One mention that helps date the Meridazmach's reign is that of Henry Salt, an English artist, traveler, collector of antiquities, diplomat, and Egyptologist, who mentions him as ruling Yifat (the contemporary name of Shewa, from "Ifat") during his visit to Ethiopia in 1809–1810.