Tewodros was a powerful monarch who conquered many parts of Ethiopia and aimed to unite warring lords into a modern state. He too seized treasures on his many conquests.
The Golden Crown was likely taken from the Church of Our Lady of Qwesqwam in northern Gondar. The Church had been given the crown from a former ruler.
Tewodros’ collection in Maqdala was, in a sense, Ethiopia’s first national museum, according to Alula Pankhurst, a member of Ethiopia’s National Heritage Restitution Committee.
Historians described the king as graceful and courteous to nobles and paupers alike, but Tewodros also had a terrible rage. After his first wife, Tewabech Ali, died in 1858, more of that ferocious nature emerged.
The king, for example, ordered a massacre after John Bell, his European friend and trusted adviser, was killed during a military campaign.
