Historedia
Episode 2 of 2

Relocation of Capital

When
1886
Where
Plains below Mount Entoto
Part of
Addis Ababa is founded in the Ethiopian Empire

Empress Taytu Betul persuaded Menelik II to move the capital from Mount Entoto to the plains, naming the new city Addis Ababa.

Empress Taytu Betul persuaded Emperor Menelik II to move the capital from the cold and windy Mount Entoto to the plains below. She named the new city Addis Ababa, which translates to 'new flower'. This decision was influenced by the unfavorable conditions of Entoto and the strategic advantages of the plains.

Sources

  1. Addis Ababa Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-07
  2. Taytu Betul Wikipedia, revision of 2026-04-26

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.