TheBlack Lions (Amharic: ጥቁር አንበሳ;Tikur Anbessa) were ananti-fascistWorld War II resistance movement[1] formed to fight againstFascist Italy during theoccupation of theEthiopian Empire as part of the greaterArbegnoch resistance.[2][3]
Named after the genetically distinct[4] long and dark maned lions of theEthiopian Highlands commonly known asEthiopian Lions,Black-Maned Lions, or simplyTikur Ambessa[5] which had long served as a symbol of the empire, Bahru Zewde notes that in spite of its "marginal impact on the Resistance" the Black Lions made "eloquent attempts to give the struggle coherent ideological and political direction."[6] This influence lingers in the Ethiopian national psyche with them as a common topic of historical pride remembered in theBlack Lion Hospital, Tikur Anbessa High School, and more.
The movement was founded in western Ethiopia, and included fighters such as theShewanRas[nb 1]Abebe Aregai,[citation needed] and a number of intellectuals who included the sons of HakimWorkneh Eshete andHeruy Welde Sellase, andYilma Deressa.[7] Its chairman wasAlemework Beyene, a veterinary surgeon educated in Britain. The organization had a constitution consisting of ten points, which included: asserting the supremacy of the political sphere over the military, injunctions against mistreating peasants and prisoners of war, forbidding its members from seeking exile and urging them to prefer death to capture by the enemy.[8]
The group was effectively disbanded following the surrender of theRasImru Haile Selassie 18 December 1936.[9] The majority of its members were killed by the Italians following the unsuccessful attempt onRodolfo Graziani's life on19 February 1937.[10] The few survivors included Alemework and Yilma.
The Black Lions dominated the early resistance movement in Ethiopia. Members of the Black Lions included students from theHoleta Military Academy and foreign-educated Ethiopians. The military academy was founded in 1935 and is located inHoleta Genet.
The Black Lions convincedRasImru Haile Selassie to join them in the armed struggle since he was part of the dynamics that created the movement.Ras Imru was appointed byEmperorHaile Selassie asprince regent in his absence.Ras Imru was to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. To do this, he fell back toGore in southern Ethiopia. On 19 December 1936, after the Italians pinned him down on the north bank of theGojeb River,Ras Imru surrendered. The Black Lions organization then collapsed, and many of its members were executed.[11]
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