Mercha Wolde Kidan

Shum Tembien Mercha Wolde Kidan (Tigrinya: ምርጫ ወልደ ኪዳን, Mərcha Wäldä Kidan; 1820s – 1864/65) was the ruler of Tembien, a province of Tigray, and father of Kasa Mercha (later atse Yohannes IV).^[1] Mercha had his seat at Melfa in the mountainous Degwa Tembien.^[2] Due to his connections to the leading families of Tigray, he was regarded as one of the first nobles of the region. He himself, however, never acquired a central position within the Ethiopian power structure, but transmitted his own claims for rulership to his descendants.^[3]