the first ruler (1855–1868) in the modern era to try and unify the northern kingdoms. Included in Tewodros' vision also was the introduction of European-style civilization. His efforts were cut short however by internal resistance and external challenges as well as his untimely death. Emperor Yohannes (Yohannes IV) further pursued the unification agenda during his reign (1872–1889), but he was unfortunately killed in a war with Mahdist Sudan. Emperor Menelik II (1889–1913), his successor, the fortunate one to realize the dreams of his predecessors and much more. He succeeded in bringing together, under a central authority, northern and southern territories. Through a combination of diplomacy and military campaigns, he was able to create a new empire paving the way for the emergence of modern Ethiopia. Menelik's extraordinary achievements, including his leadership in the decisive victory over Italy at Adwa, in 1896, enabled him to put the country on the path to stability and modernization. According to the prominent Ethiopian historian Tekletsadiq Mekuria, Menelik's top priorities included: negotiating Ethiopia's borders with the three European colonial powers (i.e., France, Britain and Italy) who controlled much of Eastern Africa; securing access to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea as a way of improving trade relations with Europe and beyond; maintaining security and stability across the vast empire; implementing wide-ranging political, economic and social reforms; and building Ethiopia's image abroad. As will be seen below, Mersha was at the forefront of most, if not all, of these undertakings. He answered repeated calls for public service and rose to the occasion by taking on challenging tasks. More importantly, he was a strong advocate for reform and European-style modernization. The renowned Ethiopian historian Tekletsadiq Mekuria wrote in his book Atse Menilek and the Unity of Ethiopia: ስለዚህ ዐፄ ምኒልክ የነዚህንና የውጭ አገር ተወላጅ አማካሪዎች ምክር በመስማት እውጭ አገር ደርሰው መጠነኛ እውቀት እየቀሰሙ የተመለሱትን የነግራዝማች ዬሴፍን፤ የነነጋድራስ ዘውገን፤ የእነ አቶ አጥሜን፤ የነ አቶ መርሻ ናሁ ሠናይን፤ የነ ብላታ ገብረ እግዚአብሔርን፤ የነ ከንቲባ ገብሩን፤ የነአለቃ ታየን፤ የነ ነጋድራስ ገብረ ሕይወት ባይከዳኝን፤ የነ አቶ ኀይለ ማርያም ስራብዮንን፤ አስተያየት በማዳመጥ በአገራቸው የአውሮፓን ሥልጣኔ ለማስገባት ታጥቀው ተነሡ። English translation: Thus, after listening to the advice of these and other personal foreign advisors and taking into account the views of those who had travelled abroad and returned with limited knowledge such as Grazmach Yosef, Negaddras Zewge, Ato Atsme, Ato Mersha Nahusenay, Blata Gebre Egziabher, Kentiba Gebru, Aleqa Taye, Negadras Gebre