Hiwot Baykedagn and Ato Hailemariam Serabyo, Atse Menelik decided to introduce European civilization to his country. Later life Whether Mersha Nahusenay held any official government positions before Menelik II became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889 remains unknown. What is evident from historical records is sometime in the early 1890s, at the age of about 40, he left his birthplace and settled in the Harar province. By then, Ankober had declined in part due to the rise of Addis Abeba (Addis Ababa), as the new capital of Ethiopia founded in 1886 by Menelik and his influential wife Empress Taytu Betul (1851–1918). Governor of Jaldessa and Head of Imperial Customs Mersha's relocation to Harar marked the beginning of his long and distinguished career. By some accounts as early as 1892, but surely by 1895, he was appointed governor of Jaldessa (Gildessa, Jildessa, Guildessa, Gheldessa), a historic and strategic district near the present city of Harar. According to one source., at the time, Jaldessa had approximately 6,000 inhabitants at the time compared to 8,000 in the port city of Djibouti and 30,000 in Harar. Not only was Jaldessa a frontier town to Menelik's empire, but it was also located along an important caravan route connecting Ethiopia with the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea coast. As a result, all visitors were required to pass through an armed and customs post established there by the Ethiopian authority and administered by Mersha. As chief of customs, Jaldessa Mersha oversaw the import of all goods. Caravans were stopped and inspected. Import duty of 10 per cent was levied on merchandise generating important revenue for the empire. The economic value of Jaldessa grew considerably after the port of Djibouti became operational. However, it sharply declined following the founding of Dire Dawa, in 1902. As governor, Mersha controlled and administered a vast area between Ethiopian borders with the French and British Somalilands and the Awash River. The territory was inhabited by Somalis, Oromos, Afars and other ethnic groups. He served under Ras Mekonnen Woldemichael (Makonnen Wolde Mikael), who was governor of Harar Province until his untimely death in 1906. The Armenian Serkis Terzian (1868–1915) served as governor of Jaldessa before him. Terzian, a personality well known to scholars of Ethiopian history, served Menelik in various capacities, including the import of arms and ammunition. Apparently, there was confusion at times about who owned what. On one occasion, Mersha