behind, and died fighting gamely, "like the fine old warrior that he was". According to Wylde, as he saw death come Ras Areya announced "that he was now old and done for, that his time had come, and it was useless at his age to serve another master that he knew little about, and it was better to die like a man fighting unbelievers, than like a mule in a stable." The Mahdists brought the Emperor's body back to their capital at Omdurman, where the head was put on a pike and paraded through the streets. On 2 May of the same year 1889, Emperor Menelik signed then the Treaty of Wuchale with the Italians which later on led to the Battle of Adwa. Descendants Although a group of Tigrean nobles led by Ras Alula attempted to promote the claim of Ras Mengesha Yohannes (the "natural" son of Yohannes) as Emperor, many of the dead monarch's other relatives on both the Enderta and Tembien sides of his family objected and went into open rebellion against Mengesha. Many refused to accept Ras Mengesha as the son of Yohannes, having long known him as his nephew. Tigray was torn assunder by the rebellions of various members of the Emperor's family against Mengesha and each other. Menelik of Shewa took advantage of Tigrean disorder, and after the Italians occupied Hamasien, (a district Yohannes IV had bestowed upon Ras Alula) he was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia as Menelik II. The death of Yohannes reduced the influence of Tigrayans in the Ethiopian government and opened the way for Italians to occupy more districts previously held by Tigrayan nobles. The seizures made by the Italians at this time ultimately resulted in the creation of the colony of Eritrea and the defeat of Italy at the Battle of Adwa at the hands of Emperor Menelik II. The Tigrean nobility retained influence at the Imperial court of Menelik and his successors, although not at the level they enjoyed under Yohannes IV. The descendants of Yohannes ruled Tigray as hereditary Princes until the Ethiopian Revolution and the fall of the monarchy in 1974 ended their rule. Araya Selassie Yohannes There are two lines of descent from Yohannes IV, one "legitimate" and one "natural." The legitimate line is through his elder son, Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes. Araya Selassie Yohannes was born to his wife Wolete Selassie. The son of Araya