The Zemene Mesafint, which in a span of eighty-six years saw twenty-three emperors occupy the throne (some were placed on and removed from the throne numerous times) came to an end with the rise of Kassa Hailu – better with by his later throne name of Tewodros II of Ethiopia. Kassa won his way to control the imperial throne first by occupying Dembiya, then following a series of battles beginning with Gur Amba (27 September 1852) and ending with Battle of Derasge (1855), came to control all of Ethiopia. More importantly, with his triumph over Ras Ali II at the Battle of Ayshal, Kassa Hailu ended the Wara Sheh dynasty, and with imperial power once again in the hands of a single man, the Zemene Mesafint is considered to have ended and the history of Modern Ethiopia to have begun.[1][2]