Iyoas (Joas) - Adyam Sagad (Throne Name)
26 June 1755 to 7 May 1769
Iyoas I or Joas I (Ge'ez ኢዮዋስ, throne name Adyam Sagad, Ge'ez አድያም ሰገድ, "to whom the confines of the earth bow") (1755 – 14 May 1769) was nəgusä nägäst (27 June 1755 – 7 May 1769) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the infant son of Iyasu II and Wubit (Welete Bersabe), the daughter of an Oromo chieftain of the Yejju district.Iyoas and MentewabDespite his extreme youth, he was the candidate proposed by Empress Mentewab, his grandmother, who then acted as his regent. Her proposal was supported by the great nobles of the reign, Ras Wolde Leul her brother, Waragna, Ayo governor of Begemder, and Ras Mikael Sehul.[1] One handicap with this tactic of ruling through a proxy, as Richard Pankhurstpoints out, was that neither Iyoas, due to his age, nor Empress Mentewab, due to her sex, could operate far from the capital city of Gondar, and relied on Waragna and her brothers to lead many of the military campaigns.[2] The very first challenge to Iyoas' rule, when Nanna Giyorgis rebelled in Damot out of envy for Waragna's increased influence in the court, had to be suppressed by a force led by Waragna and the Empress' brother Grazmach Eshte.[3]
Another problem grew from Mentewab's arrangement of the marriage of her son to Wubit, the daughter of an Oromo chieftain. Iyasu II gave precedence to his mother and allowed her every prerogative as a crowned co-ruler, while his wife Wubit suffered in obscurity. Wubit waited for the accession of her own son to make a bid for the power wielded for so long by Mentewab and her relatives from Qwara Province.
When Iyoas assumed the throne upon his father's sudden death, the aristocrats of Gondar were stunned to find that he more readily spoke in the Oromo language rather than in Amharic, and favored his mother's Yejju relatives over the Qwarans of his grandmothers family.[4] His preference of the Oromo only increased when Iyoas reached adulthood. He assembled a Royal Guard with 3000 of that people, and put his Oromo uncles Birale and Lubo, the brothers of Wubit, in command of them. On the death of the Ras of Amhara province, he attempted to promote his uncle Lubo governor of that province, but the outcry led his uncle Wolde Leul to convince him to change his mind.[5]
In 1764 Ras Mikael Sehul returned to the capital city of Gondar in 1764, and convinced Iyoas to support Badi abu Shalukh, the exiled king of Sennar. Iyoas made Badi governor of Ras al-Fil along the border with Sennar, and Wolde Leul advised Badi to remain in Ras al-Fil; however the exiled king was lured back into Sennar where he was quietly executed.[5]
Not long after this, Iyoas' great uncle Wolde Leul died (March 1767), which James Bruce described was the signal for all parties to engage in a civil war. The two sides were roughly aligned around the two rival Dowager Empresses, Mentewab and Wubit (Welete Bersabe). "Nothing had withheld them but his prudence and authority."[6] The anti-Oromo party found their champion in Ya Mariam Bariaw, the son of Ayo (who had helped to make Iyoas Emperor) and governor of Begemder, and who was supported by Grazmach Eshte. The Grazmach was made governor of Damot whose governor, Waragna, had died some years before. However, the Jawa Oromo inhabiting Damot preferred to be ruled by Waragna's son Fasil; whenGrazmach Eshte arrived in Damot, he was assassinated and Fasil proclaimed governor in his place; according to Bruce, Iyoas' uncles Birale and Lubo convinced him to confirm Fasil in that position.[7]
At this point, Ya Mariam Bariaw's pride led to his losing the governorship of Begemder, replaced by the Emperor's Oromo uncle Birale. Because the governorship of Begemder included being custodian of Mount Wehni, Ya Mariam Bariaw was horrified at the prospect of a pagan outsider holding this important trust, and is said to have begged the Emperor to instead appoint any other Christian ruler to this post. (Or so a document later published by Ras Mikael Sehul, and according to Bruce, at the instigation of Aster Iyasu, the daughter of Empress Mentewab.)[8] Despite the outcry of the non-Oromo elite, and Ya Mariam Bariaw's pledge to stop Birale at the Well of Fernay, Iyoas persisted in his decision, and sent his bodyguard to assist Birale's own followers to assume the government of Begemder. In the ensuing battle Ya Mariam Bariaw was victorious, but despite his explicit orders that Birale should either be captured or allowed to escape, his opponent was killed. Upon learning this, Ya Mariam Bariaw predicted, "Michael, and all the army of Tigre, will march against me before autumn."[9]
Enter Ras MikaelOnce he learned of the death of his uncle Birale, Iyoas sent to Ras Mikael Sehul for help. Ras Mikael had established himself as the most powerful lord of Ethiopia, at one point having amassed some 6,000 matchlocks -- six times the total number in the rest of Ethiopia.[10] Ras Mikael first replied to the envoys that the Emperor's conduct would "end in the ruin of his family, and the state in general." Then, although extolling Ya Mariam Bariaw as "the only man in Abyssinia that knew his duty, and had courage to persevere in it", immediately set forth for Gondar, "his army encumbered by no baggage, not even provisions, women or tents, nor useless beasts of burden." He marched swiftly through Wegera, cutting a swath of destruction as he marched for the capital. However, instead of taking Gondar by storm, the Ras simply took control of the city's sources of water and every entrance into Gondar; as Bruce puts it, "he intended to terrify, but to do no more."[11] The day after his arrival, Ras Mikael visited the Emperor Iyoas, then his mother. After establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of the capital, marched on Ya Mariam Bariaw from Gondar to Begemder—only after insisting that the Emperor be the leader of this expedition, at least in name.[12]
Upon learning of this new army, Ya Mariam Bariaw, who had remained near the site of his victory, fell back into Begemder, first to Filakit Gereger, then to Nefas Mewcha "in the farthest limits of his province" (in Bruce's words) where the armies met.[13] In the battle that followed Ya Mariam Bariaw was defeated, and severely wounded; he fled to the nearby province of the Wollo Oromo, who returned him to Iyoas with twelve of his principal officers. Although it appeared that the Emperor, moved by the pitiful sight of Ya Mariam Bariaw covered with blood from his open wound lying supine before him, was about to pardon this rebel, his uncle Lubo spoke up and demanded, as was his right by traditional Ethiopian law, for Maryam Bariya to delivered to him for what punishment he believed was appropriate; Lubo killed the noble himself by slitting Ya Mariam Bariaw's throat. Shocked at this at, the Emperor's own officers allowed the other twelve captives, who included Wand Bewossen, to escape.[14]
The murder of Ya Mariam Bariaw only deepened Ras Mikael's scorn for Iyoas. Eventually Mikael Sehul deposed the Emperor Iyoas (7 May 1769); one week later, Mikael Sehul had him killed. Although the details of his death are contradictory, the result was clear: for the first time an Emperor had lost his throne in a means other than his own natural death, death in battle, or voluntary abdication. Mikael Sehul had compromised the power of the Emperor, and from this point forward it lay ever more openly in the hands of the great nobles and military commanders. As Edward Ullendorff notes,
It is this period, from 1769 to the beginning of Theodore's reign in 1855, that is called by Ethiopian tradition the time of the masafent ("judges"), for it resembled very closely the era of the Old Testament judges when "there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes".[15]Both the Empress Mentewab and his mother Wubit were devastated at the death of Iyoas. Empress Mentewab was distraught at the death of her grandson. She arranged for him to be buried at her retreat at Qusquam, and retired permanently to her palace there, refusing to return to the capital for the rest of her life. Although she lived through the next three reigns, she played a minimal role in them.
Another problem grew from Mentewab's arrangement of the marriage of her son to Wubit, the daughter of an Oromo chieftain. Iyasu II gave precedence to his mother and allowed her every prerogative as a crowned co-ruler, while his wife Wubit suffered in obscurity. Wubit waited for the accession of her own son to make a bid for the power wielded for so long by Mentewab and her relatives from Qwara Province.
When Iyoas assumed the throne upon his father's sudden death, the aristocrats of Gondar were stunned to find that he more readily spoke in the Oromo language rather than in Amharic, and favored his mother's Yejju relatives over the Qwarans of his grandmothers family.[4] His preference of the Oromo only increased when Iyoas reached adulthood. He assembled a Royal Guard with 3000 of that people, and put his Oromo uncles Birale and Lubo, the brothers of Wubit, in command of them. On the death of the Ras of Amhara province, he attempted to promote his uncle Lubo governor of that province, but the outcry led his uncle Wolde Leul to convince him to change his mind.[5]
In 1764 Ras Mikael Sehul returned to the capital city of Gondar in 1764, and convinced Iyoas to support Badi abu Shalukh, the exiled king of Sennar. Iyoas made Badi governor of Ras al-Fil along the border with Sennar, and Wolde Leul advised Badi to remain in Ras al-Fil; however the exiled king was lured back into Sennar where he was quietly executed.[5]
Not long after this, Iyoas' great uncle Wolde Leul died (March 1767), which James Bruce described was the signal for all parties to engage in a civil war. The two sides were roughly aligned around the two rival Dowager Empresses, Mentewab and Wubit (Welete Bersabe). "Nothing had withheld them but his prudence and authority."[6] The anti-Oromo party found their champion in Ya Mariam Bariaw, the son of Ayo (who had helped to make Iyoas Emperor) and governor of Begemder, and who was supported by Grazmach Eshte. The Grazmach was made governor of Damot whose governor, Waragna, had died some years before. However, the Jawa Oromo inhabiting Damot preferred to be ruled by Waragna's son Fasil; whenGrazmach Eshte arrived in Damot, he was assassinated and Fasil proclaimed governor in his place; according to Bruce, Iyoas' uncles Birale and Lubo convinced him to confirm Fasil in that position.[7]
At this point, Ya Mariam Bariaw's pride led to his losing the governorship of Begemder, replaced by the Emperor's Oromo uncle Birale. Because the governorship of Begemder included being custodian of Mount Wehni, Ya Mariam Bariaw was horrified at the prospect of a pagan outsider holding this important trust, and is said to have begged the Emperor to instead appoint any other Christian ruler to this post. (Or so a document later published by Ras Mikael Sehul, and according to Bruce, at the instigation of Aster Iyasu, the daughter of Empress Mentewab.)[8] Despite the outcry of the non-Oromo elite, and Ya Mariam Bariaw's pledge to stop Birale at the Well of Fernay, Iyoas persisted in his decision, and sent his bodyguard to assist Birale's own followers to assume the government of Begemder. In the ensuing battle Ya Mariam Bariaw was victorious, but despite his explicit orders that Birale should either be captured or allowed to escape, his opponent was killed. Upon learning this, Ya Mariam Bariaw predicted, "Michael, and all the army of Tigre, will march against me before autumn."[9]
Enter Ras MikaelOnce he learned of the death of his uncle Birale, Iyoas sent to Ras Mikael Sehul for help. Ras Mikael had established himself as the most powerful lord of Ethiopia, at one point having amassed some 6,000 matchlocks -- six times the total number in the rest of Ethiopia.[10] Ras Mikael first replied to the envoys that the Emperor's conduct would "end in the ruin of his family, and the state in general." Then, although extolling Ya Mariam Bariaw as "the only man in Abyssinia that knew his duty, and had courage to persevere in it", immediately set forth for Gondar, "his army encumbered by no baggage, not even provisions, women or tents, nor useless beasts of burden." He marched swiftly through Wegera, cutting a swath of destruction as he marched for the capital. However, instead of taking Gondar by storm, the Ras simply took control of the city's sources of water and every entrance into Gondar; as Bruce puts it, "he intended to terrify, but to do no more."[11] The day after his arrival, Ras Mikael visited the Emperor Iyoas, then his mother. After establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of the capital, marched on Ya Mariam Bariaw from Gondar to Begemder—only after insisting that the Emperor be the leader of this expedition, at least in name.[12]
Upon learning of this new army, Ya Mariam Bariaw, who had remained near the site of his victory, fell back into Begemder, first to Filakit Gereger, then to Nefas Mewcha "in the farthest limits of his province" (in Bruce's words) where the armies met.[13] In the battle that followed Ya Mariam Bariaw was defeated, and severely wounded; he fled to the nearby province of the Wollo Oromo, who returned him to Iyoas with twelve of his principal officers. Although it appeared that the Emperor, moved by the pitiful sight of Ya Mariam Bariaw covered with blood from his open wound lying supine before him, was about to pardon this rebel, his uncle Lubo spoke up and demanded, as was his right by traditional Ethiopian law, for Maryam Bariya to delivered to him for what punishment he believed was appropriate; Lubo killed the noble himself by slitting Ya Mariam Bariaw's throat. Shocked at this at, the Emperor's own officers allowed the other twelve captives, who included Wand Bewossen, to escape.[14]
The murder of Ya Mariam Bariaw only deepened Ras Mikael's scorn for Iyoas. Eventually Mikael Sehul deposed the Emperor Iyoas (7 May 1769); one week later, Mikael Sehul had him killed. Although the details of his death are contradictory, the result was clear: for the first time an Emperor had lost his throne in a means other than his own natural death, death in battle, or voluntary abdication. Mikael Sehul had compromised the power of the Emperor, and from this point forward it lay ever more openly in the hands of the great nobles and military commanders. As Edward Ullendorff notes,
It is this period, from 1769 to the beginning of Theodore's reign in 1855, that is called by Ethiopian tradition the time of the masafent ("judges"), for it resembled very closely the era of the Old Testament judges when "there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes".[15]Both the Empress Mentewab and his mother Wubit were devastated at the death of Iyoas. Empress Mentewab was distraught at the death of her grandson. She arranged for him to be buried at her retreat at Qusquam, and retired permanently to her palace there, refusing to return to the capital for the rest of her life. Although she lived through the next three reigns, she played a minimal role in them.
Yohannes II of Ethiopia
7 May to 18 October 1769
Yohannes II or John II (Ge'ez ዮሓንስ) was nəgusä nägäst (7 May – 18 October 1769) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I, and brother of Emperors Tekle Haymanot, Dawit III and Bakaffa.
According to James Bruce, during the reign of his brother Bakaffa, the Emperor had vanished from view and a rumor circulated that Bakaffa had died. Qegnazmach Giyorgis acted on this by bringing Yohannes down from the royal prison on Wehni to rule, but before Yohannes could be proclaimed emperor, Bakaffa revealed himself and ordered the two men punished for their presumption, Giyorgis with dead and Yohannes by having his hand cut off.[1] However, in his edition of Bruce's work Alexander Murray replaced Bruce's words with a summary of the Royal Chronicle, which records Yohannes had lost his hand for escaping from Wehni prior to this event, and instead, along with the other royal prisoners of Wehni, had refused to descend and be made Emperor.[2]
Following the murder of Iyoas I, Ras Mikael Sehul summoned from Wehni the Emperor's elderly great-uncle, Yohannes, and presented him to the royal council as his choice for Emperor. When one of the council pointed out that Yohannes lacked one of his hands (it had been cut off in punishment for attempting to escape from Wehni), Mikael replied that if Yohannes needed help mounting his horse, he himself would help Yohannes.
Mikael married Yohannes to Mikael's own young granddaughter, Waletta Selassie.
Yohannes' reign is succinctly recounted by E. A. Wallis Budge:
John hated all military matters, and refused to march with the army, and after hiding himself begged Michael to send him back to Wahni. Michael was bound to march with his troops, but seeing it would be fatal for his plans to leave a king like John in Gondar, he had him poisoned one morning at breakfast time.[3]
According to James Bruce, during the reign of his brother Bakaffa, the Emperor had vanished from view and a rumor circulated that Bakaffa had died. Qegnazmach Giyorgis acted on this by bringing Yohannes down from the royal prison on Wehni to rule, but before Yohannes could be proclaimed emperor, Bakaffa revealed himself and ordered the two men punished for their presumption, Giyorgis with dead and Yohannes by having his hand cut off.[1] However, in his edition of Bruce's work Alexander Murray replaced Bruce's words with a summary of the Royal Chronicle, which records Yohannes had lost his hand for escaping from Wehni prior to this event, and instead, along with the other royal prisoners of Wehni, had refused to descend and be made Emperor.[2]
Following the murder of Iyoas I, Ras Mikael Sehul summoned from Wehni the Emperor's elderly great-uncle, Yohannes, and presented him to the royal council as his choice for Emperor. When one of the council pointed out that Yohannes lacked one of his hands (it had been cut off in punishment for attempting to escape from Wehni), Mikael replied that if Yohannes needed help mounting his horse, he himself would help Yohannes.
Mikael married Yohannes to Mikael's own young granddaughter, Waletta Selassie.
Yohannes' reign is succinctly recounted by E. A. Wallis Budge:
John hated all military matters, and refused to march with the army, and after hiding himself begged Michael to send him back to Wahni. Michael was bound to march with his troops, but seeing it would be fatal for his plans to leave a king like John in Gondar, he had him poisoned one morning at breakfast time.[3]
Tekle Haymanot II of Ethiopia (Admas Sagad III Throne name)
18 October 1769 to June 1770
Tekle Haymanot II (Ge'ez ተክለ ሃይማኖት, "Plant of the faith"; 1754 – 7 September 1777) was nəgusä nägäst as Admas Sagad III (Ge'ezአድማስ ሰገድ "to whom the horizon bows"; 18 October 1769 – 13 April 1777) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes II by Woizero Sancheviyar, at the Imperial prison of Mount Wehni.
The Scots explorer James Bruce (who was in Ethiopia from September 1769 to November 1771) described his appearance as follows:
He was a prince of a most graceful figure, tall for his age, rather thin, and of the whitest shade of Abyssinian colour, for such are all those princes that are born in the mountain. He was not so dark in complexion as a Neapolitan or Portugueze, had a remarkably fine forehead, large black eyes, but which had something very stern in them, a straight nose, rather of the largest, thin lips, and small mouth, very white teeth and long hair. His features, even in Europe, would have been thought fine. he was particularly careful of his hair, which he dressed in a hundred different ways. ... he had an excellent understanding, and prudence beyond his years. He was said to be naturally of a very warm temper, but this he had so perfectly subdued, as scarcely ever to have given an instance of it in public. He entred into Ras Michael's views entirely, and was as forward to march out against Fasil, as his father had been averse to it.[1]ReignTekle Haymanot became Emperor at the age of 15 when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras Mikael Sehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at theBattle of Faggeta on 9 December 1769. He lost the throne briefly in 1770 when he and Ras Mikael left the capital city of Gondar for Tigray, and Susenyos II was made Emperor by rival warlords in Gondar, but regained it when Ras Mikael returned to Gondar on 23 December of that year.
Upon returning to the capital, Ras Mikael immediately killed a troop of travelling actors who had performed a satire of him. A number of former rebels, who had switched sides, brought to him a number of prisoners, including the Aqabe sa'at Abba Salama; after a show trial, Ras Mikael had them brutally executed. In the days that followed, Ras Mikael wrought his vengeance on all who had opposed him; as James Bruce wrote:
Fifty-seven people died publicly by the hand of the executioner in the course of a few days; many disappeared, and were either murdered privately, or sent to prisons, no one knew where. The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the courtyard the head and arms of killed men … the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyaenas in hundreds from the neighbouring mountains; and, as few people in Gondar go out after dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants.[2]The next year saw Ras Mikael Sehul defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa against his adversaries near Teda in May, which forced the Ras to retreat to Gondar, where he surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Ras Mikael for a year, then sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province. Emperor Tekle Haymanot managed to avoid his mentor's fate at that time, and Wand Bewossen only brought him into his power when the warlord surprised him at Qaroda, capturing him while he and his men were eating. Yet Wand Bewossen's control of the Ethiopian government was short-lived; he was defeated in 1772 by the coalition of Fasil, Ras Goshu, andDejazmach Hailu Eshte at Checheho and forced to retreat to Lasta.[3]
Over the subsequent years, Tekle Haymanot struggled against the shifting conflicts between the four paramount nobles of Ethiopia—Fasil, Ras Goshu, Hailu Eshte, and Wand Bewossen—who would form alliances against each other, only to break them and join with their former enemies whenever it was to their immediate benefit. Wand Bewossen went as far as to bring Tekle Giyorgis down from Wehni as his candidate for emperor; Tekle Haymanot managed to defeat Wand Bewossen at Emakina and returned Tekle Giyorgis to the Imperial prison.[4]
Weary of the continuing power struggles with his nobles, and after a final conference with Ras Haile Yosadiq, Wand Bewossen and Kenfu Adam failed to gain a plausible promise of their support for his rule, he repudiated the throne 13 April 1777. Tekle Haymanot became a monk and lived as a hermit in Waldebba, where he died a few months later.[5]
Despite this political turmoil, art and scholarship flourished in Gondar. Richard Pankhurst credits the construction of seven churches built in or near that city as being built during his reign. The most important was Ba'eta Maryam, built in 1775, which originally had a large bronze cross on its roof that towered over all of Gondar; the others include: Qeddus Qirqos (dedicated to St. Cyriacus), Qeddus Petros we Pawlos (Ss. Peter and Paul), Farta Lideta ("the Nativity of Mary") at Farta, Yohannes Walda Nagwadgwad (St. John the Evangelist), Abageale Tekle Haymanot (St. Tekle Haymanot), and Debre Tibab ("the Mount of Knowledge").[6]
The Scots explorer James Bruce (who was in Ethiopia from September 1769 to November 1771) described his appearance as follows:
He was a prince of a most graceful figure, tall for his age, rather thin, and of the whitest shade of Abyssinian colour, for such are all those princes that are born in the mountain. He was not so dark in complexion as a Neapolitan or Portugueze, had a remarkably fine forehead, large black eyes, but which had something very stern in them, a straight nose, rather of the largest, thin lips, and small mouth, very white teeth and long hair. His features, even in Europe, would have been thought fine. he was particularly careful of his hair, which he dressed in a hundred different ways. ... he had an excellent understanding, and prudence beyond his years. He was said to be naturally of a very warm temper, but this he had so perfectly subdued, as scarcely ever to have given an instance of it in public. He entred into Ras Michael's views entirely, and was as forward to march out against Fasil, as his father had been averse to it.[1]ReignTekle Haymanot became Emperor at the age of 15 when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras Mikael Sehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at theBattle of Faggeta on 9 December 1769. He lost the throne briefly in 1770 when he and Ras Mikael left the capital city of Gondar for Tigray, and Susenyos II was made Emperor by rival warlords in Gondar, but regained it when Ras Mikael returned to Gondar on 23 December of that year.
Upon returning to the capital, Ras Mikael immediately killed a troop of travelling actors who had performed a satire of him. A number of former rebels, who had switched sides, brought to him a number of prisoners, including the Aqabe sa'at Abba Salama; after a show trial, Ras Mikael had them brutally executed. In the days that followed, Ras Mikael wrought his vengeance on all who had opposed him; as James Bruce wrote:
Fifty-seven people died publicly by the hand of the executioner in the course of a few days; many disappeared, and were either murdered privately, or sent to prisons, no one knew where. The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the courtyard the head and arms of killed men … the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyaenas in hundreds from the neighbouring mountains; and, as few people in Gondar go out after dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants.[2]The next year saw Ras Mikael Sehul defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa against his adversaries near Teda in May, which forced the Ras to retreat to Gondar, where he surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Ras Mikael for a year, then sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province. Emperor Tekle Haymanot managed to avoid his mentor's fate at that time, and Wand Bewossen only brought him into his power when the warlord surprised him at Qaroda, capturing him while he and his men were eating. Yet Wand Bewossen's control of the Ethiopian government was short-lived; he was defeated in 1772 by the coalition of Fasil, Ras Goshu, andDejazmach Hailu Eshte at Checheho and forced to retreat to Lasta.[3]
Over the subsequent years, Tekle Haymanot struggled against the shifting conflicts between the four paramount nobles of Ethiopia—Fasil, Ras Goshu, Hailu Eshte, and Wand Bewossen—who would form alliances against each other, only to break them and join with their former enemies whenever it was to their immediate benefit. Wand Bewossen went as far as to bring Tekle Giyorgis down from Wehni as his candidate for emperor; Tekle Haymanot managed to defeat Wand Bewossen at Emakina and returned Tekle Giyorgis to the Imperial prison.[4]
Weary of the continuing power struggles with his nobles, and after a final conference with Ras Haile Yosadiq, Wand Bewossen and Kenfu Adam failed to gain a plausible promise of their support for his rule, he repudiated the throne 13 April 1777. Tekle Haymanot became a monk and lived as a hermit in Waldebba, where he died a few months later.[5]
Despite this political turmoil, art and scholarship flourished in Gondar. Richard Pankhurst credits the construction of seven churches built in or near that city as being built during his reign. The most important was Ba'eta Maryam, built in 1775, which originally had a large bronze cross on its roof that towered over all of Gondar; the others include: Qeddus Qirqos (dedicated to St. Cyriacus), Qeddus Petros we Pawlos (Ss. Peter and Paul), Farta Lideta ("the Nativity of Mary") at Farta, Yohannes Walda Nagwadgwad (St. John the Evangelist), Abageale Tekle Haymanot (St. Tekle Haymanot), and Debre Tibab ("the Mount of Knowledge").[6]
Susenyos II
June to December 1770
Susenyos II (or Greek Sissinios; died circa 1771) was nəgusä nägäst (reigned August 1770 – December 1770) of Ethiopia. His name at birth was Wolde Giyorgis; he was the son of a noble woman who had lost her fortune and made her living by carrying jars of water, while it was rumored that he was the illegitimate son of the deceased ruler Iyasu II.[1] The Scottish traveller James Bruce, who was living in the capital city of Gondar at the time, described him as "a drunkard, a ruffian, and a profligate".[2]His reignOn 5 June 1770, Ras Mikael Sehul was forced to evacuate the city with Emperor Tekle Haymanot; they marched to Tigray to suppress several revolts there. Goshu and Wand Bewossen entered Gondar 10 June, where they attempted to convince Empress Mentewab to join them but failed.[3] After waiting several days for Fasil to fulfill his promise to join them from his headquarters at Bure in Gojjam, on the 27th they left Gondar.[4]
By the beginning of August, the principal inhabitants of Gondar held a council to select a new Emperor, and Ras Sanuda's nomination of Susenyos, then 24 years old, was accepted.[1]Ostensibly, Susenyos was to gather an army and march against Ras Mikael, but the only noble who still who could provide enough soldiers was Fasil, who continued to temporalize over marching to Gondar until 2 November, when he arrived with 400 horse and 600 foot. At his arrival Susenyos rashly granted him a third of Ethiopia, only to find that in doing so he weakened his most loyal supporter, Ras Sanuda. This led to further disagreements between the pretender and Fasil, and despite Abuna Yosab III's attempts to make a peace between them, by 26 November Fasil declared his allegiance for Emperor Tekle Haymanot and left Gondar for Dengel Ber.[5]
Bruce had only one encounter with this ephemeral ruler. On the night of 5 December, in a drunken fit, Susenyos with some confederates left the Imperial palace and plundered several private homes, including the house Bruce was living in at the time. "Every thing that could be carried away was stolen or broken; among which was a reflecting telescope, a barometer, and thermometer; a great many papers and sketches of drawings, [were] first torn then burnt". The next day Bruce was summoned to the palace where he presented himself before Susenyos, who
was sitting, his eyes half closed, red as scarlet with last night's debauch; he was apparently at that moment much in liquor; his mouth full of tobacco, squirting his spittle out of his mouth to a very great distance; with this he had so covered the floor that it was with great difficulty I could choose a clean place to kneel, and make my obeisance.[6]J.M. Reid, in his biography, pointedly notes the "sickening contrast" between the chamber when Bruce waited on Emperor Tekle Haymanot and the presence audience.[7] The audience with Susenyos was a trying experience for Bruce. Susenyos complained that the Scotsman had paid him no attention and demanded gifts from Bruce. Bruce reports that he made a bold reply, at which point "an old man of noble appearance" came forward, whom Bruce identified as Ras Sanuda, and lectured Susenyos on his behavior, reminding him Bruce "is a friend, not only to the king but to us all: the whole people love him." Susenyos' only response to his advisor was to joke, "You are very angry to-day, Baba."[8]His fallSusenyos' time on the throne was all but over 15 December, when Ras Mikael forded the Tekezé and swiftly closed on the capital; Ras Sanuda declared for Mikael Sehul. Accordingly Susenyos fled Gondar with the Empress Mentewab; first she sought refuge with Abuna Yosab in Emfraz only to be turned away, then after sending her valuables to safety on Dek Islandin Lake Tana proceeded to Qwara. Once there, writes Bruce, "Those who made Socinios a king never made him a friend."
It was here suggested, that his presence would infallibly occasion a pursuit which might endanger the queen, her country, and all her friends. Upon this it was resolved to abandon the unworthy Socinios to the soldiers, who stript him naked, giving him only a rag to cover him, and a good horse, and with these they dismissed him to seek his fortune.[9]Ras Mikael Sehul entered the capital city on 23 December, restored Tekle Haymanot, and began a purge of his enemies whom he found in the city, beginning with the crucifixion of Abba Salama and Germa Tseyon, the brother of Waragna.[10]
The last glimpse history has of Susenyos is after the Three battles of Sarbakusa the following year: somehow he fell into the hands of Wand Bewossen, who before leaving Gondar withRas Mikael Sehul as his prisoner sent the deposed pretender in chains to Emperor Tekle Haymanot; the Emperor made him a slave in the palace kitchen where, after a short time, Susenyos was caught stealing and hanged.[11]
By the beginning of August, the principal inhabitants of Gondar held a council to select a new Emperor, and Ras Sanuda's nomination of Susenyos, then 24 years old, was accepted.[1]Ostensibly, Susenyos was to gather an army and march against Ras Mikael, but the only noble who still who could provide enough soldiers was Fasil, who continued to temporalize over marching to Gondar until 2 November, when he arrived with 400 horse and 600 foot. At his arrival Susenyos rashly granted him a third of Ethiopia, only to find that in doing so he weakened his most loyal supporter, Ras Sanuda. This led to further disagreements between the pretender and Fasil, and despite Abuna Yosab III's attempts to make a peace between them, by 26 November Fasil declared his allegiance for Emperor Tekle Haymanot and left Gondar for Dengel Ber.[5]
Bruce had only one encounter with this ephemeral ruler. On the night of 5 December, in a drunken fit, Susenyos with some confederates left the Imperial palace and plundered several private homes, including the house Bruce was living in at the time. "Every thing that could be carried away was stolen or broken; among which was a reflecting telescope, a barometer, and thermometer; a great many papers and sketches of drawings, [were] first torn then burnt". The next day Bruce was summoned to the palace where he presented himself before Susenyos, who
was sitting, his eyes half closed, red as scarlet with last night's debauch; he was apparently at that moment much in liquor; his mouth full of tobacco, squirting his spittle out of his mouth to a very great distance; with this he had so covered the floor that it was with great difficulty I could choose a clean place to kneel, and make my obeisance.[6]J.M. Reid, in his biography, pointedly notes the "sickening contrast" between the chamber when Bruce waited on Emperor Tekle Haymanot and the presence audience.[7] The audience with Susenyos was a trying experience for Bruce. Susenyos complained that the Scotsman had paid him no attention and demanded gifts from Bruce. Bruce reports that he made a bold reply, at which point "an old man of noble appearance" came forward, whom Bruce identified as Ras Sanuda, and lectured Susenyos on his behavior, reminding him Bruce "is a friend, not only to the king but to us all: the whole people love him." Susenyos' only response to his advisor was to joke, "You are very angry to-day, Baba."[8]His fallSusenyos' time on the throne was all but over 15 December, when Ras Mikael forded the Tekezé and swiftly closed on the capital; Ras Sanuda declared for Mikael Sehul. Accordingly Susenyos fled Gondar with the Empress Mentewab; first she sought refuge with Abuna Yosab in Emfraz only to be turned away, then after sending her valuables to safety on Dek Islandin Lake Tana proceeded to Qwara. Once there, writes Bruce, "Those who made Socinios a king never made him a friend."
It was here suggested, that his presence would infallibly occasion a pursuit which might endanger the queen, her country, and all her friends. Upon this it was resolved to abandon the unworthy Socinios to the soldiers, who stript him naked, giving him only a rag to cover him, and a good horse, and with these they dismissed him to seek his fortune.[9]Ras Mikael Sehul entered the capital city on 23 December, restored Tekle Haymanot, and began a purge of his enemies whom he found in the city, beginning with the crucifixion of Abba Salama and Germa Tseyon, the brother of Waragna.[10]
The last glimpse history has of Susenyos is after the Three battles of Sarbakusa the following year: somehow he fell into the hands of Wand Bewossen, who before leaving Gondar withRas Mikael Sehul as his prisoner sent the deposed pretender in chains to Emperor Tekle Haymanot; the Emperor made him a slave in the palace kitchen where, after a short time, Susenyos was caught stealing and hanged.[11]
Tekle Haymanot II of Ethiopia (restored)
18 October 1769 to 13 April 1777
Tekle Haymanot II (Ge'ez ተክለ ሃይማኖት, "Plant of the faith"; 1754 – 7 September 1777) was nəgusä nägäst as Admas Sagad III (Ge'ezአድማስ ሰገድ "to whom the horizon bows"; 18 October 1769 – 13 April 1777) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes II by Woizero Sancheviyar, at the Imperial prison of Mount Wehni.
The Scots explorer James Bruce (who was in Ethiopia from September 1769 to November 1771) described his appearance as follows:
He was a prince of a most graceful figure, tall for his age, rather thin, and of the whitest shade of Abyssinian colour, for such are all those princes that are born in the mountain. He was not so dark in complexion as a Neapolitan or Portugueze, had a remarkably fine forehead, large black eyes, but which had something very stern in them, a straight nose, rather of the largest, thin lips, and small mouth, very white teeth and long hair. His features, even in Europe, would have been thought fine. he was particularly careful of his hair, which he dressed in a hundred different ways. ... he had an excellent understanding, and prudence beyond his years. He was said to be naturally of a very warm temper, but this he had so perfectly subdued, as scarcely ever to have given an instance of it in public. He entred into Ras Michael's views entirely, and was as forward to march out against Fasil, as his father had been averse to it.[1]ReignTekle Haymanot became Emperor at the age of 15 when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras Mikael Sehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at theBattle of Faggeta on 9 December 1769. He lost the throne briefly in 1770 when he and Ras Mikael left the capital city of Gondar for Tigray, and Susenyos II was made Emperor by rival warlords in Gondar, but regained it when Ras Mikael returned to Gondar on 23 December of that year.
Upon returning to the capital, Ras Mikael immediately killed a troop of travelling actors who had performed a satire of him. A number of former rebels, who had switched sides, brought to him a number of prisoners, including the Aqabe sa'at Abba Salama; after a show trial, Ras Mikael had them brutally executed. In the days that followed, Ras Mikael wrought his vengeance on all who had opposed him; as James Bruce wrote:
Fifty-seven people died publicly by the hand of the executioner in the course of a few days; many disappeared, and were either murdered privately, or sent to prisons, no one knew where. The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the courtyard the head and arms of killed men … the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyaenas in hundreds from the neighbouring mountains; and, as few people in Gondar go out after dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants.[2]The next year saw Ras Mikael Sehul defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa against his adversaries near Teda in May, which forced the Ras to retreat to Gondar, where he surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Ras Mikael for a year, then sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province. Emperor Tekle Haymanot managed to avoid his mentor's fate at that time, and Wand Bewossen only brought him into his power when the warlord surprised him at Qaroda, capturing him while he and his men were eating. Yet Wand Bewossen's control of the Ethiopian government was short-lived; he was defeated in 1772 by the coalition of Fasil, Ras Goshu, andDejazmach Hailu Eshte at Checheho and forced to retreat to Lasta.[3]
Over the subsequent years, Tekle Haymanot struggled against the shifting conflicts between the four paramount nobles of Ethiopia—Fasil, Ras Goshu, Hailu Eshte, and Wand Bewossen—who would form alliances against each other, only to break them and join with their former enemies whenever it was to their immediate benefit. Wand Bewossen went as far as to bring Tekle Giyorgis down from Wehni as his candidate for emperor; Tekle Haymanot managed to defeat Wand Bewossen at Emakina and returned Tekle Giyorgis to the Imperial prison.[4]
Weary of the continuing power struggles with his nobles, and after a final conference with Ras Haile Yosadiq, Wand Bewossen and Kenfu Adam failed to gain a plausible promise of their support for his rule, he repudiated the throne 13 April 1777. Tekle Haymanot became a monk and lived as a hermit in Waldebba, where he died a few months later.[5]
Despite this political turmoil, art and scholarship flourished in Gondar. Richard Pankhurst credits the construction of seven churches built in or near that city as being built during his reign. The most important was Ba'eta Maryam, built in 1775, which originally had a large bronze cross on its roof that towered over all of Gondar; the others include: Qeddus Qirqos (dedicated to St. Cyriacus), Qeddus Petros we Pawlos (Ss. Peter and Paul), Farta Lideta ("the Nativity of Mary") at Farta, Yohannes Walda Nagwadgwad (St. John the Evangelist), Abageale Tekle Haymanot (St. Tekle Haymanot), and Debre Tibab ("the Mount of Knowledge").[6]
The Scots explorer James Bruce (who was in Ethiopia from September 1769 to November 1771) described his appearance as follows:
He was a prince of a most graceful figure, tall for his age, rather thin, and of the whitest shade of Abyssinian colour, for such are all those princes that are born in the mountain. He was not so dark in complexion as a Neapolitan or Portugueze, had a remarkably fine forehead, large black eyes, but which had something very stern in them, a straight nose, rather of the largest, thin lips, and small mouth, very white teeth and long hair. His features, even in Europe, would have been thought fine. he was particularly careful of his hair, which he dressed in a hundred different ways. ... he had an excellent understanding, and prudence beyond his years. He was said to be naturally of a very warm temper, but this he had so perfectly subdued, as scarcely ever to have given an instance of it in public. He entred into Ras Michael's views entirely, and was as forward to march out against Fasil, as his father had been averse to it.[1]ReignTekle Haymanot became Emperor at the age of 15 when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras Mikael Sehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at theBattle of Faggeta on 9 December 1769. He lost the throne briefly in 1770 when he and Ras Mikael left the capital city of Gondar for Tigray, and Susenyos II was made Emperor by rival warlords in Gondar, but regained it when Ras Mikael returned to Gondar on 23 December of that year.
Upon returning to the capital, Ras Mikael immediately killed a troop of travelling actors who had performed a satire of him. A number of former rebels, who had switched sides, brought to him a number of prisoners, including the Aqabe sa'at Abba Salama; after a show trial, Ras Mikael had them brutally executed. In the days that followed, Ras Mikael wrought his vengeance on all who had opposed him; as James Bruce wrote:
Fifty-seven people died publicly by the hand of the executioner in the course of a few days; many disappeared, and were either murdered privately, or sent to prisons, no one knew where. The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the courtyard the head and arms of killed men … the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyaenas in hundreds from the neighbouring mountains; and, as few people in Gondar go out after dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants.[2]The next year saw Ras Mikael Sehul defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa against his adversaries near Teda in May, which forced the Ras to retreat to Gondar, where he surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Ras Mikael for a year, then sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province. Emperor Tekle Haymanot managed to avoid his mentor's fate at that time, and Wand Bewossen only brought him into his power when the warlord surprised him at Qaroda, capturing him while he and his men were eating. Yet Wand Bewossen's control of the Ethiopian government was short-lived; he was defeated in 1772 by the coalition of Fasil, Ras Goshu, andDejazmach Hailu Eshte at Checheho and forced to retreat to Lasta.[3]
Over the subsequent years, Tekle Haymanot struggled against the shifting conflicts between the four paramount nobles of Ethiopia—Fasil, Ras Goshu, Hailu Eshte, and Wand Bewossen—who would form alliances against each other, only to break them and join with their former enemies whenever it was to their immediate benefit. Wand Bewossen went as far as to bring Tekle Giyorgis down from Wehni as his candidate for emperor; Tekle Haymanot managed to defeat Wand Bewossen at Emakina and returned Tekle Giyorgis to the Imperial prison.[4]
Weary of the continuing power struggles with his nobles, and after a final conference with Ras Haile Yosadiq, Wand Bewossen and Kenfu Adam failed to gain a plausible promise of their support for his rule, he repudiated the throne 13 April 1777. Tekle Haymanot became a monk and lived as a hermit in Waldebba, where he died a few months later.[5]
Despite this political turmoil, art and scholarship flourished in Gondar. Richard Pankhurst credits the construction of seven churches built in or near that city as being built during his reign. The most important was Ba'eta Maryam, built in 1775, which originally had a large bronze cross on its roof that towered over all of Gondar; the others include: Qeddus Qirqos (dedicated to St. Cyriacus), Qeddus Petros we Pawlos (Ss. Peter and Paul), Farta Lideta ("the Nativity of Mary") at Farta, Yohannes Walda Nagwadgwad (St. John the Evangelist), Abageale Tekle Haymanot (St. Tekle Haymanot), and Debre Tibab ("the Mount of Knowledge").[6]
Salomon II of Ethiopia
13 April 1777 – 20 July 1779
Salomon II (Ge'ez ሣሎሞን) was nəgusä nägäst (13 April 1777 – 20 July 1779) of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abeto Adigo. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810.[1]
Richard Pankhurst credits him with the construction of Qeddus Fasilides ("St. Basilides," literally "Holy Basilides") church in Gondar.[2] The chronicler Alaqa Gabru appears to suggest, in a confusing passage, that Salomon was blinded before he was deposed.[3]
ReignSalomon was made Emperor by Ras Haile Yosadiq, Dejazmach Wand Bewossen, and Dejazmach Kenfu Adam after they deposed Tekle Haymanot II. One of Salomon's first acts as Emperor was to make a series of appointments: Ras Ayadar became the Ras Betwoded, Kenfu Adam governor of Damot, Wand Bewsossen governor of Begemder, Dejazmach Hailu Adara governor of Gojjam, Dejazmach Hailu Eshtegovernor of Semien, and Basha Mebaras Boqatu deputy to the Blattengeta.[4]
Despite the consensus of the major nobles of the Empire to support Salomon, Azaj Salassie Barya brought Tekle Giyorgis from the royal prison on Wehni as a pretender to the throne. Salomon responded by marching out from Gondar; Tekle Giyorgis then fled to Tigray, whence he emerged in the month of Sane at the head of an army which was rumored to be "a large force". Tekle Giyorgis was defeated outside of Gondar, and returned to Wehni.[5]
This victory was followed, however, with a battle at Sabisabar between Ras Haile Yosadiq and Kenfu Adam. Kenfu Adam was victorious, and Emperor Salomon, who was with Ras Haile Yosadiq, was captured by Kenfu Adam and became Kenfu's figurehead. Salomon shortly afterwards convinced Dejazmach Hailu Eshte to join forces with him and Kenfu; the Dejazmachdid so, after peace was first established between the two enemies. Together the allies raided Filakit Gereger, then the capital of Begemder province; Boqatu, who had succeeded his brother Wand Bewossen as governor on the latter's death, was forced to flee his palace in Felakit Gereger.[6]
Not long after a second battle was fought against Boqatu, which went badly for Salomon and his handlers. Kenfu Adam and Hailu Adara then conspired to make Tekle Giyorgis emperor, and brought him down from Wehni once again. Kenfu Adam went to Dera, against the wishes of Emperor Salomon, then attempted to seize Ras Hailu Yosadiq but failed; peace was made between them. At this point Kenfu took both the Emperor and Tekle Giyorgis to his province of Damot, and on 17 July 1779 at Yebaba proclaimed Tekle Giyorgis the new emperor and announced that Salomon had become a monk.[7]
The latest chronological mention of Salomon in the Royal chronicle is when Emperor Tekle Giyorgis learned on 25 March 1780 that Kenfu Adam had brought Salomon down from Wehni to replace him as Emperor.[8] However Kenfu Adam was defeated in battle 25 May at Maryam Weha by Boqatu, leading Kenfu Adam to being imprisoned and Salomon presumably returned to the Royal prison on Wehni.[9]
Richard Pankhurst credits him with the construction of Qeddus Fasilides ("St. Basilides," literally "Holy Basilides") church in Gondar.[2] The chronicler Alaqa Gabru appears to suggest, in a confusing passage, that Salomon was blinded before he was deposed.[3]
ReignSalomon was made Emperor by Ras Haile Yosadiq, Dejazmach Wand Bewossen, and Dejazmach Kenfu Adam after they deposed Tekle Haymanot II. One of Salomon's first acts as Emperor was to make a series of appointments: Ras Ayadar became the Ras Betwoded, Kenfu Adam governor of Damot, Wand Bewsossen governor of Begemder, Dejazmach Hailu Adara governor of Gojjam, Dejazmach Hailu Eshtegovernor of Semien, and Basha Mebaras Boqatu deputy to the Blattengeta.[4]
Despite the consensus of the major nobles of the Empire to support Salomon, Azaj Salassie Barya brought Tekle Giyorgis from the royal prison on Wehni as a pretender to the throne. Salomon responded by marching out from Gondar; Tekle Giyorgis then fled to Tigray, whence he emerged in the month of Sane at the head of an army which was rumored to be "a large force". Tekle Giyorgis was defeated outside of Gondar, and returned to Wehni.[5]
This victory was followed, however, with a battle at Sabisabar between Ras Haile Yosadiq and Kenfu Adam. Kenfu Adam was victorious, and Emperor Salomon, who was with Ras Haile Yosadiq, was captured by Kenfu Adam and became Kenfu's figurehead. Salomon shortly afterwards convinced Dejazmach Hailu Eshte to join forces with him and Kenfu; the Dejazmachdid so, after peace was first established between the two enemies. Together the allies raided Filakit Gereger, then the capital of Begemder province; Boqatu, who had succeeded his brother Wand Bewossen as governor on the latter's death, was forced to flee his palace in Felakit Gereger.[6]
Not long after a second battle was fought against Boqatu, which went badly for Salomon and his handlers. Kenfu Adam and Hailu Adara then conspired to make Tekle Giyorgis emperor, and brought him down from Wehni once again. Kenfu Adam went to Dera, against the wishes of Emperor Salomon, then attempted to seize Ras Hailu Yosadiq but failed; peace was made between them. At this point Kenfu took both the Emperor and Tekle Giyorgis to his province of Damot, and on 17 July 1779 at Yebaba proclaimed Tekle Giyorgis the new emperor and announced that Salomon had become a monk.[7]
The latest chronological mention of Salomon in the Royal chronicle is when Emperor Tekle Giyorgis learned on 25 March 1780 that Kenfu Adam had brought Salomon down from Wehni to replace him as Emperor.[8] However Kenfu Adam was defeated in battle 25 May at Maryam Weha by Boqatu, leading Kenfu Adam to being imprisoned and Salomon presumably returned to the Royal prison on Wehni.[9]
Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia (Feqr Sagad Throne name)
20 July 1779 to 8 February 1784
Tekle Giyorgis I (Ge'ez ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ "Plant of Saint George"; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817[1]) was Emperor of Ethiopia (throne name Feqr Sagad) intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son ofYohannes II and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of Tekle Haymanot II.
According to Sven Rubenson, who described Teke Giyorgis as the last emperor to exercise authority on his own, "It is not without justification that he has in Ethiopian tradition received the nickname Fiṣame Mengist, 'the end of the government'".[2]Physical descriptionNathaniel Pearce, who lived in Ethiopia during the 1810s, was acquainted with Tekle Giyorgis and described the emperor, at age 66, as
tall, and stout in proportion, always wears his hair long and plaited; has large eyes, a Roman nose, not much beard, and a very manly and expressive countenance, though he is a great coward. He has a dark, shining skin which is very singular, as ... [his parents and brother], were very fair for Abyssinians ... while he, the youngest son, is as dark asmahogany. The Ras [i.e. Wolde Selassie] who knew the whole family, often remarked this, and repeated "Black without and black within."[3]Pearce continues his description on the next page, noting that Tekle Giyorgis
is remarkably proud of his person: though a little bald at the top of his head, he manages to have the hair, which is nearly a span long, so plaited and disposed as to hide the bald part. He always wears silver or gold bodkin with a large head, called wolever, upon his forehead; and round the instep, and below the ancle, a string of oval silver or gold beads, such as are worn by all women rich and poor, and which are called aloo.[4]Then the Englishman concludes this description with an account of the former Emperor's character, by writing, "I shall begin by stating, in plain English, that he is a great liar and a great miser, and from his childhood has been remarkable for his changeable and deceitful temper, and utter disregard of his oath."[4] Pearce illustrates this by his treatment of Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul, who had restored him to the throne after the Rasses Ali and Meru rebelled against him: when Wolde Gabriel protested that his men were exhausted after their campaign against the rebels, and could not march forth with the Emperor to Shewa, Tekle Giyorgis conspired with his captured foes to arrest and kept Wolde Gabriel in chains, until he had ransomed himself with "the last article of value he possessed".[5]LifeTekle Giyorgis gained and lost the Imperial throne five times after Hailu Adara and Kenfu Adam had him brought down from the royal prison at Wehni and made him Emperor in 1779.[6]According to E. A. Wallis Budge, the Emperor proved unpopular from the beginning, and until he was deposed for the first time in 8 February 1784 by Ras Abeto of Gojjam, he was forced at times to seek a safe haven with Ras Wolde Selassie.[7]
However, the Royal Chronicle presents a very different picture, with the chronicler Alaqa Gabru stating that public opinion in Yebaba forced Kenfu Adam to elevate Tekle Giyorgis.[8] In the first year of his reign he and Kenfu Adam had a falling out over the behavior of Kenfu's son-in-law Bajrond Tsadalu Egabet, who soon after his appointment was defeated in battle and had the signs of his office, the nagarit war drums, taken from him.[9] Then an ally of Kenfu Adam, Gadlu, rebelled in Wolqayt and on 14 January 1780 the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis marched on Gadlu, putting the rebel's amba under siege and blocking access to the amba's water supply. Negotiations for Gadlu's surrender dragged on fitfully until 18 March when Gadlu fled with a small group of his men to Bergetta.[10] At that point Tekle Giyorgis' was forced to disengage when he learned that Kenfu Adam had brought the former Emperor,Salomon, down from Wehni to be his candidate to replace Tekle Giyorgis. Tekle Giyorgis broke camp to face this threat, only to receive word that one of his other loyal nobles,Dejazmach Mebaras Boqatu, had defeated Kenfu Adam at Maryam Weha on 25 May, and both Kenfu Adam and Hailu Adara were now in custody.[11]
Later in 1780, Kenfu Adam escaped from his imprisonment and made his way to Gojjam; Tekle Giyrogis marched from Gondar on 4 November in pursuit. By 27 June 1781 he had reached Dangila, where he learned that Kenfu Adam had been recaptured.[12] Although Kenfu Adam and his brother Hailu Adara could have been executed for their acts instead, out of leniency, Tekle Giyorgis had them blinded.[13]
That November, Tekle Giyrogis undertook another campaign to Wollo, with the intent of visiting Shewa and forcing its ruler, Asfa Wossen, to submit. It was during this campaign that Tekle Giyorgis ordered the construction of Debre Metmaq Maryam church in Gondar, delegating the direct management of its building to Ras Ayadar.[14] Richard Pankhurst notes that this church is the last example of Imperial patronage in Gondar in that century.[15]
The Emperor's first step was to secure his flank against the hostile Oromo, whom he defeated at Wuchale 14 March 1782.[16] At the same time he had to suppress a plot against him by putting Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel in chains. But once they reached the Bashilo, his men mutinied at the prospect of crossing into Shewa, and he was forced to turn back; within three weeks, he was holding court in Aringo.[17] The tribute from Asfa Wossen which reached him months later was small compensation for this failure.[18]
Alaqa Gabru continues Tekle Giyorgis' chronicle only until the beginning of his fifth regnal year, or mid-October 1782; from this point, the Royal chronicle is taken up with the biography of one of the warlords of the Zemene Mesafint, Hailu Eshte. The fall of Tekle Giyorgis from his throne is told tersely: Dejazmach Ali Gwangul and Ras Haile Yosadiq conspired to depose the emperor. Tekle Giyorgis marched from Gondar to Gojjam, where he expected to deal with Ras Hailu first, but the Ras managed to evade him and cross the Abay to join DejazmachAli. The Emperor withdrew across the Abay to Afarwanat, where he was defeated in battle and forced to flee into exile at Ambasell.[19] Why Dejazmach Ali and Ras Hailu Yosadiq decided to rid themselves of Tekle Giyorgis, and who stood with the Emperor at Afarwanat is not recorded.
Second reignBefore Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor on 24 April 1788, two rivals for the throne had appeared: Iyasu and Baeda Maryam, supported by rivals of Ras Ali. Until he lost the throne 26 July 1789, Tekle Giyorgis was one of five Emperors ruling in Ethiopia in the years of 1788 and 1789 — the others being Iyasu III, Tekle Haymanot, Hezqeyas of Ethiopia.[20]
Third reignIn January 1794, Tekle Giyorgis defeated the warlord Ras Haile Yosadiq, and once again was Emperor. He went to the province of Dembiya in the northwestern part of Begemder to seek the support of Dejazmach Gadlu, but the Dejazmach would not receive him; however, Ras Aligaz the brother of Ras Ali and who had a large army encamped at Chat Weha did receive him, and with his help Tekle Giyorgis was able to hold onto the throne until 15 April 1795.[21]
Later reignsTekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor a fourth time December 1795, and remained Emperor until 20 May 1796. His fifth period as emperor was from 4 January 1798 to 20 May 1799, and his last ran from 24 March 1800 into June of that year. He lived the rest of his life in Waldebba and Tigray.[22]
Despite the fact that the Imperial throne had little power or income, Tekle Giyorgis continued to work towards his restoration. Pearce recounts how the common wisdom, while he lived in Ethiopia, expected Ras Wolde Selassie to restore Tekle Giyorgis to the throne. He notes a meeting the former Emperor and the Ras had at Axum 17 January 1814,[23] but the Ras declined to help the former ruler. Tekle Giyorgis then left for the court of Wolde Selassie's rival, Ras Gebre, and stirred up trouble between the two until Wolde Selassie met Gebre, and was undeceived; Ras Wolde Selassie took custody of Tekle Giyorgis and afterwards exiled him to Axum, where he was kept under close watch until the Ras' death.[24] Having fled to Axum after the death of his patron the Ras, Pearce found the former king doing quite well in that city, selling noble titles to the victorious warlords in return for shares of their plunder; only Sabagadis refused to take a part in this trade.[25] He died of natural causes at Axum, and was buried in the churchyard of Mariam Sean of that city.[26]
According to Sven Rubenson, who described Teke Giyorgis as the last emperor to exercise authority on his own, "It is not without justification that he has in Ethiopian tradition received the nickname Fiṣame Mengist, 'the end of the government'".[2]Physical descriptionNathaniel Pearce, who lived in Ethiopia during the 1810s, was acquainted with Tekle Giyorgis and described the emperor, at age 66, as
tall, and stout in proportion, always wears his hair long and plaited; has large eyes, a Roman nose, not much beard, and a very manly and expressive countenance, though he is a great coward. He has a dark, shining skin which is very singular, as ... [his parents and brother], were very fair for Abyssinians ... while he, the youngest son, is as dark asmahogany. The Ras [i.e. Wolde Selassie] who knew the whole family, often remarked this, and repeated "Black without and black within."[3]Pearce continues his description on the next page, noting that Tekle Giyorgis
is remarkably proud of his person: though a little bald at the top of his head, he manages to have the hair, which is nearly a span long, so plaited and disposed as to hide the bald part. He always wears silver or gold bodkin with a large head, called wolever, upon his forehead; and round the instep, and below the ancle, a string of oval silver or gold beads, such as are worn by all women rich and poor, and which are called aloo.[4]Then the Englishman concludes this description with an account of the former Emperor's character, by writing, "I shall begin by stating, in plain English, that he is a great liar and a great miser, and from his childhood has been remarkable for his changeable and deceitful temper, and utter disregard of his oath."[4] Pearce illustrates this by his treatment of Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul, who had restored him to the throne after the Rasses Ali and Meru rebelled against him: when Wolde Gabriel protested that his men were exhausted after their campaign against the rebels, and could not march forth with the Emperor to Shewa, Tekle Giyorgis conspired with his captured foes to arrest and kept Wolde Gabriel in chains, until he had ransomed himself with "the last article of value he possessed".[5]LifeTekle Giyorgis gained and lost the Imperial throne five times after Hailu Adara and Kenfu Adam had him brought down from the royal prison at Wehni and made him Emperor in 1779.[6]According to E. A. Wallis Budge, the Emperor proved unpopular from the beginning, and until he was deposed for the first time in 8 February 1784 by Ras Abeto of Gojjam, he was forced at times to seek a safe haven with Ras Wolde Selassie.[7]
However, the Royal Chronicle presents a very different picture, with the chronicler Alaqa Gabru stating that public opinion in Yebaba forced Kenfu Adam to elevate Tekle Giyorgis.[8] In the first year of his reign he and Kenfu Adam had a falling out over the behavior of Kenfu's son-in-law Bajrond Tsadalu Egabet, who soon after his appointment was defeated in battle and had the signs of his office, the nagarit war drums, taken from him.[9] Then an ally of Kenfu Adam, Gadlu, rebelled in Wolqayt and on 14 January 1780 the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis marched on Gadlu, putting the rebel's amba under siege and blocking access to the amba's water supply. Negotiations for Gadlu's surrender dragged on fitfully until 18 March when Gadlu fled with a small group of his men to Bergetta.[10] At that point Tekle Giyorgis' was forced to disengage when he learned that Kenfu Adam had brought the former Emperor,Salomon, down from Wehni to be his candidate to replace Tekle Giyorgis. Tekle Giyorgis broke camp to face this threat, only to receive word that one of his other loyal nobles,Dejazmach Mebaras Boqatu, had defeated Kenfu Adam at Maryam Weha on 25 May, and both Kenfu Adam and Hailu Adara were now in custody.[11]
Later in 1780, Kenfu Adam escaped from his imprisonment and made his way to Gojjam; Tekle Giyrogis marched from Gondar on 4 November in pursuit. By 27 June 1781 he had reached Dangila, where he learned that Kenfu Adam had been recaptured.[12] Although Kenfu Adam and his brother Hailu Adara could have been executed for their acts instead, out of leniency, Tekle Giyorgis had them blinded.[13]
That November, Tekle Giyrogis undertook another campaign to Wollo, with the intent of visiting Shewa and forcing its ruler, Asfa Wossen, to submit. It was during this campaign that Tekle Giyorgis ordered the construction of Debre Metmaq Maryam church in Gondar, delegating the direct management of its building to Ras Ayadar.[14] Richard Pankhurst notes that this church is the last example of Imperial patronage in Gondar in that century.[15]
The Emperor's first step was to secure his flank against the hostile Oromo, whom he defeated at Wuchale 14 March 1782.[16] At the same time he had to suppress a plot against him by putting Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel in chains. But once they reached the Bashilo, his men mutinied at the prospect of crossing into Shewa, and he was forced to turn back; within three weeks, he was holding court in Aringo.[17] The tribute from Asfa Wossen which reached him months later was small compensation for this failure.[18]
Alaqa Gabru continues Tekle Giyorgis' chronicle only until the beginning of his fifth regnal year, or mid-October 1782; from this point, the Royal chronicle is taken up with the biography of one of the warlords of the Zemene Mesafint, Hailu Eshte. The fall of Tekle Giyorgis from his throne is told tersely: Dejazmach Ali Gwangul and Ras Haile Yosadiq conspired to depose the emperor. Tekle Giyorgis marched from Gondar to Gojjam, where he expected to deal with Ras Hailu first, but the Ras managed to evade him and cross the Abay to join DejazmachAli. The Emperor withdrew across the Abay to Afarwanat, where he was defeated in battle and forced to flee into exile at Ambasell.[19] Why Dejazmach Ali and Ras Hailu Yosadiq decided to rid themselves of Tekle Giyorgis, and who stood with the Emperor at Afarwanat is not recorded.
Second reignBefore Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor on 24 April 1788, two rivals for the throne had appeared: Iyasu and Baeda Maryam, supported by rivals of Ras Ali. Until he lost the throne 26 July 1789, Tekle Giyorgis was one of five Emperors ruling in Ethiopia in the years of 1788 and 1789 — the others being Iyasu III, Tekle Haymanot, Hezqeyas of Ethiopia.[20]
Third reignIn January 1794, Tekle Giyorgis defeated the warlord Ras Haile Yosadiq, and once again was Emperor. He went to the province of Dembiya in the northwestern part of Begemder to seek the support of Dejazmach Gadlu, but the Dejazmach would not receive him; however, Ras Aligaz the brother of Ras Ali and who had a large army encamped at Chat Weha did receive him, and with his help Tekle Giyorgis was able to hold onto the throne until 15 April 1795.[21]
Later reignsTekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor a fourth time December 1795, and remained Emperor until 20 May 1796. His fifth period as emperor was from 4 January 1798 to 20 May 1799, and his last ran from 24 March 1800 into June of that year. He lived the rest of his life in Waldebba and Tigray.[22]
Despite the fact that the Imperial throne had little power or income, Tekle Giyorgis continued to work towards his restoration. Pearce recounts how the common wisdom, while he lived in Ethiopia, expected Ras Wolde Selassie to restore Tekle Giyorgis to the throne. He notes a meeting the former Emperor and the Ras had at Axum 17 January 1814,[23] but the Ras declined to help the former ruler. Tekle Giyorgis then left for the court of Wolde Selassie's rival, Ras Gebre, and stirred up trouble between the two until Wolde Selassie met Gebre, and was undeceived; Ras Wolde Selassie took custody of Tekle Giyorgis and afterwards exiled him to Axum, where he was kept under close watch until the Ras' death.[24] Having fled to Axum after the death of his patron the Ras, Pearce found the former king doing quite well in that city, selling noble titles to the victorious warlords in return for shares of their plunder; only Sabagadis refused to take a part in this trade.[25] He died of natural causes at Axum, and was buried in the churchyard of Mariam Sean of that city.[26]
Iyasu III of Ethiopia
16 February 1784 to 24 April 1788
Iyasu III or Joshua III was nəgusä nägäst (16 February 1784 – 24 April 1788) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Abeto Azequ, and the grandson ofIyasus II.[1]
He was set upon the throne by a number of high nobles, and after the generals swore their allegiance to him in the presence of the Abuna Yosab and the Ichege, Iyasu made a number of promotions foremost of which were: Qegnazmach Tsadalu was made Ras Betwodded, Ras Haile Yosadiq governor of Gojjam and the Agaw, Balambaras Ali Dejazmach of Begemder, and Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel was released from his chains and made Dajazmach of Tigray.[1] His reign of four years was disrupted by feuds between Wolde Selassie, Ras Haile Yosadiq, and others.
According to E.A. Wallis Budge, one of the governors deposed Iyasu, who shortly afterwards died from smallpox.[2] However, according to the contemporary account of the Royal chronicle, not long after Dejazmach Ali brought Tekle Giyorgis back from exile at Ambassel and restored him to the throne, Ras Haile Yosadiq marched from Gojjam on Gondar, intending to restore Iyasu. Although Ras Haile entered the city with his candidate, Tekle Giyorgis having carefully fled beforehand, when Dejazmach Ali responded by marching on Gondar, RasHaile abandoned Iyasu, and Dejazmach Guebra was forced to escort Iyasu to safety in Tigray.[3] After the defeat of Ras Haile Yosadiq's alliance at Madab later in 1788, one of the individuals captured by the victorious Dejazmach Ali was Iyasu.[4] In any case, according to Henry Salt, Iyasu had died by 1810.[5]
He was set upon the throne by a number of high nobles, and after the generals swore their allegiance to him in the presence of the Abuna Yosab and the Ichege, Iyasu made a number of promotions foremost of which were: Qegnazmach Tsadalu was made Ras Betwodded, Ras Haile Yosadiq governor of Gojjam and the Agaw, Balambaras Ali Dejazmach of Begemder, and Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel was released from his chains and made Dajazmach of Tigray.[1] His reign of four years was disrupted by feuds between Wolde Selassie, Ras Haile Yosadiq, and others.
According to E.A. Wallis Budge, one of the governors deposed Iyasu, who shortly afterwards died from smallpox.[2] However, according to the contemporary account of the Royal chronicle, not long after Dejazmach Ali brought Tekle Giyorgis back from exile at Ambassel and restored him to the throne, Ras Haile Yosadiq marched from Gojjam on Gondar, intending to restore Iyasu. Although Ras Haile entered the city with his candidate, Tekle Giyorgis having carefully fled beforehand, when Dejazmach Ali responded by marching on Gondar, RasHaile abandoned Iyasu, and Dejazmach Guebra was forced to escort Iyasu to safety in Tigray.[3] After the defeat of Ras Haile Yosadiq's alliance at Madab later in 1788, one of the individuals captured by the victorious Dejazmach Ali was Iyasu.[4] In any case, according to Henry Salt, Iyasu had died by 1810.[5]
Atse Iyasu
1787 to 1788 - In opposition to Iyasu III
Iyasu or Joshua was proclaimed nəgusä nägäst (1787 – 1788) of Ethiopia in Tigray and Gojjam by enemies of Ras Ali I of Yejju. He was defeated in battle against Ras Ali.
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a number.
He may be identical with the Emperor "Yoas" mentioned by Nathaniel Pearce. Pearce reports that "Yoas" was living in Gondar at the time of his death (May, 1813), and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... [his] remains, or money enough for fettart or toscar."[1]
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a number.
He may be identical with the Emperor "Yoas" mentioned by Nathaniel Pearce. Pearce reports that "Yoas" was living in Gondar at the time of his death (May, 1813), and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... [his] remains, or money enough for fettart or toscar."[1]
Atse Baeda Maryam
1787 to 1788 - In opposition to Iyasu III
Baeda Maryam was proclaimed nəgusä nägäst (1787 – 1788) of Ethiopia in Tigray and Gojjam by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul, who was opposed to Ras Ali ofBegemder.
Joined by Ras Haile Yosadiq and Dejazmach Gebre Masqal, Wolde Gabriel met Ras Ali, the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I, and their supporters in the Battle of Madab, where the allies were defeated; Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel was killed in battle and Baeda Maryam was captured.[1] However, Atse Baeda Maryam's followers would not surrender, and elevated Tekle Haymanotto replace him.
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a throne name.
Joined by Ras Haile Yosadiq and Dejazmach Gebre Masqal, Wolde Gabriel met Ras Ali, the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I, and their supporters in the Battle of Madab, where the allies were defeated; Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel was killed in battle and Baeda Maryam was captured.[1] However, Atse Baeda Maryam's followers would not surrender, and elevated Tekle Haymanotto replace him.
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a throne name.
Tekle Haymanot of Gondar
February 1788 to 1789 - In opposition to Iyasu III
Tekle Haymanot was proclaimed nəgusä nägäst (February 1788 – 1789) of Ethiopia by the former followers of Baede Maryam. He set up his palace in Gondar, and ruled there for about a year.[1] He may be identical with the Emperor "Haimanot" mentioned by Henry Salt, who ruled for a year between Iyasu III and Hezqeyas and had died before 1810.[2]
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a number.
He is sometimes given the title Atse, a less familiar Amharic word for "Emperor", to distinguish him from the other Emperors of Ethiopia with the same name; because he was not recognized as a legitimate ruler, he is not assigned a number.
Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia (Feqr Sagad)
24 April 1788 to 26 July 1789 - Restored
Tekle Giyorgis I (Ge'ez ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ "Plant of Saint George"; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817[1]) was Emperor of Ethiopia (throne name Feqr Sagad) intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son ofYohannes II and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of Tekle Haymanot II.
Second reign Before Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor on 24 April 1788, two rivals for the throne had appeared: Iyasu and Baeda Maryam, supported by rivals of Ras Ali. Until he lost the throne 26 July 1789, Tekle Giyorgis was one of five Emperors ruling in Ethiopia in the years of 1788 and 1789 — the others being Iyasu III, Tekle Haymanot, Hezqeyas of Ethiopia.[20]
Second reign Before Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor on 24 April 1788, two rivals for the throne had appeared: Iyasu and Baeda Maryam, supported by rivals of Ras Ali. Until he lost the throne 26 July 1789, Tekle Giyorgis was one of five Emperors ruling in Ethiopia in the years of 1788 and 1789 — the others being Iyasu III, Tekle Haymanot, Hezqeyas of Ethiopia.[20]
Baeda Maryam II of Ethiopia
15 April to December 1795
Baeda Maryam II was nəgusä nägäst (15 April – December 1795) of Ethiopia. He may have been the son of Salomon II. Although E. A. Wallis Budge, in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, notes some authorities believe Baeda Maryam was the same person as Salomon III,[1] Nathaniel Pearce, who met the former Emperor when he visited Ras Wolde Selassie 20 January 1813, states that he had been Emperor only once, for nine months.
Pearce provides a short account of Baeda Maryam's reign. He had been made Emperor by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, and after he was deposed by Ras Aligaz, Baeda Maryam found refuge with Ras Guebra.[2] The Royal chronicle provides further details: when Emperor Tekle Giyorgis was absent from Gondar raiding near Shawra, Baeda Maryam was proclaimed emperor over the protests of Abuna Yosab III and the Ichege. At the same time Wolde Gabriel was elevated to Ras and Betwodded.[3] However, according to the Royal chronicle Baeda Maryam found little support beyond Wolde Gabriel: not long after his coronation, retainers of Ras Guebra at Shawada and Mosabit clashed with the retainers of Wolde Gabriel; DejazmachWolde Selassie appeared to support Baeda Maryam as emperor, but he sent a secret message to Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen of support. Both Ras Wolde Gabriel and Emperor Baeda Maryam campaigned in the provinces in a show of strength, but by the rainy season Baeda Maryam had returned to Gondar.[4]
Towards the end of 1795, Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen marched from Lasta, supported by Oromo from Wollo, and defeated Wolde Gabriel in battle at Felaqit Saturday 8 Teqemt. Wolde Gabriel retreated towards the Checheho pausing at Maryam Weha and his enemies at Agala. When Wolde Gabriel attempted to retire towards Sabisabar, he was attacked and defeated once again at Tsanfa Gumara. Wolde Gabriel withdrew to Quratsa, where the monks made peace between him and Haile Wand Bewossen. Wolde Gabriel then went to the monastery at Mahdere Maryam while Haile marched on Gondar, where he summoned Tekle Giyorgis to resume the throne.[5]
By 1802, Baeda Maryam was reportedly a prisoner in Semien.[6] By January 1813, he was still in Semien, at which time he visited Ras Wolde Selassie to seek his help in being restored to the throne, but the Ras declined to help. Pearce later notes that Wolde Selassie was thought to be supporting the claims of another former Emperor, Tekle Giyorgis, but did not act because "he is persuaded to wait for the Abuna from Egypt and take him with him."[7]
Pearce provides a short account of Baeda Maryam's reign. He had been made Emperor by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, and after he was deposed by Ras Aligaz, Baeda Maryam found refuge with Ras Guebra.[2] The Royal chronicle provides further details: when Emperor Tekle Giyorgis was absent from Gondar raiding near Shawra, Baeda Maryam was proclaimed emperor over the protests of Abuna Yosab III and the Ichege. At the same time Wolde Gabriel was elevated to Ras and Betwodded.[3] However, according to the Royal chronicle Baeda Maryam found little support beyond Wolde Gabriel: not long after his coronation, retainers of Ras Guebra at Shawada and Mosabit clashed with the retainers of Wolde Gabriel; DejazmachWolde Selassie appeared to support Baeda Maryam as emperor, but he sent a secret message to Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen of support. Both Ras Wolde Gabriel and Emperor Baeda Maryam campaigned in the provinces in a show of strength, but by the rainy season Baeda Maryam had returned to Gondar.[4]
Towards the end of 1795, Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen marched from Lasta, supported by Oromo from Wollo, and defeated Wolde Gabriel in battle at Felaqit Saturday 8 Teqemt. Wolde Gabriel retreated towards the Checheho pausing at Maryam Weha and his enemies at Agala. When Wolde Gabriel attempted to retire towards Sabisabar, he was attacked and defeated once again at Tsanfa Gumara. Wolde Gabriel withdrew to Quratsa, where the monks made peace between him and Haile Wand Bewossen. Wolde Gabriel then went to the monastery at Mahdere Maryam while Haile marched on Gondar, where he summoned Tekle Giyorgis to resume the throne.[5]
By 1802, Baeda Maryam was reportedly a prisoner in Semien.[6] By January 1813, he was still in Semien, at which time he visited Ras Wolde Selassie to seek his help in being restored to the throne, but the Ras declined to help. Pearce later notes that Wolde Selassie was thought to be supporting the claims of another former Emperor, Tekle Giyorgis, but did not act because "he is persuaded to wait for the Abuna from Egypt and take him with him."[7]
Tekle Giyorgis Feqr Sagad
December 1795 to 20 May 1796 -Restored
Third reign In January 1794, Tekle Giyorgis defeated the warlord Ras Haile Yosadiq, and once again was Emperor. He went to the province of Dembiya in the northwestern part of Begemder to seek the support of Dejazmach Gadlu, but the Dejazmach would not receive him; however, Ras Aligaz the brother of Ras Ali and who had a large army encamped at Chat Weha did receive him, and with his help Tekle Giyorgis was able to hold onto the throne until 15 April 1795.[21]
Salomon III of Ethiopia
20 May 1796 to 15 July 1797
Salomon III or Solomon III was the Emperor of Ethiopia (20 May 1796 – 15 July 1797 and 16 June – 25 July 1799[1]) and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Haymanot II. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810.[2] E. A. Wallis Budge notes some authorities believe he was the same person as Baeda Maryam II.[3]
LifeHe was largely a figurehead, appointed Emperor by Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray and Ras Mare'ed in 1796. He spent the next year struggling with his rival, and brother, the former Emperor Tekle Giyorgis; while he was preoccupied with Tekle Giyorgis, Gondar was surrounded in May 1797 by the rebel Balambaras Asserat, who did not have the military strength to enter the capital city, and limited his destruction to burning the property of Tekle Giyorgis in Gondar. Salomon was forced to flee Gondar, and took refuge in Axum where he lived under the protection of Ras Wolde Selassie.[4] The Ras then supported the restoration of Salomon's brother Tekle Giyorgis.[5] Not long afterwards, Salomon was invited to live with his brother as his guest.[6]
In May 1797, while Tekle Giyorgis was campaigning in Begemder, Salomon disappeared from Tekle Giyorgis' camp and made his way back to Gondar where he received by RasMare'ed. Ras Mare'ed and Ras Guebre then restored Salomon as Emperor the following month.[7] However, Ras Wolde Gabriel marched on Gondar and a battle was fought between him and Ras Mare'ed on 22 July; both Wolde Gabriel and Mare'ed were killed, but Salomon's supporters were defeated. Salomon was deposed and put into chains by Dejazmach Gugsa andDejazmach Alula, who were in the victorious army, and replaced him five days later with Demetros, the great-grandson of Emperor Fasilides.[8] In 1802, Salomon was reportedly still a prisoner, but at that time in Tigray.[9]
LifeHe was largely a figurehead, appointed Emperor by Ras Wolde Selassie of Tigray and Ras Mare'ed in 1796. He spent the next year struggling with his rival, and brother, the former Emperor Tekle Giyorgis; while he was preoccupied with Tekle Giyorgis, Gondar was surrounded in May 1797 by the rebel Balambaras Asserat, who did not have the military strength to enter the capital city, and limited his destruction to burning the property of Tekle Giyorgis in Gondar. Salomon was forced to flee Gondar, and took refuge in Axum where he lived under the protection of Ras Wolde Selassie.[4] The Ras then supported the restoration of Salomon's brother Tekle Giyorgis.[5] Not long afterwards, Salomon was invited to live with his brother as his guest.[6]
In May 1797, while Tekle Giyorgis was campaigning in Begemder, Salomon disappeared from Tekle Giyorgis' camp and made his way back to Gondar where he received by RasMare'ed. Ras Mare'ed and Ras Guebre then restored Salomon as Emperor the following month.[7] However, Ras Wolde Gabriel marched on Gondar and a battle was fought between him and Ras Mare'ed on 22 July; both Wolde Gabriel and Mare'ed were killed, but Salomon's supporters were defeated. Salomon was deposed and put into chains by Dejazmach Gugsa andDejazmach Alula, who were in the victorious army, and replaced him five days later with Demetros, the great-grandson of Emperor Fasilides.[8] In 1802, Salomon was reportedly still a prisoner, but at that time in Tigray.[9]
Yonas
18 August 1797 to 4 January 1798
Yonas or Jonah (died May, 1813) was nəgusä nägäst (18 August 1797 – 4 January 1798) of Ethiopia. He was the son of Letezum, and the grandson of the Emperor Fasilides.[1]
According to E.A. Wallis Budge, Yonas was a forehead, proclaimed Emperor by Ras Isra'el of Begemder, and deposed by Gugsa, a chieftain of the Yejju Oromo.[2] However, the Royal Chronicle records that he was proclaimed Emperor after the Emperor who controlled Gondar, Salomon III, had been defeated by the rebel Balambaras Asserat, who forced him to flee Gondar.[1] However, during Yonas' reign the realm was afflicted by a famine in which "more men died than could be numbered." Yonas' son Mafu died 7 November then his wife Esther, both apparently from this famine. Lacking any support or rationale for his rule, the major warlords of the time -- Ras Mare'ed, Dejazmach Hailu Eshte, Dejazmach Wolde Selassie, andRas Guebra -- all successfully petitioned to Emperor Tekle Giyorgis to return from exile in Waldebba and become ruler once again. Upon learning of Tekle Giyorgis' approach when he was still one day's march away, Yonas fled to sanctuary in the Abuna's palace.[3]
After months of hiding in the Abuna's palace, Yonas became a potential pawn when Waheldu, the brother of Asserat and also in conflict with the major warlords, attempted to have Yonas brought to him and used as his own candidate for Emperor. Tekle Giyorgis managed to foil this plot by giving amnesty to Yonas, and had him and Yonas' brother Goshu, "dwell with him in friendship" in the Royal Enclosure.[4]
By 1802, he was a prisoner in Lasta.[5] Henry Salt is reported to have met with his son Fasilidas in Adowa 16 September 1805, and who "seemed anxious to have a private conversation [with Salt], but was prevented."[6] Nathaniel Pearce reports that Yonas was living in exile in Gojjam at the time of his death, and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... [his] remains, or money enough for fettart or toscar."[7]
According to E.A. Wallis Budge, Yonas was a forehead, proclaimed Emperor by Ras Isra'el of Begemder, and deposed by Gugsa, a chieftain of the Yejju Oromo.[2] However, the Royal Chronicle records that he was proclaimed Emperor after the Emperor who controlled Gondar, Salomon III, had been defeated by the rebel Balambaras Asserat, who forced him to flee Gondar.[1] However, during Yonas' reign the realm was afflicted by a famine in which "more men died than could be numbered." Yonas' son Mafu died 7 November then his wife Esther, both apparently from this famine. Lacking any support or rationale for his rule, the major warlords of the time -- Ras Mare'ed, Dejazmach Hailu Eshte, Dejazmach Wolde Selassie, andRas Guebra -- all successfully petitioned to Emperor Tekle Giyorgis to return from exile in Waldebba and become ruler once again. Upon learning of Tekle Giyorgis' approach when he was still one day's march away, Yonas fled to sanctuary in the Abuna's palace.[3]
After months of hiding in the Abuna's palace, Yonas became a potential pawn when Waheldu, the brother of Asserat and also in conflict with the major warlords, attempted to have Yonas brought to him and used as his own candidate for Emperor. Tekle Giyorgis managed to foil this plot by giving amnesty to Yonas, and had him and Yonas' brother Goshu, "dwell with him in friendship" in the Royal Enclosure.[4]
By 1802, he was a prisoner in Lasta.[5] Henry Salt is reported to have met with his son Fasilidas in Adowa 16 September 1805, and who "seemed anxious to have a private conversation [with Salt], but was prevented."[6] Nathaniel Pearce reports that Yonas was living in exile in Gojjam at the time of his death, and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... [his] remains, or money enough for fettart or toscar."[7]
Tekle Giyorgis I (Feqr Sagad)
4 January 1798 to 20 May 1799 - Restored
Later reignsTekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor a fourth time December 1795, and remained Emperor until 20 May 1796. His fifth period as emperor was from 4 January 1798 to 20 May 1799, and his last ran from 24 March 1800 into June of that year. He lived the rest of his life in Waldebba and Tigray.[22]
Despite the fact that the Imperial throne had little power or income, Tekle Giyorgis continued to work towards his restoration. Pearce recounts how the common wisdom, while he lived in Ethiopia, expected Ras Wolde Selassie to restore Tekle Giyorgis to the throne. He notes a meeting the former Emperor and the Ras had at Axum 17 January 1814,[23] but the Ras declined to help the former ruler. Tekle Giyorgis then left for the court of Wolde Selassie's rival, Ras Gebre, and stirred up trouble between the two until Wolde Selassie met Gebre, and was undeceived; Ras Wolde Selassie took custody of Tekle Giyorgis and afterwards exiled him to Axum, where he was kept under close watch until the Ras' death.[24] Having fled to Axum after the death of his patron the Ras, Pearce found the former king doing quite well in that city, selling noble titles to the victorious warlords in return for shares of their plunder; only Sabagadis refused to take a part in this trade.[25] He died of natural causes at Axum, and was buried in the churchyard of Mariam Sean of that city.[26]
Despite the fact that the Imperial throne had little power or income, Tekle Giyorgis continued to work towards his restoration. Pearce recounts how the common wisdom, while he lived in Ethiopia, expected Ras Wolde Selassie to restore Tekle Giyorgis to the throne. He notes a meeting the former Emperor and the Ras had at Axum 17 January 1814,[23] but the Ras declined to help the former ruler. Tekle Giyorgis then left for the court of Wolde Selassie's rival, Ras Gebre, and stirred up trouble between the two until Wolde Selassie met Gebre, and was undeceived; Ras Wolde Selassie took custody of Tekle Giyorgis and afterwards exiled him to Axum, where he was kept under close watch until the Ras' death.[24] Having fled to Axum after the death of his patron the Ras, Pearce found the former king doing quite well in that city, selling noble titles to the victorious warlords in return for shares of their plunder; only Sabagadis refused to take a part in this trade.[25] He died of natural causes at Axum, and was buried in the churchyard of Mariam Sean of that city.[26]