Baeda Maryam I ( gez, በእደ ማርያም; Bäˀəda Maryam, meaning "He who is in the hand of Mary"; 1448 – 8 November 1478), otherwise known as Cyriacus
was
Emperor of Ethiopia from 1468 to 1478, and a member of the
Solomonic dynasty. His reign was characterized by a number of military campaigns, most notably against the
Dobe'a {{short description, People living in northeastern Ethiopia during medieval times
The Dobe'a were a people of medieval Ethiopia, living in northeastern Ethiopia between what are now Amhara, Tigray and Afar Regions.
Homeland
They were first descri ...
who lived along the western escarpment of the
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...
.
Early years
Born at
Debre Berhan, he was the son of
Zara Yaqob
Zara Yaqob ( Ge'ez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Kwestantinos I (Ge'ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He is known for t ...
by Seyon Mogesa.
Towards the end of Zara Yaqob's life, the Emperor became increasingly convinced that members of his family were plotting against him, and had several of them beaten. Baeda Maryam I's mother died from this mistreatment in 1462, and Baeda Maryam I buried her in secret in the church of Maqdesa Maryam, near Debre Berhan, and donated incense and other gifts to support the church. Zara Yaqob then directed his anger at Baeda Maryam I, until members of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church repaired the rift between the two, and Zara Yaqob publicly designated Baeda Maryam I as his successor.
With his own mother dead, Baeda Maryam I gave
Eleni, a wife of his father, the title of Queen Mother. She proved to be an effective member of the royal family, and Paul B. Henze comments that she "was practically co-monarch" during his reign. However,
Edward Ullendorff notes Baeda Maryam I was unable to hold together the far-flung empire his father left him: "some of the outlying provinces recently conquered began to grow restive; the feudal lords whom Zar'a Ya'qob had only ephemerally brought under central control reasserted their regional authority; and the senior clergy relapsed into some of the old-established ways of conduct and ecclesiastical organization."
Campaigns against the Dobe'a
Emperor Baeda Maryam I conducted a campaign against the
Dobe'a {{short description, People living in northeastern Ethiopia during medieval times
The Dobe'a were a people of medieval Ethiopia, living in northeastern Ethiopia between what are now Amhara, Tigray and Afar Regions.
Homeland
They were first descri ...
early in his reign, but they had fled with their cattle, camels, and he was unable to track down any of them. He subsequently rode into the area himself, but the Dobe'a recognized him from a distance and were able to flee, their possessions already having been evacuated. At this point, the "Dankalé," the ruler of the Danakil (better known as the
Afar), offered to intervene and help in the Emperor's campaign. He sent the Emperor a horse, a mule laden with dates, a shield, and two spears to show his support, along with a message saying, "I have set up my camp, O my master, with the intention of stopping these people. If they are your enemies, I will not let them pass, and will seize them." Ba'eda Maryam sent his men against the Dobe'a again, but his men were defeated and suffered heavy casualties. Ba'eda Maryam was by this point infuriated, criticizing his soldiers for attacking without orders and stating his determination to remain in the Dobe'a country until he had subdued the country to the point where he could sow grain there and his horses could eat its crop.
The Emperor then dispatched
Jan Zeg, the
Garad (governor) of
Bale, in a campaign in the region of
Gam, where the Garad was killed.
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
(or some other
pestilence) broke out among his men, depressing him further, resulting in his withdrawal to
Tigray. There he called upon one of his best fighting regiments, Jan Amora ("Royal Eagle"), after which the sub-province and
woreda were named, who were eager to participate in the campaign. The twelve Dobe'a leaders learned of the new attack being prepared, and began to flee in various directions into the lowlands of
Adal
Adal may refer to:
*A short form for Germanic names in ''aþala-'' (Old High German ''adal-''), "nobility, pedigree"; see Othalan
** Adál Maldonado (1948-2020), Puerto Rican artist
** Adal Ramones (born 1969), Mexican television show host
** Ada ...
with their women, children, and cattle, with their property loaded on their camels and other beasts of burden. The Emperor heard of their plans, however, and mounted another campaign against Dobe'as, sending the governors of Tigray,
Qeda and
Damot to pursue them. This new campaign was successful, resulting in the capture of many cattle and the deaths of many Dobe'a, both in the main attack and the following pursuit.
After this defeat, many of the Dobe'a converted to Christianity and begged the Emperor for his pardon. The Emperor in turn returned their cattle, supplementing it with others from the southern provinces of
Wej
Orleans (; French: ; officially and in French OrléansThe suburb is called ''Orléans'' (with an accent) in French, but is commonly called ''Orleans'' (no accent) in English. The official name in English was changed from ''Orleans'' to ''Orléan ...
, and
Genz and stationed soldiers in their country. He further built a church in Dobe'a country dedicated to the Virgin Mary and planted orange trees, lemon trees, and vines in the area, in fulfillment of his earlier declaration. Ba'eda Maryam soon returned to the Dobe'a country and appointed governors and "regulated the social condition of the people," as well as encouraging the celebration of the death of the Virgin Mary every January, upon which occasion he distributed bread, tela (beer), and
tej
Tej (from pronounced ; ; ) is a honey wine, like mead, that is brewed and consumed in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It has an alcohol content generally ranging from 7 to 11%. It is often home processed and consists of three main ingredients; honey, wate ...
(a type of honey wine or
mead) to the people. He further ordered that the Dobe'a become cultivators, as opposed to bandits and left the country for the last time.
Other campaigns
Baeda Maryam I moved his court to the
Gurage
The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in c ...
country, using it as a base for campaigns in
Dawaro and
Bale. His constant campaigning led to a peace treaty with Sultan
Muhammad of
Adal
Adal may refer to:
*A short form for Germanic names in ''aþala-'' (Old High German ''adal-''), "nobility, pedigree"; see Othalan
** Adál Maldonado (1948-2020), Puerto Rican artist
** Adal Ramones (born 1969), Mexican television show host
** Ada ...
, the son of
Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din
Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din II ( ar, بادلاي بن سعد الدين) (also known as Sihab ad-Din Ahmad Badlay, Arwe Badlay – "Badlay the Beast" (died 1445) was a Sultan of the Sultanate of Adal and a son of Sa'ad ad-Din II. Brought numerous ...
, and used the peace it brought to his southern borders to successfully campaign against the restive
Falasha
The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...
in his northern territories. But on Muhammad's death, war with Adal flared up once again.
Baeda Maryam I died at Abasi Wera Gabayi of a sudden illness, but he was buried in a tomb at
Atronsa Maryam
Atronsa Maryam ( Ge'ez: አትሮንሰ ማርያም, "Throne of St Mary") is one of the oldest churches in South Wollo, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The church sits on small hill near the mighty river of Walaqa and about 5 km from the town o ...
, a church he had built in the area between the
Abay and
Jamma rivers. This church was later notable for its painting of
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...
and Christ by the artist
Brancaleon, a
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
who had come to live in Ethiopia. His tomb was later destroyed in an
Oromo raid in 1709, when they sacked the church, enslaved or killed all of the people present, and hurled the coffin of Baeda Maryam I over the nearby cliffs. The explorer
Richard Burton records the contrary story that on his deathbed, Baeda Maryam I ordered that his body be buried so his face looked towards Adal, "upon whose subjugation the energies of ten years had been vainly expended."
[Richard Burton, ''First Footsteps in East Africa'' (New York: Praeger, 1966), p. 179]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baeda Maryam I Of Ethiopia
1448 births
1478 deaths
15th-century emperors of Ethiopia
15th-century monarchs in Africa
Solomonic dynasty