Egwale Anbesa proclaimed himself '' nəgusä nägäst'' of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1832. According to the ''Royal chronicles of Abyssinia'', he was a Christian Oromo, unrelated to the

Solomonic dynasty The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...

. His claim to the Imperial throne was first supported by Ali Faris, who was campaigning at the time against

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Ali II; Ras Ali defeated Ali Faris, who fled to his home amongst the Raya Oromo, leaving Egwale Anbesa behind. A prophecy current at the time stated that a king named "Theodore" would arise, and bring peace and plenty to the country. Egwale Anbesa, who had been living until that time as a wandering

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, went to the convent on the Qaha River near

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...

and sounded a horn, declaring that he was that Theodore. That evening Sahla Dengel left the palace and went to where Egwale Anbesa was, and cut off his head, and set it in a tree at Adababay. Egwale Anbesa's only known supporter, who had been with him at his death, became the Emperor's slave, while the pretender's cross and habit were taken back to the palace, and displayed to all visitors.Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', p. 489;

References

Year of birth unknown 1832 deaths 19th-century emperors of Ethiopia 19th-century Christian monks 19th-century murdered monarchs Monarchs in Ethiopia Oromo people People murdered in Ethiopia Deaths by decapitation 19th-century murders in Ethiopia 1832 murders in Africa {{Ethiopia-royal-stub