Iyasu I

Iyasu I ( Ge'ez: ኢያሱ ፩; 1654 – 13 October 1706), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ), also known as Iyasu the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 19 July 1682 until his death in 1706, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

Described as the last “great” Gondarine monarch, Iyasu temporarily halted the trend of decline through his brilliance as a military leader, reestablishing control over rebellious vassals and conquering areas to the south of his domain. In addition to his military and political exploits, Iyasu was a patron of architecture, arts and literature. He also attempted to settle doctrinal differences within Ethiopia’s Coptic Church, but without long-lasting success.

Iyasu was deposed by his own son Tekle Haymanot I in 1706 and assassinated by the relatives of one of his concubines. A series of ineffectual emperors followed and imperial power declined until the advent of Tewodros II in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Ancestry

Of Amhara descent, Iyasu I was the son of Emperor Yohannes I by his wife Sabla Wangel.

Early life

After the death of his eldest brother Yostos in June 1676, Iyasu inherited the governorship over Semien. In 1677–1678, he accompanied his father on a military campaign against the region of Lasta. Iyasu fell out with his father in 1681 and rebelled against him. Iyasu then negotiated his succession, so when Yohannes I died on 19 July 1682, he ascended the throne.

Iyasu's other siblings included brothers Tewoflos and Gelawdewos, and sisters Amlakawit and Eleni.

Reign

Administrative reforms

His reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters (the first in 1684, in the public square of Gondar), matters of state, and to proclaim laws.

In the late 17th century, Iyasu I established the Lewa; the first separate armed force with police functions. Its duties were to keep public order in the towns and on the roads.

In 1698, after reports of extortion suffered by merchants, Iyasu I reasserted his control over the growing lawlessness in the Tigray province. In November, Iyasu I summoned the chiefs of Tigray, and interrogated them on the taxes then exacted at the customs posts (also known as the Kella system). This led to decrease of taxes, and tax exemptions for small merchantsm, which encouraged trade. The monarch declared that anyone attempting to tax them woud have his property confiscated, and be punishable by death. Iyasu I ordered the chiefs, and the location of all Tigray Kella, be announced by herald, and recorded in the royal chronicle.

Alliances

Iyasu I strengthen his control over his southern domains through his alliance with two influential Amhara warlords, Demetros of Merhabete and Negasi of Menz. Having accepted the suzerainty of their northern monarch, Demetros was granted the old imperial title of Sahafe Lam while Negasi was honoured in Gondar with pomp and circumstance receiving gifts from the Emperor.

Military campaigns and conflicts

In the second year of his reign, he confronted an invasion of the Wollo Oromo into Amhara, defeating them at Melka Shimfa.

After Qegnazmach Wale of Damot and Tabdan the Hermit proclaimed Yeshaq emperor in his fourth year (1685), Iyasu quickly suppressed this revolt, and captured Yeshaq, then waited a year before marching beyond southern Gojjam in a punitive expedition against the Agaws who had supported the rebels.

In 1688, he led a campaign in Dera, passing through Woremo against a rebellion in the Tulama country. The leader of the rebellion, a native of Debre Werq was captured after a pitched battle in a narrow defile, and condemned by a tribunal of ecclesiastics.

In 1692, the king undertook an expedition in the Mareb river valley, against the Dubani, or Nara, in present-day Gash Barka. At the sound of the musket, the tribesmen were terrified and fled.

In 1704, emperor Iyasu I campaigned south of Abay in the kingdom of Ennarea, where he was confronted with a civil war between two throne claimants.

It was during his reign that individual Oromo first found service in the Imperial court.

His ''Royal Chronicle'' recounts how when the Ottoman Naib of Massawa attempted to levy a tax on Iyasu's goods that had landed at Massawa, he responded with a blockade of that island city until the Naib relented.

Foreign contacts

Solomon Getahun observes that "unlike his immediate predecessors, Iyasu's tenure was noted for endeavors to establish diplomatic ties with Christian monarchies like Louis XIV of France and Ethiopian delegates had been sent to foreign countries."
In 1689, an embassy, led by an Armenian named Murad was sent to Batavia, Dutch East Indies. One of the benefits of these efforts was that Emperor Iyasu received a bell from Johannes Camphuys, governor of the Dutch East Indies, which was then donated to Debre Berhan Selassie Church in Gondar.

This also led to the visit by a French physician, Charles Jacques Poncet, who traveled to the Empire to treat Iyasu and one of his sons. Poncet arrived at Gondar 21 July 1699 and stayed until September 1700. Poncet published an account of his visit to Paris in 1704, which included his personal impression of Iyasu the Great:

:Although' he is not above one and forty years old, yet he has already a numerous issue. He has eight princes and three princesses. The Emperor has great qualities – sagacious genius, a sweet and affable humor, and the stature of a hero. He is the most handsome man I have seen in Aethiopia. He is a lover of curious arts and sciences, but his chief passion is for war. He is brave and undaunted in battles, and always at the head of his troops. He has an extraordinary love for justice, which he administers to his subjects with great exactness; but whereas he is averse to blood, 'tis not without reluctance that he condemns a criminal o death Such eminent qualities make him equally fear'd and belov'd by his subjects, who respect him even to adoration.

Conspiracy and death

While he was campaigning in Gojjam against the Oromo, Iyasu learned that his favorite concubine, Kedeste Kristos, had died. Stricken with grief, he retired to an island in Lake Tana. Supported by Empress Malakotawit, some of the officials argued, after the precedent of the king Kaleb that he had abdicated, and crowned his son Tekle Haymanot Emperor. According to some accounts, this was not Iyasu's intent, and he marched from his hermitage in Lake Tana towards to Gondar to protest this; in any case, during this time he fell sick and was assassinated at Tekle Haymanot's orders. Iyasu's death caused much distress in the capital, especially amongst the priests of Debre Berhan Selassie, who openly displayed his gifts to them, and mourned their dead monarch for a month. Bruce writes that Iyasu was buried on Mitraha Island, where he was shown Iyasu's body interred amongst "the bodies of all his ancestors".Bruce, ''Travels'', vol. 3 pp. 528f

Aftermath

Once his brother Tewoflos became Emperor, he initiated Iyasu's canonization.

Family

Spouse and concubines

In September 1683, Iyasu married Walatta Seyon, a native from the northern region of Hamasien, located in modern day Eritrea. They had a son and a daughter. Walatta Seyon died in May 1693. She was Iyasu's only wife by marriage.

Iyasu’s numerous offspring (including four of his sons who became emperors) were children of his concubines. One of them, Malakotawit was one of the main co-conspirators behind Iyasu's abdication and later assassination. Emperor Tewoflos ordered a prosecution of all those who participated in the conspiracy against Iyasu, his brother. On 13 October 1708, Malakotawit and her brothers ( Dermen and Pawlos) were executed.

Iyasu's favorite concubine was Qeddesta Krestos; with whom he had five children. Qeddesta was a native from Bahrkanta, a settlement near the Lake Tana shore. The cause of her death (either killed or succumbed to illness) in 1705 is disputed by the sources. It was however a turning point in Iyasu's life, and a precursor to events that led to his abdication and then murder.

Another concubine mentioned by the sources is Maryamawit the mother of Emperor Bakaffa.

Descendants

● Fasilades was Iyasu's firstborn son by his official wife, Walatta Seyon. The prince was Iyasu's initial heir and was given the namesake of his great-grandfather Emperor Fasilides. The prince died prematurely in 1700.

● Walatta Rufael was his daughter by his wife, Walatta Seyon.

● Emperor Tekle Haymanot I was Iyasu's son by his concubine; Malakotawit, who later encouraged him to seize power from his father in 1706. Tekle Haymanot brief reign ended in the spring of 1708, when he was killed during a hunting expedition.

● Emperor Dawit III was his son by Qeddesta Krestos. Iyasu seemed to have later favored his son Dawit and sometime between 1698-1699 had him leave the royal prison of Wehni, a mountain fortress where all the candidate heirs to the throne were kept. From that time on Dawit accompanied him. Dawit reigned from 1716 to 1721 as Emperor.

● Emperor Yohannes II was his son by Qeddesta Krestos, Yohannes briefly assumed the throne in 1769.

● Yonathan was his third son by Qeddesta Krestos.

● Emperor Bakaffa was the son of Maryamawit, Bakaffa succeeded his half brother Dawit and reigned from 1721 to 1730.

● Yostos was Iyasu's seventh son, mother is unknown. His descendant Iyasu IV would briefly ascend the throne in early 1830's, albeit as a figure head.

● Walatta Selassie was Iyasu's second daughter, mother is unknown.

● Walatta Israel was Iyasu's third daughter, mother is unknown. Her son was Gerazmach Iyasu, the second husband of Empress Mentewab.

Notes

References

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1654 births
1706 deaths
17th-century emperors of Ethiopia
18th-century emperors of Ethiopia
17th-century monarchs in Africa
18th-century monarchs in Africa
18th-century murdered monarchs
Solomonic dynasty
People murdered in Ethiopia
1706 murders in Africa