Newaya Maryam ( gez, ንዋየ ማርያም; throne name Wedem Asfare or Gemma Asfare) was

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

from 1372 to 1382, and a member of 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 ...

. He was the eldest son of

Newaya Krestos Newaya Krestos ( gez, ንዋየ ክርስቶስ; throne name: Sayf Ar'ed, lit. "sword of terror") was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1344 to 1372, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the eldest son of Amda Seyon I. Reign According to Jame ...

Reign

During his reign,

Haqq ad-Din II Haqq ad-Din II ( ar, حق الدين الثاني) (ruled late 14th century) was a Sultan of the Ifat Sultanate, the brother of Sa'ad ad-Din II, and the son of Ahmad ibn Ali. Haqq was the first Sultan to move the capital of Ifat to the Harar plat ...

of the

Walasma dynasty The Walashma dynasty was a medieval Muslim dynasty of the Horn of Africa. Founded in 1285, it was centered in Zeila, and established bases around the Horn of Africa. It governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are present-day Somaliland, ...

gained control of the kingdom of Ifat on the southeastern frontier of Ethiopia in 1376, and began raids against the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

. He then characterized his expedition as a

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

against the Christian infidels. According to E. A. Wallis Budge, the Royal Chronicles state that "little was known about" Newaya Maryam, and he died without issue. He was buried at Asar, but his descendant Emperor

Baeda Maryam I 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. H ...

had his body re-interred at the church of

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 ...

."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 28 January 2008)

Notes

1382 deaths 14th-century monarchs in Africa 14th-century emperors of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty Year of birth unknown {{Ethiopia-royal-stub