Salomon III was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1796 and 1797, 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 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. E. A. Wallis Budge notes some authorities believe he was the same person as Baeda Maryam II.

Life

He was largely a figurehead, appointed Emperor by '' Ras''

Wolde Selassie Wolde Selassie (; c.1736 - 28 May 1816) was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788-1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797-1800. John J. Halls, in his ''Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt'', preserves a description of this power ...

of Tigray and ''Ras'' Mare'ed in 1796. He spent the next year struggling with his rival, and brother, the former Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis I Tekle Giyorgis I ( gez, ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817), throne name Feqr Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of ...

; while he was preoccupied with Tekle Giyorgis,

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 ...

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. The ''Ras'' then supported the restoration of Salomon's brother Tekle Giyorgis. Not long afterwards, Salomon was invited to live with his brother as his guest. In May 1797, while Tekle Giyorgis was campaigning in

Begemder Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means " ...

, Salomon disappeared from Tekle Giyorgis' camp and made his way back to Gondar where he received by ''Ras'' Mare'ed. ''Ras'' Mare'ed and ''Ras'' Guebre then restored Salomon as Emperor the following month. 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 Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

'' Gugsa and ''Dejazmach''

Alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...

, who were in the victorious army, and replaced him five days later with

Demetros Demetros (died 1802) was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1799 and 1801, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Arqedewos. He may be the same person as the "Adimo" mentioned in the account of the traveler Henry Salt ...

, the great-grandson of Emperor

Fasilides Fasilides ( Ge'ez: ፋሲልደስ; ''Fāsīladas''; 20 November 1603 – 18 October 1667), also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides (as in the works of Edward Gibbon), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a ...

. In 1802, Salomon was reportedly still a prisoner, but at that time in Tigray.Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', p. 471

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Salomon 03 Of Ethiopia 18th-century emperors of Ethiopia 18th-century monarchs in Africa Solomonic dynasty