Tekle Haymanot I ( gez, ተክለ ሃይማኖት), throne name Le`al Sagad (Ge'ez: ለዓለ ሰገድ, 28 March 1684 – 30 June 1708) 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 27 March 1706 until his death in 1708, 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
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 ...
and Empress
Malakotawit. He is often referred to as "Irgum Tekle Haymanot" or "Tekle Haymanot the Cursed".
Background
Tekle Haymanot I was a son of Emperor
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 ...
by one of his concubines named
Malakotawit.
Malakotawit was later given the title of ''Etage'' or ''Itege'', meaning "Empress", during the reign of her son.
She was crowned at
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 ...
.
Tekle Haymanot I had several half siblings as his father sired with several concubines. His half brothers who ascended the throne were
Dawit III
Dawit III ( Ge'ez: ዳዊት), throne name Adbar Sagad (Ge’ez: አድባር ሰገድ), also known as Dawit the Singer was Emperor of Ethiopia from 8 February 1716 to 18 May 1721, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I ...
,
Bakaffa
Bakaffa ( Ge'ez: በካፋ) birth name: Missah; throne name Aṣma Giyorgis (Ge'ez: ዐፅመ ጊዮርጊስ), later Masih Sagad (Ge'ez: መሲሕ ሰገድ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 May 1721 to 19 September 1730, and a member of the ...
and
Yohannes II
Yohannes II ( Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ዮሐንስ; 1699 – 18 October 1769) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I, and brother of Emperors Tekle Haymanot I, Dawit III, and Bakaffa.
Reign
Accor ...
.
[
]
Reign
Tekle Haymanot became Emperor following Iyasus' retirement to an island in Lake Tana
Lake Tana ( am, ጣና ሐይቅ, T’ana ḥāyik’i; previously Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wid ...
. With the support of his mother Empress Malakotawit, some of the officials argued that Iyasu had abdicated, and crowned Tekle Haymanot as ''nəgusä nägäst'' in 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 ...
. This act was not embraced by the entire state, and the resulting civil strife led to Iyasu's murder at the order of his son Tekle Haymanot.
In September, 1707, a rebel in Gojjam
Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos.
Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...
declared himself ''nəgusä nägäst'' under the name Amda Seyon, and made his way to the capital city, where he had himself crowned. Tekle Haymanot quickly returned to Gondar, despite the difficulty of travel during the rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* ''T ...
, forced the usurper to flee, and celebrated his triumph. Amda Seyon was later killed in battle in Maitsa. However his unpopularity for having ordered the murder of his widely revered father was profound and he never overcame it. The involvement of his mother Melekotawit, and the acceptance of his position by other members of the dynasty did irreparable harm to the image of the monarchy. His own courtiers plotted against him, and discussions abounded about whether it was worthy to keep such a corrupt dynasty in power.
While travelling in the provinces, Tekle Haymanot was stabbed to death by some of his late father's courtiers.[ ]James Bruce
James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Eur ...
on the other hand states that Tekle Haymanot was murdered while hunting by two former courtiers of his father. (''Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile'' 805 edition vol. 4 p. 14f.)
The band of assassins then attempted to establish Tekle Haymanot's young son, Naod on the throne and failed. Tekle Haymanot was buried on the island of Kebran at Lake Tana
Lake Tana ( am, ጣና ሐይቅ, T’ana ḥāyik’i; previously Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wid ...
Some historians date the beginning of the Ethiopian Zemene Mesafint
The Zemene Mesafint ( gez, ዘመነ መሳፍንት ''zamana masāfint'', modern: ''zemene mesāfint'', variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; named after the Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiop ...
or "Era of the Princes" (a time of disorder when the power of the monarchy was eclipsed by the power of local warlords) the murder of Iyasu the Great by his son Tekle Haymanot, and the resultant decline in the prestige of the dynasty.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tekle Haymanot 01 Of Ethiopia
1684 births
1708 deaths
18th-century emperors of Ethiopia
18th-century murdered monarchs
Solomonic dynasty
Deaths by stabbing in Ethiopia
1708 murders in Africa