Tewodros I ( gez, ቴዎድሮስ), throne name Walda Anbasa (Ge'ez: ወልደ ዐንበሳ; died 2 July 1414) 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 1413 to 1414, 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

Dawit I Dawit I ( gez, ዳዊት) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1382 to 6 October 1413, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the younger son of Newaya Krestos. Reign Taddesse Tamrat discusses a tradition that early in his reign, Dawit campaign ...

by Queen Seyon Mangasha.

Reign

Despite the fact it only lasted nine months (from 12 October 1413 to 23 June 1414), Tewodros's reign acquired a connotation of being a golden age for Ethiopia. The explorer

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 Europ ...

later commented, E. A. Wallis Budge repeats the account of the ''Synaxarium'' that Emperor Tewodros was "a very religious man, and a great lover of religious literature". Budge adds that Tewodros wished to make a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, but was convinced not to make the journey by the

Abuna Abuna (or Abune, which is the Construct state, status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez alphabet, Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic language, Amharic and Tigrinya language, Tigrinya) is the honorific titl ...

Mark, "who feared for his safety." Despite this, Budge notes that he annulled the agreement of his ancestor

Yekuno Amlak Yekuno Amlak ( Ge’ez: ይኩኖ አምላክ); throne name Tasfa Iyasus (ተስፋ ኢየሱስ; died 19 June 1285) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara (in ...

that granted a third of the country to the

Ethiopian Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

. Tewodros died beyond the

Awash river The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of ...

Taddesse Tamrat Taddesse Tamrat ( am, ታደሰ ታምራት; 4 August 1935 – 23 May 2013) was an Ethiopian historian and scholar of Ethiopian studies. He is best known as the author of ''Church and State in Ethiopia 1270–1520'' (1972, Oxford University Pre ...

suspects that chroniclers of this era tried to suppress the violent death of the Emperors. Tewodros supposedly fell in battle against the Walashma princes. He was first buried at the church of

Tadbaba Maryam Tadbaba Maryam, also called Tadbaba Zion in ancient times (meaning "tabernacle of St Mary/Zion"), is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church located in the place of Sayint in South Wollo, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The current church bears the titl ...

, 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

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)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tewodros 01 Of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty Emperors of Ethiopia 1414 deaths 15th-century monarchs in Africa 15th-century Ethiopian people Year of birth unknown