Yohannes I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ዮሐንስ), also known as Yohannes the Righteous (Ge'ez: ጻድቁ ዮሐንስ),

throne name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...

A'ilaf Sagad (Ge'ez: አእላፍ ሰገድ; 1640 – 19 July 1682) 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 1667 to 1682, 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 fourth son of

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 m ...

. Yohannes was appointed ''nəgusä nägäst'' by a council of the senior dignitaries of the Empire, at the encouragement of the noble Blattengeta Malka Krestos. The council then imprisoned the other sons of Fasilides on Mount

Wehni Wehni (Amharic: ወህኒ) is the name of one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male heirs to the Emperor of Ethiopia were interned, usually for life. It was the last of the three such mountains, or ''amba'', said to have been used fo ...

, continuing the practice Fasilides had revived.

Reign

According to

G.W.B. Huntingford George Wynn Brereton Huntingford (19 November 1901 – 19 February 1978) was an English linguist, anthropologist and historian. He lectured in East African languages and cultures at SOAS, University of London from 1950 until 1966.Agaw 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 ...

, and

Agawmeder Agawmeder (Amharic: አገው ምድር) was a historical state and region in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. Its most likely etymology is from ''Agew'' (አገው ägäw), a people living in the area, plus ''meder'' (land), thus meaning "Land o ...

, one against the Oromo, and two punitive expeditions to the area around Mount Ashgwagwa—

Angot Angot ( Amharic: አንጎት, translated as "Neck," possibly referring to the provinces geography) was a historical province in northern Ethiopia. It was bordered on the west by Bugna and the Afar lowlands to the east and southeast, Ambassel to t ...

and

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic district in northern Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Its original ...

—to quash the revolts of Feres (in 1677) and Za Maryam (1679). Emperor Yohannes died on 19 July and was buried at Teda.

Religion under Yohannes

Due to the violent religious controversy that

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionaries had caused in Ethiopia under the reign of his grandfather Susenyos, Yohannes acted harshly towards

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

ans. In 1669, he directed ''

Gerazmach 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 ...

'' Mikael to expel all of the Catholics still living in Ethiopia; those who did not embrace the beliefs of 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 ...

were exiled to

Sennar Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of the F ...

. Six

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

s sent by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

to succeed in converting Ethiopia to Catholicism where the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

had failed 30 years before, were executed during his reign. As a result, he favored

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

visitors, whose beliefs also embraced

Miaphysitism Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the "Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian positio ...

, and were in harmony with the Ethiopian Church. These included one Murad, who undertook a number of diplomatic missions for the Emperor; and in 1679, the Emperor Yohannes received the Armenian bishop Yohannes, bearing a relic of

Ewostatewos Ewostatewos ( gez, ኤዎስጣቴዎስ, or Yostatewos (Ge'ez: ዮስታንቲዎስ), a version of grc, Εὐστάθιος ''Eustathios''; 22 July 1273 – 23 September 1352) was an Ethiopian religious leader of the Orthodox Tewahedo during t ...

. The growing controversy over the nature of Christ had grown severe enough that in the last year of his reign Yohannes called a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

to resolve the dispute. The Ewostathian monks of

advocated the formula "Through

Unction Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

Christ the Son was

consubstantial Consubstantiality, a term derived from la, consubstantialitas, denotes identity of substance or essence in spite of difference in aspect. It appears most commonly in its adjectival form, "consubstantial", from Latin ''consubstantialis'', and ...

with the Father", by which they came to be known as the '' Qebat'' ("Unction") faction, who were supported by the Emperor's own son Iyasu; they were opposed by the monks of

Debre Libanos Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...

, who at that time still advocated traditional

. The outcome of the synod is in dispute: according to E.A. Wallis-Budge and H. Weld Blundell, Emperor Yohannes was convinced to condemn the ''Qebat'' doctrine, which led to Iyasu attempting to flee his father's realm; but according to Crummey, Yohannes favored the Gojjame delegation for political reasons: at the time Gojjam was an important province. These decisions were revisited once Iyasu became Emperor, at a synod he called in 1686.Budge, pp. 406f, 410f; H. Weld Blundell, ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1922, p. 525; Donald Crummey, ''Priests and Politicians'', 1972 (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2007), p. 22.

Family

Spouse

Sources mentions only Sabla Wangel as the spouse of Emperor Yohannes I. She married Yohannes in October 1668 and likely gave birth to all (or almost all) of his offsprings. The marriage was dissolved in 1678 by the order of the Abun of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, on the grounds that it was

incestuous Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

. Sabla Wangel's father was Gabra Maskal, the husband of Yohannes's paternal

aunt An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Known alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Children in other cultures and families may refer ...

, and therefore Sabla Wangel was a

niece In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...

of Yohannes. Nonetheless, the former empress is remembered as a ‘‘great

patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of literature’’ who was knowledgeable about

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

books and supported the production of

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

. Sabla Wangel died on 13 January 1690 and was buried as a queen in the royal cemetery on the island of Mesrasha 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 ...

alongside Yohannes I.

Descendants

Emperor Yohannes I had 5 sons (of which four were named in sources), and 2 daughters. ● Yostos was Yohannes I eldest son. He served as the governor of Semien. He died on 11 June 1676. ● Iyasu the Great was his second son and successor. Iyasu reigned as Emperor between 1682 and 1706. ●

Tewoflos Tewoflos (Ge'ez: ቴዎፍሎስ), throne name Walda Anbasa (Ge'ez: ወልደ አንበሳ, died 14 October 1711), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1 July 1708 to 14 October 1711, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the brother of Iyasus I o ...

was his third son. Tewoflos reigned as Emperor between 1708 and 1711. ●

Gelawdewos Galawdewos ( gez, ገላውዴዎስ, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559) also known as Mar Gelawdewos ( amh, ማር ገላውዴዎስ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His ...

was his fourth son. Gelawdewos died after being struck by

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

, he was buried on the island of Mesrasha on

. ● Amlakawit was his first daughter. She was married to Basha Walda Giyorgis, a powerful retainer under Yohannes I. Amlakawit died young in 1669. ● Eleni was another daughter of Yohannes I. The mother is not mentioned by the sources. She was one of the most influential woman of late 17th century Ethiopia. She died in 1708.

Reign

Religion under Yohannes

Family

Spouse

Descendants

Notes

References

Further reading