Yonas (died May 1813) 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 18 August 1797 to 4 January 1798, and a member of

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 Letezum, and the grandson of the 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 m ...

. H. Weld Blundell, ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 446

Reign

According to

E. A. Wallis Budge Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (27 July 185723 November 1934) was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East. He made numerous trips ...

, Yonas was a figurehead, proclaimed Emperor by ''

Ras Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

'' Isra'el of Begemder, and deposed by Gugsa, a chieftain of the Yejju Oromo people. However, the ''Royal Chronicle'' records that he was proclaimed Emperor after the Emperor who controlled Gondar,

Salomon III Salomon III was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1796 and 1797, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. 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 ...

, had been defeated by the rebel ''Balambaras'' Asserat, who forced him to flee Gondar. However, during Yonas' reign the realm was afflicted by a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

in which "more men died than could be numbered." Yonas' son Mafu died 7 November, then his wife Esther, both apparently from this famine. Lacking any support or rationale for his rule, the major warlords of the time -- ''Ras'' Mare'ed, '' Dejazmach''

Hailu Eshte Hailu (Amharic: ኃይሉ) is a male name of Ethiopian origin that may refer to: *Hailu Shawul (born 1936), Ethiopian engineer and the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy *Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868–1950), Ethiopian army commander ...

, ''Dejazmach''

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 ...

, and ''Ras'' Guebra -- all successfully petitioned to Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis Tekle Giyorgis may refer to *Tekle Giyorgis I (c.1751–1817), Emperor of Ethiopia *Tekle Giyorgis II Tekle Giyorgis II ( Ge’ez: ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ, born Wagshum Gobeze ( Amharic: ዋግሹም ጎበዜ), died 1873) was Emperor of Et ...

to return from exile in Waldebba and become ruler once again. Upon learning of Tekle Giyorgis' approach when he was still one day's march away, Yonas fled to sanctuary in 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 ...

's palace. After months of hiding in the Abuna's palace, Yonas became a potential pawn when Waheldu, the brother of Asserat and also in conflict with the major warlords, attempted to have Yonas brought to him and used as his own candidate for Emperor. Tekle Giyorgis managed to foil this plot by giving amnesty to Yonas, and had him and Yonas' brother Goshu, "dwell with him in friendship" in the

Royal Enclosure Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. By 1802, he was a prisoner in Lasta. Henry Salt is reported to have met with his son Fasilidas in Adowa 16 September 1805, and who "seemed anxious to have a private conversation ith Salt but was prevented."

Nathaniel Pearce Nathaniel Pearce (14 February 1779 – 12 August 1820) was an explorer who spent many years in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia) and wrote a journal of his experiences. Early life Pearce was born in East Acton near London, and was educated at pri ...

reports that Yonas was living in exile in Gojjam at the time of his death, and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... isremains, or money enough for ''fettart'' or ''toscar''."Nathaniel Pearce, J.J. Halls. ed. ''The Life and Adventures of Nathaniel Pearce'' (London, 1831), vol. 1, pp. 124f. Pearce heard of Yonas' death on 7 June, but did not record the exact date it occurred.

References

{{Emperors of Ethiopia 18th-century births 1813 deaths 18th-century emperors of Ethiopia 19th-century Ethiopian people 18th-century monarchs in Africa Eastern Orthodox monarchs Year of birth unknown