Yetbarak ( Ge’ez: ይትባረክ) was King of

Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the t ...

. According to

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 ...

, he was the son of

Lalibela Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Lasta district and North Wollo Zone, it is a tourist site for its famous rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important site ...

History

Tradition states that Yetbarak ascended to the throne after his father King Lalibela had taken the crown away from his first choice of successor, Yetbarak's cousin,

Na'akueto La'ab Na'akueto La'ab was King of Zagwe dynasty. According to Taddesse Tamrat, he was the son of Kedus Harbe. Richard Pankhurst credits him with the creation of the church located in a cave a half-day's journey from the town of Lalibela. According to ...

. Taddesse Tamrat argues that this tradition is based on an official version of events, and theorizes that Na'akueto La'ab had fought with Yetbarak for the throne, and despite initial success, Yetbarak became king in the end. He also suggests that Yetbarak was the same individual known in the "official hagiographical tradition" as Za-Ilmaknun, the king of the Zagwe dynasty whom

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 ...

killed and succeeded after the

Battle of Ansata The Battle of Ansata was fought in the year 1270 AD between the forces of Yekuno Amlak, future emperor of Ethiopia, and Yetbarak of the Zagwe dynasty. The forces of Yekuno Amlak had received assistance from the Gafat whose commander was an unnam ...

. He notes that ''Za-Ilmaknun'' is translated as "The Unknown, the hidden one", an "esoteric term" that has "become a useful escape mechanism in denying that the king killed by Yekuno Amlak had anything to do with

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 ...

."Taddesse Tamrat, p. 68 n. 1.

References

13th-century monarchs in Africa Emperors of Ethiopia Zagwe dynasty 13th-century Ethiopian people {{Ethiopia-royal-stub