Na'od ( gez, ናዖድ) 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 1494 to 31 July 1508, 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 asser ...

. His reign was marked by internal tension between territories with the assistance of Queen Eleni. He began construct an extravagant church in Amhara province, called Mekane Selassie. The church was completed by his successor

Dawit II Dawit II ( gez, ዳዊት; – 2 September 1540), also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad (ወናግ ሰገድ, ''to whom the lions bow''), better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel ( am, ልብነ ድንግል, ''essence of the vi ...

in 1530.

Reign

Na'od was the second son of

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 ...

and his second wife Kalyupe (also called "Calliope"), and was born at Gabarge. Like

Eskender Eskender ( gez, እስክንድር, "Alexander"; 15 July 1471 – 7 May 1494) was Emperor of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Kwestantinos II (Ge’ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He was the son of Emp ...

before him, he relied on the counsel of the Queen Mother Eleni. Despite her help, his reign was marked by internal dissension. Na'od was very talented in Amharic and Ge'ez poetry. He was also a notable author who wrote a number of religious books. Na'od began construction on a lavish church in the

Amhara province Amhara Province (Amharic: አማራ) also known as Bete Amhara ( Ge’ez: ቤተ ዐምሐራ, "House of Amhara") was the name of a medieval province of the Ethiopian Empire, located in present-day Amhara Region, specifically, the modern provinc ...

, which was decorated with gold leaf and known as Mekane Selassie. However, he died before it was completed, and he was buried in a tomb inside the church. His son Emperor Lebna Dengel completed the construction in 1530.

Francisco Álvares Francisco Álvares ( – 1536-1541) was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Ethiopian ambassador Matheus. The embassy arriv ...

records seeing the church as it was being constructed, and mentions that he was kept from entering it by the local clergy. However, not long after its completion,

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sulta ...

(also known as Ahmad Gurey/Gragn) penetrated the Amhara province, and on 3 November 1531, pillaged the structure and set it afire. Emperor Na'od was killed by Imam Mafuz of the

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din II ...

in battle.

Military career

The defence of the Empire was very strong during the reign of Na'od as he scored many victories over the Muslims. G.W.B Huntingford claims that Na'od was killed near Jejeno (possibly Mekane Selassie) while

campaigning Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

against Muslim forces. Taddesse Tamrat states that Na'od died on his way to repulse a Muslim raid in the eastern provinces.Taddesse Tamrat, ''State and Church in Ethiopia'', pp. 58, 581

Family

Na'od had five sons: * Lebna Dengel – Succeeded Na'od as

* Victor – Half-brother of Lebna Dengel, was slain in battle * Jacob – Predeceased Na'od * Claudius * Minas

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naod -- diacritics removed to clarify sorting -- 15th-century births 1508 deaths 15th-century emperors of Ethiopia 16th-century emperors of Ethiopia 15th-century monarchs in Africa 16th-century monarchs in Africa Emperors of Ethiopia Monarchs killed in action Year of birth unknown