Na'od () was

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...

from 1494 to 31 July 1507, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His regnal name was Anbasa Bazar. 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 in 1530.

Reign

Na'od was the second son of

Baeda Maryam I Baeda Maryam I (; 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. His reign was characterized by ...

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

Eskender Eskender (, "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 Emperor Baeda Maryam I by ...

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, 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 Dawit II (; – 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 (, ''essence of the virgin''), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 150 ...

completed the construction in 1530.

Francisco Álvares Francisco Álvares ( – 1536–1541) was a Portugal, Portuguese missionary and exploration, explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Mateus (Ethiopia), Ethi ...

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, Ahmad Gragn pillaged the structure and set it afire on 3 November 1531. Emperor Na'od was killed by Imam Mahfuz of the

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire or Barr 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 III on th ...

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. According to G.W.B Huntingford claims that Na'od was killed near Jejeno (possibly Mekane Selassie) while campaigning against Muslim forces. However Taddesse Tamrat states that Na'od died on his way to repulse a Muslim raid in the eastern provinces.''Futuh Al-Habasha'', pp. 164-168

Family

Na'od had five sons: *

– 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