Yagbe'u Seyon (, died 1294), throne name Salomon, 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 18 June 1285 to 1294, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He succeeded his father

Yekuno Amlak Yekuno Amlak (); throne name Tesfa Iyasus (; died 19 June 1285) was Emperor of Ethiopia, from 1270 to 1285, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara (in parts of modern-day Wollo and ...

Reign

Yagbe'u Seyon served as co-ruler with his father Yekuno Amlak for the last few years of his reign, which eased his succession. A Memorandum in the Four

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

of Iyasus Mo'a of a gift of vestments and utensils to Istifanos Monastery in

Lake Hayq Lake Hayq (Amharic: ሐይቅ ሐይቅ, ) is a freshwater lake of Ethiopia. It is located north of Dessie, in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region. The town of Hayq is to the west of the lake. Lake Hayq is 6.7 km long and 6 km w ...

states these gifts were in the name of both Yekuno Amlak and his son Yagbe'u Seyon. He sought to improve the relations of his kingdom with his

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

neighbors; however, like his father, he was unsuccessful in convincing the powers in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

to ordain an ''

abuna Abuna (or Abune, which is the status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic and Tigrinya) is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as w ...

'' or metropolitan for the

Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

. A letter from him to the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of Egypt, dated Ramadhan A.H. 689 (towards the end of AD 1289) is mentioned in Etienne Marc Quatremère's ''Mémoires géographiques et historiques sur l'Égypte... sur quelques contrées voisines'' (Paris, 1811), where he protests the Sultan's treatment of his Christian subjects, stating that he was a protector of his own Muslim subjects.

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

mentions that one of the "princes" of Ethiopia planned in 1288 to make a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, following the practice of a number of his subjects; he was dissuaded from this project, but sent his "bishop" in his place. On his return leg, this bishop was detained by the "Sultan of Adem", who attempted to convert the ecclesiastic to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

; failing to do so, the sultan then had the bishop circumcised before releasing him. The "prince" then marched upon Aden, and despite support from two other Muslim allies, the sultan was defeated and his capital captured. A number of historians, including Trimingham and Pankhurst, identify the ruler with Yagbe'u Seyon. Another incident during his reign was the revolt of Yi'qebene, who attempted to take the Imperial throne from Yagbe'u Seyon. This threat is recorded in Yagbe'u's own words in a note he wrote in the Four Gospels of Iyasus Mo'a: : I, Yagba-Siyon, whose regnal name is Solomon, adorned this book of the Four Gospels and gave it to (the church of St.) Stephen. After that, there came Yi' qäbänä and he wanted to take away my throne; but I defeated him and destroyed him with the power of Christ, my God. Historians are divided over the situation that his successors faced following Yagbe'u Seyon's death. The CIA operative Paul B. Henze repeats the tradition that Yagbe'u Seyon could not decide which of his sons should inherit his kingdom, and instructed that each would rule in turn for a year. Taddesse Tamrat, on the other hand, records that his reign was followed by dynastic confusion, during which each of his sons held the throne.Taddesse Tamrat, ''Church and State in Ethiopia (1270 - 1527)'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 72

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yagbeu Seyon Of Ethiopia 1294 deaths 13th-century monarchs in Africa 13th-century emperors of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty Year of birth unknown