Iyasu I
Iyasus I also known as Iyasus the Great (throne name Adyam Sagad II) was negus (throne name Adyam Sagad II) (19 July 1682 - 13 October 1706) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes I.
According to G.W.B Huntingford, Iyasus "owed his reputation partly to the mildness of his character, exemplified in his treatment of the princes on Wehni in his first year, and his attention to religious matters, and partly to his abdication, retirement, and murder."1
He was serving as governor of Gojjam when Yohannes summoned him and made him king at the age of 20. However, he did not have himself crowned until 1693.
He campaigned against the Shankalla. It was during his reign that individual Oromo first found service in the Imperial court. His Chronicle2 tells how he handled a problem with the Ottoman Naib of Massawa.
His reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters, matters of state, and to proclaim laws. In 1698, he undertook a number of reforms, affecting customs and taxation, which encouraged trade.
During his reign, a French physician, Charles Poncet, was invited into the Empire to treat Iyasus. Poncet arrived at Gondar in 1699, and stayed for a year. Poncet published an account of his visit in Paris in 1704.
While he was campaigning in Gojjam against the Oromo, Iyasus learned that his favorite concubine had died. Striken with grief, he retired to an island in Lake Tana. Officials argued, after the precedent of king Kaleb that he had abdicated, and crowned his son Tekle Haymanot negus. This action was not embraced by the entire state, and the resulting civil strife resulted with Iyasus' assassination by Tekle Haymanot.
His brother Tewoflos later initiated his canonization.
References
- G.W.B Huntingford, The Historical Geography of Ethiopia (London: The British Academy, 1989), p.201.
- Translated in part by Richard K. P. Pankhurst in The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles. Addis Ababa: Oxford University Press,1967.