Lij Iyasu

Lore & Background

Iyasu I was the son of Emperor Yohannes I by his wife Sabla Wangel, of Amhara descent. After the death of his eldest brother Yostos in June 1676, Iyasu inherited the governorship over Semien. In 1677–1678, he accompanied his father on a military campaign against Lasta. He fell out with his father in 1681, crossing the Blue Nile at Bete Walato in Oromo-occupied territory, where he met the Kordidas, a largely Amhara group who wished to free themselves from Oromo rule. They made Iyasu promise to help them if he came to the throne. On 15 July 1682, the ailing Emperor Yohannes I made Iyasu his successor, and Yohannes died on 19 July 1682, with Iyasu ascending the throne as the serag masare Malkea Krestos put the crown on his head. His reign saw administrative reforms: he held councils to settle theological matters (the first in 1684 in Gondar's public square), established the Lewa—the first separate armed force with police functions—and in November 1698, after reports of merchant extortion, he summoned Tigrayan rulers and scholars to regulate customs taxes, leading to decreased taxes and exemptions for small merchants. Militarily, he confronted a Wollo Oromo invasion in his second year, defeating them at Melka Shimfa. In 1684, he sent Ras Anestasyos against the Wechales Oromo, then assaulted the Wollo Oromo, who were terrified by the Wechales' fate. He suppressed a revolt by Qegnazmach Wale and Tabdan the Hermit in 1685, capturing the proclaimed emperor Yeshaq. In 1688, he led expeditions against the Shankella towns of Gisa and Gorsi, and the 'rebel country' of Wambarya, which had defied three previous rulers. In 1689, he fulfilled his promise to the Kordidas, freeing them from Oromo rule; reportedly no less than a hundred thousand entered his camp singing and dancing. In 1704, he campaigned in Ennarea, confronting a civil war between two throne claimants. When the Ottoman Naib of Massawa attempted to tax his goods, Iyasu blockaded the island city until the Naib relented.

Reader's Guide

Iyasu I's significance lies in his role as the last effective Gondarine monarch, whose military and administrative actions temporarily reversed the empire's decline. His reign is a key example of 17th-century Ethiopian statecraft: he balanced military campaigns against Oromo groups and rebellious provinces with administrative reforms like the Lewa police force and tax regulation. His foreign contacts included sending an embassy led by the Armenian Murad to Batavia in 1689, which resulted in a bell from Dutch governor Johannes Camphuys donated to Debre Berhan Selassie Church in Gondar. The French physician Charles Jacques Poncet visited from July 1699 to September 1700, treating Iyasu and one of his sons. Poncet described Iyasu as having 'great qualities – sagacious genius, a sweet and affable humor, and the stature of a hero,' calling him 'the most handsome man I have seen in Aethiopia.' Iyasu also settled Oromo groups who accepted Amhara culture and Christianity, such as the Gawe, as a bulwark against hostile Oromos. His reign ended when he was deposed by his son Tekle Haymanot I in 1706 and assassinated by the relatives of one of his concubines, after which a series of ineffectual emperors followed until Tewodros II in the mid-19th century.

Did You Know?

• Iyasu I established the Lewa, the first separate armed force with police functions in Ethiopia, to keep public order in towns and on roads.
• In 1689, Iyasu fulfilled a promise made as a prince to the Kordidas, freeing reportedly no less than a hundred thousand of them from Oromo rule.
• The French physician Charles Jacques Poncet visited Gondar from July 1699 to September 1700 and described Iyasu as 'the most handsome man I have seen in Aethiopia.'
• When the Ottoman Naib of Massawa tried to tax Iyasu's goods, the emperor blockaded the island city until the Naib relented.
• Iyasu I was deposed by his own son Tekle Haymanot I in 1706 and assassinated by the relatives of one of his concubines.