Iyasu I of Ethiopia - Life

Life

His reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters (the first in 1684, in the public square of Gondar), matters of state, and to proclaim laws. In 1698, Iyasu undertook a number of reforms, affecting customs and taxation, which encouraged trade.

In the second year of his reign, he confronted an invasion of the Yejju and Wollo Oromo into Amhara, defeating them at Melka Shimfa. After Qegnazmach Wale of Damot and Tabdan the Hermit proclaimed Yeshaq emperor in his fourth year (1685), Iyasu quickly suppressed this revolt, and captured Yeshaq, then waited a year before marching beyond southern Gojjam in a punitive expedition against the Agaws who had supported the rebels.

It was during his reign that individual Oromo first found service in the Imperial court. His Royal Chronicle recounts how when the Ottoman Naib of Massawa attempted to levy a tax on Iyasu's goods that had landed at Massawa, he responded with a blockade of that island city until the Naib relented.

Solomon Getahun observes that "unlike his immediate predecessors, Iyasu's tenure was noted for endeavors to establish diplomatic ties with Christian monarchies like Louis XIV of France and Ethiopian delegates had been sent to foreign countries." Solomon notes that one of the benefits of these efforts to reach out to other countries was that Emperor Iyasu received a bell from the Dutch governor in India, which was then donated to Debre Berhan Selassie Church in Gondar.

This also led to the visit by a French physician, Charles Poncet, who travelled to the Empire to treat Iyasu and one of his sons. Poncet arrived at Gondar 21 July 1699, and stayed until September 1700. Poncet published an account of his visit in Paris in 1704, which included his personal impression of Iyasu the Great:

Althou' he be not above one and forty years old, yet he has already a numerous issue. He has eight princes and three princesses. The Emperor has great qualities – a quick and piercing wit, a sweet and affable humour, and the stature of a hero. He is the handsomest man I have seen in Aethiopia. He is a lover of curious arts and sciences; but his chief passion is for war. He is brave and undaunted in battles, and always at the head of his troops. He has an extraordinary love for justice, which he administers to his subjects with great exactness; but whereas he is averse to blood, 'tis not without reluctance that he condemns a criminal . Such eminent qualities make him equally fear'd and belov'd by his subjects, who respect him even to adoration.

While he was campaigning in Gojjam against the Oromo, Iyasu learned that his favorite concubine, Kedeste Kristos, had died. Striken with grief, he retired to an island in Lake Tana. Supported by Empress Malakotawit, some of the officials argued, after the precedent of king Kaleb that he had abdicated, and crowned his son Tekle Haymanot Emperor. According to some accounts, this was not Iyasus' intent, and he marched from his hermitage in Lake Tana towards to Gondar to protest this; in any case, during this time he fell sick and was assassinated at Tekle Haymanot's orders. Iyasu's death caused much distress in the capital, especially amongst the priests of Debre Berhan Selassie, who openly displayed his gifts to them, and mourned their dead monarch for a month. Bruce writes that Iyasu was buried on Mitraha Island, where he was shown Iyasu's body interred amongst "the bodies of all his ancestors".

Once his brother Tewoflos became Emperor, he initiated Iyasu's canonization.