Eskandar

Eskandar ( Ethiop . እስክንድር, also called Alexander ; throne name Qostantinos , ቆስጠንጢኖስ; also called Constantine ) (* July 15, 1471 ; † 1494 ) was Negus Negest ( Emperor ) of Ethiopia from 1478 to 1494 .

He was a son of Emperor Beyde Maryam I and his leftist Baltihat Romane (also called Romne ). Eskandar came from the ruling Solomonic dynasty .

After the sudden death of his father on November 8, 1478, Eskandar was hastily put on the throne as the new emperor. Since he was still a minor at that time, three rulers exercised power in Ethiopia in his name : his mother Romne led the army; the Aqaba Seat (abbot) of the monastery in Hayksee , Tesfa Giyorgis , was responsible for all ecclesiastical, legal and administrative matters; and the Bitwoded Amda Mikael conducted all other state affairs. The Bitwoded Bedalarad as the fourth regent was removed from his offices and banished from the imperial court shortly after Eskandar's accession to the throne. The exercise of power by the three regents soon led to open disputes with the other rulers and dignitaries of the empire who did not want to submit to the orders of dignitaries who were equal to them. The first conspiracy arose under the leadership of two monks , but it was uncovered. The two leaders received a flogging sentence and were banished. In the further years of Eskandar's government there were repeated conspiracies against the three rulers, but each time they failed.

Although Eskandar appeared more and more self-confident as he got older and eventually took part in campaigns as commander in chief of the army, he was never able to completely free himself from the tutelage of the triumvirate of the three regents. However, in the eyes of the regents, the young emperor was becoming increasingly dangerous to their rule and their followers. The imperial military leader Zesillus finally had Emperor Eskandar murdered in one night in an army camp during a campaign against a rebel tribe in the spring of 1494 .

The emperor's death immediately led to a war for succession between the different power groups of the empire. While the Bitwodded Amda Mikael wanted to put his candidate, Eskandar's underage son Endreyas , on the throne, some of the secular rulers favored Eskandar's brother Na'od I. The third candidate for the throne was Enqo Israel , another brother of Eskandar, that of Zesillus and the Empress Eleni , the right Baltihat of the late Emperor Beyde Maryam I, was to be put on the throne. In the dispute, Amda Mikael was finally able to assert his candidate Endreyas. Zisellus, who instigated the murder of Eskandar, was defeated in the civil war by Amda Mikael's troops, led by Tekle Kristos . The soldiers, loyal to the dead emperor, pierced Zisellus' eyes and finally killed him.

Emperor Eskandar was buried on May 8, 1494 in the monastery of Gozzam in Debre Werq .

Due to the complicated transcription from Amharic , the spelling of Ethiopian proper names can be different in different publications.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ba'eda Mariam	Emperor of Ethiopia 1478 - 1494	Amda Seyon II.