Zara Yaqob

Zar'a Ya'qob ( Ethiop . ዘርአ: ያዕቆብ , "Saat Jakobs"; throne name: Constantine I ; ቈስታንቲኖስ , Kwestantinos I .; * 1399 ; † August 26, 1468 ) was from June 19 or 20, 1434 to 1468 Negus Negest ( Emperor ) of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty . He was born in Tilq , in the province of Fatagar (today part of Oromiyaa , near the Awash ) as the youngest son of David I and his youngest queen, Igzi Kebra.

British Ethiopia expert Edward Ullendorff argues that Zara Yaqob was the greatest ruler that Ethiopia had seen since Ezana at the height of the Aksumite Empire . Apart from the emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie , none of his successors came close to him.

Paul B. Henze takes up the tradition that the resentment of his older brother Theodor I forced the courtiers to bring Zara Yaqob to Tigray . There he was raised in secret and trained in Aksum and the Debra Abbai monastery . For Taddesse Tamrat this story seems unlikely in detail, even if he considers it invaluable in view of the religious background of the rise of Zara Yaqob. He countered that Zara Yaqob wrote in his Mashafa Berhan that he was only taken from his royal prison on Amba Geshen to ascend the throne .

Zara Yaqob's reign

After the death of Emperor David, Zara Yaqob was imprisoned on Amba Geshen by his older brother Theodor I. Favored by the rapid succession of different emperors in the following 20 years, in which all his older brothers disappeared and only left underage sons who found no support at court, Zara Yaqob was a constant candidate for the imperial throne.

In 1434 Zara Yaqob became emperor; However, it was two years before he was to be crowned in 1436 in Aksum , where he lived for three years. It was customary under the Ethiopian rulers to postpone the coronation until a later date.

After taking office, Zara Yaqob married Princess Eleni , who had converted from Islam before marriage . Eleni was the daughter of the king of Hadiya , one of the Sidama kingdoms south of the Abbai River. Although she did not bear him children, Eleni became an influential political figure. When a conspiracy emerged in which one of his Bitwoded was also involved, Zara Yaqob responded by entrusting his two daughters Medhan Zamada and Berhan Zamada with these tasks. According to the chronicles of his rule, the emperor also appointed his daughters and nieces as governors for eight provinces. This act turned out to be unsuccessful.

He defeated Badlay ad-Din , the Sultan of Adal at the Battle of Gomit in 1445, thereby consolidating his grip on the Sidamo kingdoms in the south and the weakened Muslim kingdoms on the other bank of the Awash . His campaigns in the north against the Agau and Falaschen , however, were less successful.

When he saw a bright light in heaven, Zara Yaqob founded the city of Debre Berhan and made it his capital for the rest of his reign. This light is recognized by most historians as Halley's Comet , which was seen in Ethiopia in 1456.

At the end of his rule, Zara Yaqob developed more and more into a despot. When the abbot of Debre Libanos , Takla Hawariat, denounced the murder and beating of people, the emperor had the abbot beaten and thrown into prison, where he died after a few months. In 1453, Zara Yaqob was convinced of an attack against himself and then intensified his brutal measures. Increasingly he believed that his wives and children had conspired against him and so he had some of them beaten up. Seyon Mogasa, the mother of the future emperor Ba'eda Mariam, died in 1462 as a result of this mistreatment. This led to a rupture between father and son. Relations between the two were ultimately repaired, and Zara Yaqob publicly appointed Baeda Mariam as his successor.

Zara Yaqob and the Ethiopian Church

When Zara Yaqob ascended the throne, the Ethiopian Church had been discussing the role of the Sabbath for about a century . A group close to the Egyptian bishops believed that the Sabbath should only be observed on one day; while the followers of Evostatevo , like its founder, wanted to make Saturday and Sunday the Sabbath. He succeeded in persuading two Egyptian bishops who had just arrived to a compromise that was supposed to restore harmony with the house of Evostatewos. At the same time he made efforts to calm the house of Evostatevo. They agreed to the compromise in 1442, while the two Egyptian bishops did not consent to the Council of Debre Mitmaq in Tegulet until 1450 .

Emperor Zara Yaqob continued the role of defender of the Patriarch of Alexandria . When he heard about the destruction of the Egyptian monastery Debre Mitmaq by the Sultan Jakmak in 1441 , he declared a time of mourning, and then protested violently in a letter to the Sultan. He reminded Jakmak that he treated the Muslim subjects in his empire properly and warned him that he had the power to divert the Nile, but that he did not do so out of consideration for the human suffering that would arise. Jakmak tried to soften Zara Yaqob's anger with gifts. However, he refused to rebuild the Coptic churches that he had destroyed.

Edward Ullendorff also emphasizes the importance of the emperor for Ethiopian literature by citing that Zara Yaqob is the author of two important theological works. In Mashafa Berha ("Book of Light") Zara Yaqob describes his church reforms and defends his faith. The second book is the Mashafa Milad ("Book of Birth").

Foreign affairs

In 1450, Zara Yaqob sent a diplomatic delegation under the Sicilian Pietro Rombulo to Europe to ask directly for skilled workers. That Pietro Rombulo had previously been successful on a mission in India and first sought out Pope Nicholas V before he went to the court of Alfonso V , his main goal. The latter appeared agreeable.

Web links

• Biography of Zara Yakubs from An African Biographical Dictionary
• The Chronicle of the Emperor Zara Yaqob , translated into English by Richard Pankhurst

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Getachew Haile: A Preliminary Investigation of the “Tomara Tesse't” of Emperor Zar'a Ya'eqob of Ethiopia . In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London . Volume 43, No. 2 (1980), p. 210. In the beginning of what Getachew Haile regards as "Tomarä Tesbe't", the date of the coronation is given as 26 Sené (June 20). According to the contemporary scribe Stephanite , however, this took place on Sené 25 (June 19). Getachew Haile explains this discrepancy by stating that the ceremony lasted two days.
2. ^ Edward Ullendorff : The Ethiopians: An Introduction to the Country and People . 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, London 1960, ISBN 0-19-285061-X , p. 69.
3. ^ Paul B. Henze: Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia . Palgrave (New York 2000), p. 68. ISBN 1-85065-522-7
4. ^ Taddesse Tamrat: Church and State in Ethiopia . Clarendon Press (Oxford 1972), p. 222 ISBN 0-19-821671-8
5. ↑ Taddesse Tamrat: Pages 278-283.
6. ^ Taddesse Tamrat, p. 229.
7. ^ Richard KP Pankhurst: The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles . Oxford University Press (Addis Ababa 1967), p. 32f.
8. ↑ A description of his war against Badlay can be found in the Royal Chronicles (Pankhurst, pp. 36-38).
9. ↑ A description of the founding of Debre Berhan can be found in the Royal Chronicles (Pankhurst, pp. 36-38).
10. ^ Taddesse Tamrat, p. 230.
11. ↑ Taddesse Tamrat, pages 262-3
12. ^ Taddesse Tamrat, pp. 264f

predecessor	Office	successor
Amda Jesus	Emperor of Ethiopia 1434 - 1468	Ba'eda Mariam