Minas (Emperor)
Minas ( Ethiop . ሜናስ ; throne name: Admas Sagad I. አድማስ ሰገድ , "before whom the horizon bows") (* 15th century or 16th century; † February 1, 1563 ) was from 1559 to February 1, 1563 Negus Negest ( emperor ) of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty . He was the brother of Claudius (Gelawdewos).
Life
Minas was taken prisoner when Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghasis entered Ethiopia. As a precious prisoner, however, he received good treatment. At that time prisoners of war were usually castrated and made slaves. It is thanks to the intervention of Imam Ahmad Gragn's wife , Bati del Wambara , that Minas was able to avoid circumcision and was married to her daughter. Whiteway calls this a unique act of grace. This indulgence ended, however, in 1542 when the Imam was desperate for support from his Muslim friends and gave Minas, along with a selection of extravagant gifts, to the Sultan of Yemen in gratitude for military support. However, Imam Ahmad's son was later captured in the aftermath of the Battle of Wayna Daga and traded by Claudius for his brother Minas. The reunification of the royal family was celebrated for many days, Pankhurst reports.
After his rebellion he fought against the Falashes in Semien .
He banished the Jesuit bishop Andre da Oviedo and his companions to a village between Aksum and Adwa called Maigoga ( Tigrinya may g w ag w a , "noisy water"), which the Jesuits optimistically renamed Fremona after the missionary Frumentius .
About a year after taking office, Baher Negash Yeshaq initiated an uprising in the Tigray region and proclaimed Tazkaro, the illegitimate son of Jacob, the brother of Emperor Minas, to be a Negus . This revolt occupied Minas until the end of his brief reign. He marched into Lasta , whereupon Yeshaq withdrew to Shire (now located in Amhara ). The emperor tracked him down there and defeated Yeshaq. He then turned south to Emfraz , where he defeated the remaining followers of Tazkaros on July 2, 1561.
Baher Negash Yeshaq got support from Ozdemur , the Ottoman Pasha of Massaua , and proclaimed Tazkaro's brother - who was still in infancy - to be a Negus Negest. Minas marched north again, but was defeated by Yeshaq in Endarta . The emperor withdrew as far as Atronsa Maryam to regroup the troops for a new attack on the Baher Negash. On the way, however, Minas fell ill with a fever and died in Kolo on February 1, 1563.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Claudius |
Emperor of Ethiopia 1559 - 1563 |
Sarsa Dengel |
Individual evidence
- ^ RS Whiteway: The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 . 1902 Kraus Reprint Limited (Nendeln, Liechtenstein 1967), p. Xxxiv.
- ^ Richard KP Pankhurst: The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles . Oxford University Press (Addis Ababa 1967), pp. 72f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Minas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Admas Sagad I (throne name); before which the horizon bows |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Negus Negest (Emperor) of Ethiopia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15th century or 16th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 1, 1563 |