Yemrehana Krestos

Yemrehana Krestos ( Amharic ይምርሃነ ክርስቶስ ; referred to as "Abraham" by Francisco Álvares ) was Negus Negest ( Emperor ) of Ethiopia and a member of the Zagwe dynasty from 1039 to 1079 . Taddesse Tamrat reports that he was the son of Germa Seyum , the brother of Tatadim . However, the Italian scholar Carlo Conti Rossini published a document in 1902 stating that Yemrehana Krestos was the successor of Na'akueto La'ab , who was succeeded by Yetbarak on the throne.

According to Taddesse Tamrat's account, he had a close relationship of trust with a clergyman, more than any other king of Ethiopia. He is said to have insisted on running the country according to the apostolic canon.

Yemrehana Krestos built the first stone-carved church in Ethiopia. This bears his name and is located 19 kilometers northwest of Lalibela . In his Prester John of the Indies , Alvares left a description of the church at the beginning of the 16th century. Taddesse suggests that the construction of this church was connected with the visit of an Ethiopian delegation to the Caliph Saladin in 1173. There is written evidence that they brought the caliph a letter and many presents. In the Gadla Yemrehana Krestos there is a paragraph that describes how Yemrehana Krestos managed to get the palace door of the caliph for his church. A list of various other rock-hewn churches that are ascribed to this king can be found in Paul B. Henze's book.

Alvares recorded the tradition that Yemrehana Krestos established the tradition of holding rivals to the imperial throne on Amba Geshen .

Individual evidence

↑ quoted in EA Wallis Budge: A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia . 1928 Anthropological Publications (Oosterhout, The Netherlands 1970), p. 277.
^ Taddesse Tamrat: Church and State in Ethiopia . Clarendon Press (Oxford 1972), pp. 61n.3.
^ Francisco Alvares: The Prester John of the Indies . Translated into English by CF Beckingham and GWB Huntingford Hakluyt Society (Cambridge 1961), chapter 53.
^ Taddesse Tamrat, p. 58.
^ Paul B. Henze: Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia . Palgrave (New York 2000), p. 51.
↑ Alvares, chapter 59.

predecessor	Office	successor
Germa Seyum	Emperor of Ethiopia 1039-1079	Kedus Harbe

personal data
SURNAME	Krestos, Yemrehana
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Abraham
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Ethiopian emperor
DATE OF BIRTH	10th century or 11th century
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ethiopia
DATE OF DEATH	11th century

[1] quoted in EA Wallis Budge: A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia . 1928 Anthropological Publications (Oosterhout, The Netherlands 1970), p. 277.

[2] Taddesse Tamrat: Church and State in Ethiopia . Clarendon Press (Oxford 1972), pp. 61n.3.

[3] Francisco Alvares: The Prester John of the Indies . Translated into English by CF Beckingham and GWB Huntingford Hakluyt Society (Cambridge 1961), chapter 53.

[4] Taddesse Tamrat, p. 58.

[5] Paul B. Henze: Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia . Palgrave (New York 2000), p. 51.

[6] Alvares, chapter 59.