Yagbe'u Seyon
Yagbe'u Seyon ይግባ ጽዮን | |
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church |
Yagbe'u Seyon (
Reign
Yagbe'u Seyon served as co-ruler with his father Yekuno Amlak for the last few years of his reign, which eased his succession. A Memorandum in the Four
Marco Polo mentions that one of the "princes" of Ethiopia planned in 1288 to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, following the practice of a number of his subjects; he was dissuaded from this project, but sent his "bishop" in his place. On his return leg, this bishop was detained by the "Sultan of Adem", who attempted to convert the ecclesiastic to Islam; failing to do so, the sultan then had the bishop circumcised before releasing him. The "prince" then marched upon Aden, and despite support from two other Muslim allies, the sultan was defeated and his capital captured.[4] A number of historians, including Trimingham[5] and Pankhurst,[6] identify the ruler with Yagbe'u Seyon.
Another incident during his reign was the revolt of Yi'qebene, who attempted to take the Imperial throne from Yagbe'u Seyon. This threat is recorded in Yagbe'u's own words in a note he wrote in the Four Gospels of Iyasus Mo'a:
- I, Yagba-Siyon, whose regnal name is Solomon, adorned this book of the Four Gospels and gave it to (the church of St.) Stephen. After that, there came Yi' qäbänä and he wanted to take away my throne; but I defeated him and destroyed him with the power of Christ, my God.[7]
Historians are divided over the situation that his successors faced following Yagbe'u Seyon's death. The CIA operative
References
- ^ James Bruce's Chronology (read at Gutemberg).
- ^ Taddesse Tamrat, "The Abbots of Dabra Hayq, 1248-1535," Journal of Ethiopian Studies, 8 (1970), p. 91
- ^ Cited in Henry Yule, The Travels Of Marco Polo (London, 1871), in his notes to Book 3, Chapter 35.
- ^ Marco Polo, Travels, book 3, chapter 35.
- ^ J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), pp. 69f.
- ^ Richard P.K. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), p. 55.
- ^ Tadesse Tamrat, "Abbots of Dabra Hayq," p. 92
- ^ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 60.
- ^ Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia (1270 - 1527) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 72