Yohannes IV

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Yohannes IV
ዮሓንስ ፬ይ
Ethiopian Orthodox
Styles of
Yohannes IV of Ethiopia
Amharic
: ጌቶቹ getochu
Our Lord (familiar)
(lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes

Yohannes IV (

Egyptian invasion
.

In his earlier years, he rebelled against

Isma'il Pasha of the Khedivate of Egypt and Muhammad Ahmad during the latter's Mahdist War
.

Origin and early life

On the side of his father, Mercha Wolde Kidan, Yohannes descended from the ruling family of Tembien where both his father and grandfather bore the traditional title of šum Tembien, while his mother, Silas Dimtsu, was a daughter of balgäda Demtsu of Enderta and Tabotu Woldu of Agame, hence a niece of Sabagadis Woldu. He thus descended from the ruling families of Tembien, Agame, and Enderta.[2][3] Yohannes Solomonic lineage is through his paternal grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, the granddaughter of Ras Mikael Sehul and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab and Melmal Iyasu, who was a Solomonic prince and nephew of Emperor Bakaffa.[4][5] Therefore Yohannes is descendent from the Gondar-Branch of the Solomonic Dynasty.

The story of the first half of his life is poorly documented. Even the date of his birth is uncertain; various sources place it between 1831 and 1837. The available sources merely indicate that he was the youngest of his siblings, that he had a seriously ailing childhood, that he received some church education, and that he was initiated to manhood after killing some wild animals (lions and/or elephants) for trophies. The first mention of his appearance in the political arena comes up in connection with his visit to the imperial court of Tewodros II in 1864–1865 in the company of his brothers, Gugsa and Maru. Gugsa was given the title of däjazmač, and Maru that of fit’awrari. The lowest title, of balambaras, was bestowed upon Kaśa, who was subsequently assigned to administer a sub-district within the governorship of his elder brother, Gugsa.[6]

Portrait of Emperor Yohannes IV

Shortly after their return to Tigray, Kaśa rebelled against the rule of Tewodros. What prompted his rebellion is not well established. Often two explanations, which are not essentially contradictory, are forwarded by the sources: the first is related to his dissatisfaction with the rank and function given to him by the sovereign, while the second interprets his rebellion as a response to the appeal of abunä Salama who in 1867 wrote from prison to many notables condemning his perceived injustices of Tewodros. In any case, for some time he (together with his followers) retired to the eastern lowlands and found refuge among the Afar, from which ethnic group he married a Muslim after she had been baptized with the name Tebaba Sellasie.[6]

Returning to the highlands, he raised more men and began his military campaign: in the years 1864–1867, he consecutively defeated šum seraye Gebre Mikael, däjazmač Barya'u Gebre Sadeq of Adwa and däjazmač Tekle Giyorgis Qalos of Shire. Barya'u transferred his allegiance to Kaśa whom he served faithfully until he was killed in a battle some ten years later. Tekle Giyorgis (who had killed Kaśa's mother, Silass) fell in battle, and Kaśa subsequently assumed his title of däjazmač. Kaśa then formed an alliance with wag šum Gobez Gebre Medhin of Lasta against Tewodros and began to harass the imperial representatives on both sides of the

Hamasien, däjazmač Haylu Tewolde Medhen, who contemplated resistance, was confined and replaced with däjazmač (later ras) Woldemichael Solomon who had actively participated in Kaśa's military campaign against the imperial officials in Tigray.[7]

Rise to power

The imperial ambitions of Yohannes are consolidated towards the end of the reign of Tewodros II; as early as 1867, he presented himself, during a correspondence with the British, as ruler of Ethiopia.[8] During the same year, a diplomatic dispute between Tewodros and the British government led the expedition to Abyssinia in order to free the European captives imprisoned there by Tewodros. From February 1868, Yohannes came into contact with British officers, including the commander of the expedition, Sir Robert Napier, who sends Major James Augustus Grant, a British explorer, to meet the ruler of Tigray.[9] Yohannes is then perceived by James as a “weak and easily manipulated man, aspiring to become a great leader of the Ethiopian Empire."[10] After three hearings, Yohannes officially agrees to help Napier. This then facilitates the provisioning of the troops by installing markets near the main camp sites.[9] Yohannes assures the British that he will help them “with all [his] power."[11]

Yohannes undertakes to protect the supply routes from the coast to Magdala and to repress those who disturb the telegraph.[12] In return, Yohannes asked Napier during a meeting on February 28, 1868, for the participation of British forces in his fight against Wagshum Gobeze.[13] Napier refused but maintained the possibility, after the campaign, of military assistance which Yohannes and his 10,000 men greatly needed.[12] On April 10, 1868, the expeditionary force arrived at the foot of Magdala and, three days later, after refusing to surrender to the British, the Nəgusä nägäst Tewodros II committed suicide. Napier's victory and the ease with which the expedition reached Magdala was made possible by Yohannes.[12] The British officers themselves admit that they were "lucky" to have obtained the cooperation of the leader of Tigray.[14] A report written by one of the British officers stating that: “The British army could not have reached Magdala during this season, without having received the help of the chiefs and the people of the country”.[15]

In return for the help that Yohannes provided the British, he received military equipment, estimated at 500,000 Pounds sterling, including: six mortars, six howitzers, approximately 900 muskets and rifles, ammunition, powder and 585,480 primers percussion.[16] This armament is added to the already important arsenal of Yohannes.[17] After the Magdala expedition, the British disengaged completely and Yohannes' offers of cooperation were rejected or ignored. Even after his seizure of imperial power, he failed to arouse the interest of the British.[18] Nevertheless, the Napier expedition had an impact on the struggle for power; in addition to military equipment, a British instructor, John C. Kirkham, agrees to stay in Ethiopia to train the troops of Yohannes. He is responsible for training the troops of Yohannes and preparing them for the use of modern weapons received from the British.[19] According to the Historian Bahru Zewde, the combination of new weapons and the training provided by John Kirkham determined the fight against Tekle Giyorgis.[18]

Following the death of Tewodros, Gobeze Gebre Medhin, had himself crowned as nəgusä nägäst Tekle Giyorgis II.

Battle of Adwa
, but was defeated and confined to Enda Abba Selma, Tembien, where he would die two years later.

Internal policy

The conquests of Yohannes IV, Emperor Menelik and general Ras Alula in 1879–1889

The principle of Yohannes's internal policy was to continue the legacy of Tewodros II by trying to unite Ethiopia. To ensure the realization of this policy, he toured each region and meeting appointed governors, usually from the local nobility, regardless of their former attitudes toward him, as long as they submitted and expressed to him their unflinching loyalty. He thus managed, as the contemporary English vice-consul put it, "to hold the scales of justice with a firm and even hand"; "it was in 1884 the boast of King Yohannes that a child could pass through his dominions unharmed".[6] In the first six years of his reign, he succeeded in achieving the unity of the predominantly Christian provinces, including Wag and Lasta, Semien and Begemder, Sayint, Gojjam, Wollo and Shewa. He crowned Menelik King of Shewa in 1878 and Tekle Haymanot King of Gojjam and Kaffa in 1881 and encouraged them to expand their empire to the south, east, and west. However, this advice created rivalry between the two regional kings, which came to a climax in the Battle of Embabo in June 1882. Yohannes reprimanded both of them for fighting without his permission, punished them by taking away a province from the jurisdiction of each of them and defined the direction of territories to be conquered by each of the two kings.[6]

Atse Yohannes IV castle (museum) in Mekelle

When Yohannes was crowned emperor he established his capital in Debre Tabor which served as his seat for a decade before he shifted the capital in 1881 to Mekelle, but he still retained Debre Tabor as his primary residence.[23][24][25]

Religious policy

Yohannes inherited the empire encumbered with three religious questions which provoked him to seek a solution: the internal dissensions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOC), Islam, and Christian foreign missionary activities. He regarded all of them as menaces to the unity and stability of the state.[6]

By 1878, Yohannes was ready to tackle the problems by summoning a council at Boru Meda, Wollo. Most of the high dignitaries and notables of Ethiopia were present at the council. The leading theologians of the three major disputing groups of the EOC — Karra (predominant in the north), Sägga or Śost Lədät (prevalent in Begemeder and Shewa) and Qəbat (based in Gojjam and Lasta) — tried to defend their respective doctrines. Yohannes readily accepted corrections made by a notable on procedural matters. Apparently, he had a long-prepared plan for the council, as he had a letter from the patriarch of Alexandria read out at the end of the disputation which endorsed the imperial tenet. The policy transcended Yohannes's reign, though there were indications that the suppressed tenets had by no means been eradicated.[6]

Yohannes was known to harbor deep resentment towards

Abyssinians towards Islam. Someone who knew him told me that if he saw a Muslim in the morning it would depress him so that he would immediately take the cross which he worships and put it over his face."[26]
During the council at Boru Meda, he summoned the major Oromo chiefs of Wollo. According to an Ethiopian chronicler, Yohannes told them:

We are your apostles. All this [Wollo and the central highlands] used to be Christian land until Gragn ruined and misled it. Now let all, whether Muslim or Galla [Oromo], believe in the name of Jesus Christ! If you wish to live in peace and preserve your belongings, become Christians.[27]

It is estimated that by 1880 some 50,000 Jebertis (Tigrinya speaking Muslims) and 500,000 Oromos had been forced to convert to Christianity.[27]

Foreign policy

War with Ottoman Egypt