Lij Iyasu (1913 -1916)
Soon after Emperor Menelik's death, in 1913, Lij Iyasu took the throne. He was the grandson and designated heir of Menelik II. Iyasu then spent much of his time to improve relations with the Muslim population, as several of his wives were Muslims, rather than leading the modernisation of the country. Iyasu's attempts to improve relationships with the Muslim population and his colourful lifestyle dismayed and annoyed the nobility of Shewa and the clergy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church who feared that he might turn Ethiopia to a Muslim state.
Iyasu ruled for about three years but he was never officially crowned and recognised as emperor so he was known as Lij Iyasu. This was because of his endless and special relationship with the Muslims in the east of the country.
In 1916, Iyasu was overthrown and he fled to the Afar region. He spent much of his time in the Afar lowlands, and then in Tigray and parts of Wello who were hostile to the central government and sympathetic to him. The nobility of Shewa and the clergy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church officially crowned Zewditu, the daughter of Menelik II, as empress of Ethiopia.
After 5 years on the run, Iyasu was captured and imprisoned in Fiche, North Shewa. For details, visit The Plight of Iyasu and Ras Hailu of Gojjam.
References
- Roderick Grierson and Stuart Munro-Hay, The Ark of the Covenant, 2000, published by Phoenix, London, UK, ISBN 0753810107
- Stuart Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, The Unknown Land a Cultural and Historical Guide, 2002, published by I.B. Tauris and Co. Ltd., London and New York, ISBN 1 86064 7448
- Jenny Hammond, Fire From The Ashes, A Chronicle of the Revolution in Tigray, Ethiopia, 1975-1991, 1999, published by The Read Sea Press, Inc., ISBN 1 56902 0868
- Philip Briggs, Ethiopia, The Bradt Travel Guide, Third Edition, 2002, published by Bradt Travel Guides Ltd, England, UK, ISBN 1 84162 0351
- The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (2003). The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Faith and Order. http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/indexenglish.html
- Binyam Kebede (2002). http://www.ethiopiafirst.com (4ladies.jpg, Afar-lady.jpg, Afar-girl.jpg, lady-artful-lips.jpg, Man-face-art.jpg, Man-face-art2.jpg, Somal-lady.jpg, Debra-Damo.jpg, Buitiful-girls.jpg, lady-face-art.jpg, man-hair-style.jpg, yeha.jpg, harar.jpg,). Many thanks to Binyam Kebede for his permission to copy and use these pictures from his website.
- Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Office of Population and Housing Census Commission Central Statistical Authority, November 1998, Addis Ababa
- Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and The Bible, The Schweich Lectures, The British Academy, Published by The Oxford University Press, first published 1968, Reprinted 1989, 1992, 1997, Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, United Kingdom, ISBN 0-19-726076-4
- Mr. Solomon Kibriye (2003). Imperial Ethiopia Homepage, http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown. Many thanks to Mr. Solomon Kibriye for the contribution and comments he has made to this website.
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