Yohannes IV of Ethiopia

72
Yohannes IV of Ethiopia bigraphy, stories - Emperor of Ethiopia

Yohannes IV of Ethiopia : biography

11 July 1837 – 9 March 1889

Yohannes IV (Ge’ez ዮሐንስ ፬ኛ Yōḥānnis ዮሓንስ, Amharic Yōhānnis, also known by the English equivalent "John", 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889http://rulers.org/indexy.html#yohan rulers.org), born Lij Kassay Mercha Ge’ez, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1872 until his death.

War with Sudan

When Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, and incited Sudan into a long and violent revolt, his followers successfully either drove the Egyptian garrisons out of Sudan, or isolated them at Suakin and at various posts in the south. Yohannes agreed to British requests to allow these Egyptian soldiers to evacuate through his lands, with the understanding that the British Empire would then support his claims on important ports like Massawa on the Red Sea to import weapons and ammunition, in the event that Egypt was forced to withdraw from them. This was formalized in a treaty signed with the British at Adwa known as the Hewett treaty. The immediate result was that the wrath of the Mahdiyah fell upon Ethiopia: Ras Alula defeated an invading Mahdist army at the Battle of Kufit on 23 September 1885. About the same time, Italy took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannes. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Neguses of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannes, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassals. Yohannes brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar and burned its holy churches. He marched north from Gojjam to confront the armies of the Mahdi.

Early life

Yohannes was born at Mai-biha a village then with in the jurisdiction of Enderta province. He was the son of Mercha, Shum (or "governor") of Tembien, and his wife Woizero (or "Dame") Silass Dimtsu (Amata Selassie), who was the daughter of Dejazmach (roughly equivalent to "Duke") Dimtsu Debbab of Enderta the nephew of the powerful Ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta. Yohannes could claim Solomonic blood through the line of his paternal grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, who was the granddaughter of Ras Mikael Sehul, and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab and her lover Melmal Iyasu.

Yohannes could also claim Solomonic descent more distantly through his father’s Tembien family, also through a female link to the dynasty. Amata Selassie’s father Dimtsu of Endarta belonged to the family which in late 18th and early 19th centuries had held overlordship of Tigray, and her mother descended from the aristocratic line of the Shums of Agame.

Full title

His full title was "His Imperial Majesty John IV, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God" or in Ethiopian "Ge’ez ‘)".

Rise to power

He controled the province of Tigray, and he became one of the three most powerful princes in Ethiopia (the others being Wagshum Gobeze of Lasta and Wag (the future Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II), as well as King (Negus) Menelek of Shewa the future Emperor Menelek II). All three vied to become sole ruler, and also claimed descent from the Solomonic kings. Dejazmach Kassai’s rivalry with the Wagshum was further complicated by the fact that his sister, Dinqinesh Mercha, was married to Wagshum Gobeze. Only five years earlier, Wagshum Gobeze had played the decisive military role in ensuring that Dejazmach Kassai defeated his rivals as the pre-eminent figure in Tigray. Their new rivalry was therefore awkward for both of them on a personal level. A European sketch of Yohannes IV