Amha Iyasus Kidane Kale,better known asAmmehayes(reigned c. 1744 – c. 1775), was aMeridazmachofShewa,an importantAmharanoble ofEthiopia.He was the son ofKidane Kale,and a sister ofGoshu of Amhara.
The Meridazmach made a diplomatic visit to the Emperor's court atGondarin 1771, during the first decades of the chaoticZemene Mesafint( "Era of The Princes" ), where the Scots explorerJames Brucemet him. Calling him "Yasous", Bruce describes Amha Iyasus as "the son of the governor of Shoa", "a man from twenty-six to twenty-eight years of age, tall, and of a just degree of corpulence, with arms and legs finely made; he had a very beautiful face, small features, and the most affable manners."[1]
Reign
editThe reign of Amha Iyasus was long and prosperous. New lands were conquered, new settlements founded, new churches built.[2]Mordechai Abir writes, "It was during the reign of Ammehayes that the reconquest of the territories held by theGallareally seriously began. "[3]He imported a number of firearms from the northern parts of Ethiopia, and used them to assert his primacy over his neighboringChristianstates includingTegulet,Menz,EfrataandBulga.He moved his capital toDoqaqitinIfat,whence he raided the lands of theAfarto the east. He renewed the war with theKarayu Oromo,but had more success with theAbichu Oromo,conquering their tribes as far west as the Chia Chia river nearAngolalla.According to British travelorJames Bruce,Amha was also in conflict with the leaders of theHarar Emirate.[4]
Amha Iyasus was the creator of the policy, followed by the rulers of Shewa into the middle of the next century, of avoiding being drawn into the struggles around control of theImperial throne.An important part of this policy was leaving the district ofWollobetween theGeshenandSamba Riversuntouched as buffer between Shewa and the territories of Ethiopia controlled from Gondar.[5]
Abir notes that upon his arrival at Gondar, he was received "more like an honoured ally than a vassal" by the then 17-year-old EmperorTakla Haymanot II.[5]According to Bruce, the Meridazmach led a thousand horsemen in support of the Emperor Tekle Haymanot in theThree battles of Sarbakusa.
Legacy
editWhen Amha Iyasus died, he left his sonAsfaw Wossenwhat had by then become the vast principality of a newShewa.[2]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^Bruce,Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile(London, 1790), vol. 4 p. 94
- ^abLevine, Donald Nathan(1972).Wax & gold: tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 33–34.ISBN0226475638.OCLC1036909730.
- ^Mordechai Abir,Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes; The Challenge of Islam and the Re-unification of the Christian Empire (1769-1855),(London: Longmans, 1968), p. 147
- ^S.C., Munro-Hay.Ethiopia, the unknown land: a cultural and historical guide.I.B. Tauris. p. 183.
- ^abAbir,Era of the Princes,p. 148.