Reign
Pearce provides a short account of Baeda Maryam's reign. He had been made Emperor by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, and after he was deposed by Ras Aligaz, Baeda Maryam found refuge with Ras Guebra. [2] The Royal chronicle provides further details: when Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I was absent from Gondar raiding near Shawra, Baeda Maryam was proclaimed emperor over the protests of Abuna Yosab III and the Ichege. At the same time Wolde Gabriel was elevated to Ras and Betwodded. [3] However, according to the Royal chronicle Baeda Maryam found little support beyond Wolde Gabriel: not long after his coronation, retainers of Ras Guebra at Shawada and Mosabit clashed with the retainers of Wolde Gabriel; Dejazmach Wolde Selassie appeared to support Baeda Maryam as emperor, but he sent a secret message to Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen of support. Both Ras Wolde Gabriel and Emperor Baeda Maryam campaigned in the provinces in a show of strength, but by the rainy season Baeda Maryam had returned to Gondar. [4]
Towards the end of 1795, Dejazmach Haile Wand Bewossen marched from Lasta, supported by Oromo from Wollo, and defeated Wolde Gabriel in battle at Felaqit Saturday 8 Teqemt. Wolde Gabriel retreated towards the Checheho pausing at Maryam Weha and his enemies at Agala. When Wolde Gabriel attempted to retire towards Sabisabar, he was attacked and defeated once again at Tsanfa Gumara. Wolde Gabriel withdrew to Quratsa, where the monks made peace between him and Haile Wand Bewossen. Wolde Gabriel then went to the monastery at Mahdere Maryam while Haile marched on Gondar, where he summoned Tekle Giyorgis to resume the throne. [5]
By 1802, Baeda Maryam was reportedly a prisoner in Semien. [6] By January 1813, he was still in Semien, at which time he visited Ras Wolde Selassie to seek his help in being restored to the throne, but the Ras declined to help. Pearce later notes that Wolde Selassie was thought to be supporting the claims of another former Emperor, Tekle Giyorgis, but did not act because "he is persuaded to wait for the Abuna from Egypt and take him with him." [7]
Tekle Giyorgis II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871.
Tekle Haymanot II, throne name: Admas Sagad III was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 October 1769 to 13 April 1777, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes II by Woizero Sancheviyar, at the Imperial prison of Mount Wehni.
Tekle Giyorgis I, throne name Feqr Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of Yohannes II and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of Tekle Haymanot II.
Salomon II was Emperor of Ethiopia from 13 April 1777 to 20 July 1779. He was the son of Abeto Adigo. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810.
Iyasu III was Emperor of Ethiopia from 16 February 1784 to 24 April 1788, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Abeto Azequ, and the grandson of Iyasu II.
AtseBaeda Maryam was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia in Tigray and Gojjam by Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel, the son of Ras Mikael Sehul, who was opposed to Ras Ali of Begemder.
Hezqeyas was Emperor of Ethiopia from 26 July 1789 to January 1794, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu III.
Salomon III was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1796 and 1797, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Tekle Haymanot II. He may be identical with the Emperor Solomon whom the traveler Henry Salt lists as one of the Emperors still alive at the time of his visit in 1809/1810. E. A. Wallis Budge notes some authorities believe he was the same person as Baeda Maryam II.
Demetros was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 1799 and 1801, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Arqedewos. He may be the same person as the "Adimo" mentioned in the account of the traveler Henry Salt who was dead by the time of Salt's visit to northern Ethiopia in 1809/1810.
Yonas was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 August 1797 to 4 January 1798, and a member of Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Letezum, and the grandson of the Emperor Fasilides.
Egwale Seyon, throne name Newaya Sagad, was Emperor of Ethiopia from June 1801 to 12 June 1818, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Hezqeyas.
Baeda Maryam III, also known as Bida Maryam, was Emperor of Ethiopia for a few days in April 1826. Baeda Maryam was a figurehead, set on the throne by Dejazmach Haile Maryam, the governor of Semien. Elisabeth-Dorothea Hecht has argued that this Baeda Maryam is the same person as Baeda Maryam II, noting that the information that the earlier Baeda Maryam had died in combat in 1787 is wrong.
Gugsa of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder, and Inderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. According to Nathaniel Pearce, he took the Christian name of Wolde Mikael. He was the son of Mersu Barentu and Kefey, the sister of Ras Aligaz. Both Bahru Zewde and Paul B. Henze consider his reign as Ras and Enderase as the peak of the Yejju Dynasty during the Zemene Mesafint.
Yimam of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Gugsa of Yejju.
Aligaz of Yejju was Ras of Begemder, and Inderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul and brother of Ali I of Yejju; he became both Ras and Inderase following Ali's death. Aligaz had four sons: Dejazmach Birru, Dejazmach Gobeze, Dejazmach Faris, and Dejazmach Gojjee.
Ali I of Yejju was Ras of Begemder, and following the death of Ras Mikael Sehul, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul, chieftain of the Yejju, and Woizero Gelebu Faris, daughter of Ras Faris of Lasta.
Wolde Selassie was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788-1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797-1800. John J. Halls, in his Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt, preserves a description of this powerful warlord, as "small in stature, and delicately formed, quick in his manner, with a shrewd expression, and considerable dignity in his deportment." Nathaniel Pearce also notes that Ras Wolde was an avid chess player, and "would play at from morning till night".
Enderta or Inderta is a former historical province of Ethiopia; it is located in the eastern edge of the Tigray highlands. Enderta is bordered on the west by Tembien, on the south and southwest by Lasta and Wag, on the east by denkel, and on the north by Agame and Adwa. Mekelle was formerly the capital of the province. Enderta's local administration of Denkel/Afar up to the edges of Aseb under its jurisdiction seems to have been highly, interlinked with the operation of the salt trade and its taxation system; the entire tasks of salt caravan organization being the responsibility of the bäalgada, title assumed by the governor of Endärta, since at least the Medieval period (c.1270-1527)
Haile Maryam Gebre of Semien, Horse name: Abba Dammana was an early 19th century governor of Semien, Welkait and Wogera. Haile Maryam tried to hold his hereditary possessions in the face of continuous pressure from rival lords during Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint era. He is remembered as the guardian of Waldeba monastery.
Gebre Tasfa better known as Gebre of Semien was the governor of Semien, Tsegede, Welkait and Wogera during the late 18th and early 19th century in Ethiopia. He held the title of Ras, and had an unusually long reign spanning 44 years during the tumultuous Zemene Mesafint when lords of each province and district continuously fought each other for supremacy. Ras Gebre was the primary backer of his son-in-law Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I claims to the throne.
