Demetros was a military commander under several Emperors, from

Yohannes I Yohannes I (), also known as Yohannes the Righteous (Ge'ez: ጻድቁ ዮሐንስ), throne name A'ilaf Sagad (Ge'ez: አእላፍ ሰገድ; 1640 – 19 July 1682) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1667 to 1682, and a member of the Solomonic dynas ...

Tewoflos Tewoflos ( Ge'ez: ቴዎፍሎስ), throne name Walda Anbasa (Ge'ez: ወልደ አንበሳ, died 14 October 1711), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1 July 1708 to 14 October 1711, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the brother of Iyasu I, ...

. He was regarded as a founder of a local dynasty in his native

Merhabete Merhabete (Amharic language, Amharic: መርሐ ቤቴ) is a Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Shewa Zone (Amhara), Semien Shewa Zone, Merhabete is bordered on the south by Ensaro, on the west by the Orom ...

, from where he initiated wars of reconquest of

Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

n territories against the

Oromos The Oromo people (, pron. ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo''), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic ...

. Under

Iyasu I Iyasu I ( Ge'ez: ኢያሱ ፩; 1654 – 13 October 1706), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ), also known as Iyasu the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 19 July 1682 until his death in 1706, and a member of the Solomonic dy ...

he was elevated to the governorship ( Sahafe Lam) of

Biography

Background

Amhara Amhara may refer to: * Amhara people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia * Amharic, a language spoken by the Amhara people * Bete Amhara, a lordship and later province of medieval Ethiopia * Amhara Province, a historical region of Ethiopia * Amhara Region ...

lineage, Demetros was a native from the

Shewan Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

district of

. While most of Shewa was conquered by the

Oromo invasions The Oromo expansions or the Oromo invasions (in older historiography, Galla invasions), were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo primarily documented by the ethnic Gamo monk Bahrey, but also mentioned in other Ch ...

, Christian communities survived in his homeland of Merhabete. There were unbroken links with the empire, and the Christian regeneration took place well before the better known case of the

Menz Menz or Manz (, romanized: ''Mänz'') is a former Subdivisions of Ethiopia, subdivision of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone (Amhara), Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region. William Cornwallis Harris describe ...

dynasty of his Shewan

contemporary,

Negasi Krestos Nagasi Krestos was the ruling prince of Shewa (reigned c. 1682 — c. 1703), an important Amhara people, Amhara noble of Ethiopia. Nagasi succeeded to unite fragmented Amhara districts in Shewa, and launched several wars of reconquest of Shewan ter ...

Lasta campaign

In December 1679, after months of tensions between the crown and the region of

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic province in northern Ethiopia located in the Amhara Region. It is the province in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval roc ...

, Emperor

launched an punitive expedition into Lasta. On the 7th day of the campaign, the imperial forces were hindered by unfavorable weather conditions. Detached from the imperial army by the order of his majesty,

dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...

Demetros destroyed a fortress in Dabot, seizing glory that day. On the 8th day, Demetros further distinguished himself by taking a mountain settlement called Maskot, which previous emperors and commanders failed to conquer.

Conflict against the Oromos - 1684

In 1684, the Edju

invaded

Demetros fought alongside Emperor

to expel them. The enemy were caught in a narrow defile, from each end of which they were attacked and slain in large numbers.

1690's

Throughout the 1690s Demetros was a close confidant of

, helping plan attacks on the

and participating in

Iyasu Eyesus (Geʽez script, Geʽez: ኢየሱስ ) is an Ethiopian name meaning Jesus. It can also mean Yasu (or Yashu), or Yesu. Various Rulers and heads of state of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Emperors have used the name including: *Iyasu I of Ethiopia (also ...

's campaigns. By 1693 he held the title of Sahafe Lam of

. By the end of the decade, however, he had lost favour at

's court. In March 1699, at the conclusion of yet another campaign against the Oromo, Iyasu stripped Demetros of his appointment as Sahafe Lam of Shewa, and reduced his territorial control to his homeland, the district of Merhabete.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetros of Merhabete 17th-century Ethiopian people 18th-century Ethiopian people