Yonas (died May 1813) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 18 August 1797 to 4 January 1798, and a member of

Solomonic dynasty The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...

. He was the son of Letezum, and the grandson of the Emperor

Fasilides Fasilides ( Ge'ez: ፋሲልደስ; ''Fāsīladas''; 20 November 1603 – 18 October 1667), also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides (as in the works of Edward Gibbon), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a ...

. H. Weld Blundell, ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 446

Reign

According to E. A. Wallis Budge, Yonas was a figurehead, proclaimed Emperor by '' Ras'' Isra'el of Begemder, and deposed by Gugsa, a chieftain of the Yejju Oromo people. However, the ''Royal Chronicle'' records that he was proclaimed Emperor after the Emperor who controlled

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...

, Salomon III, had been defeated by the rebel ''Balambaras'' Asserat, who forced him to flee Gondar. However, during Yonas' reign the realm was afflicted by a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

in which "more men died than could be numbered." Yonas' son Mafu died 7 November, then his wife Esther, both apparently from this famine. Lacking any support or rationale for his rule, the major warlords of the time -- ''Ras'' Mare'ed, ''

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

'' Hailu Eshte, ''Dejazmach''

Wolde Selassie Wolde Selassie (; c.1736 - 28 May 1816) 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 power ...

, and ''Ras'' Guebra -- all successfully petitioned to Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis Tekle Giyorgis may refer to *Tekle Giyorgis I (c.1751–1817), Emperor of Ethiopia *Tekle Giyorgis II Tekle Giyorgis II ( Ge’ez: ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ, born Wagshum Gobeze (Amharic: ዋግሹም ጎበዜ), died 1873) was Emperor of Ethi ...

to return from exile in Waldebba and become ruler once again. Upon learning of Tekle Giyorgis' approach when he was still one day's march away, Yonas fled to sanctuary in the Abuna's palace. After months of hiding in the Abuna's palace, Yonas became a potential pawn when Waheldu, the brother of Asserat and also in conflict with the major warlords, attempted to have Yonas brought to him and used as his own candidate for Emperor. Tekle Giyorgis managed to foil this plot by giving amnesty to Yonas, and had him and Yonas' brother Goshu, "dwell with him in friendship" in the Royal Enclosure. By 1802, he was a prisoner in

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic district in northern Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Its original ...

. Henry Salt is reported to have met with his son Fasilidas in Adowa 16 September 1805, and who "seemed anxious to have a private conversation ith Salt but was prevented." Nathaniel Pearce reports that Yonas was living in exile in

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...

at the time of his death, and died penniless "without leaving sufficient even to purchase a coffin to receive ... isremains, or money enough for ''fettart'' or ''toscar''."Nathaniel Pearce, J.J. Halls. ed. ''The Life and Adventures of Nathaniel Pearce'' (London, 1831), vol. 1, pp. 124f. Pearce heard of Yonas' death on 7 June, but did not record the exact date it occurred.

References

{{Emperors of Ethiopia 18th-century births 1813 deaths 18th-century emperors of Ethiopia 19th-century Ethiopian people 18th-century monarchs in Africa Eastern Orthodox monarchs Year of birth unknown