Baeda Maryam II was

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, " King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolitio ...

from 15 April to December 1795. He may have been the son of

Salomon II Salomon II ( Ge'ez: ሰሎሞን) 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 ...

. Although

E. A. Wallis Budge Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (27 July 185723 November 1934) was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East. He made numerous trips ...

, in his book ''A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia'', notes some authorities believe Baeda Maryam was the same person as

Salomon 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 ...

Nathaniel Pearce Nathaniel Pearce (14 February 1779 – 12 August 1820) was an explorer who spent many years in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia) and wrote a journal of his experiences. Early life Pearce was born in East Acton near London, and was educated at ...

, who met the former Emperor when he visited ''

Ras Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

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 powe ...

20 January 1813, states that he had been Emperor only once, for nine months.

Reign

Pearce provides a short account of Baeda Maryam's reign. He had been made Emperor by ''

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 ...

Wolde Gabriel Wolde is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state ...

, and after he was deposed by ''Ras'' Aligaz, Baeda Maryam found refuge with ''Ras'' Guebra. The ''Royal chronicle'' provides further details: when Emperor

Tekle Giyorgis I Tekle Giyorgis I ( gez, ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ; c. 1751 – 12 December 1817), 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 ...

was absent from

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 ...

raiding near Shawra, Baeda Maryam was proclaimed emperor over the protests of

Abuna Yosab III Abuna (or Abune, which is the status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic and Tigrinya) is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as w ...

and the

Ichege Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles refers to the offices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, a hierarchical organization. Some of the more important offices are unique to it. Titles Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles include: *Patriarch we Re'e ...

. At the same time Wolde Gabriel was elevated to ''

'' and ''Betwodded''. 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''

appeared to support Baeda Maryam as emperor, but he sent a secret message to ''Dejazmach''

Haile Wand Bewossen Haile ( Ge'ez "the power of") may refer to: ;People with the given name Haile * Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1892–1975), Emperor of Ethiopia * Haile Gerima (born 1946), Ethiopian filmmaker * Haile Gebrselassie (born 1973), Ethiopian distance runne ...

of support. Both ''Ras'' Wolde Gabriel and Emperor Baeda Maryam campaigned in the provinces in a show of strength, but by the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

Baeda Maryam had returned to Gondar. Towards the end of 1795, ''Dejazmach'' Haile Wand Bewossen marched from

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 ...

, supported by

Oromo Oromo may refer to: People *Oromo people **Arsi Oromo **Borana Oromo people **Guji Oromo people **Ittu Oromo **Karrayyu Oromo ** Macha Oromo people **Raya Oromo people, in Tigray Province **Salale Oromo people **Welega Oromo people **Tulama Oromo ...

from

Wollo Wollo ( Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed part of the present day Amhara, Afar, and Tigray regions. During the Middle Ages this region was known as Bete Amhara and had Amhara kings. Bete Amhara had ...

, and defeated Wolde Gabriel in battle at Felaqit Saturday 8 Teqemt. Wolde Gabriel retreated towards the Checheho pausing at

Maryam Weha Maryam may refer to: * Maryam Castle, a castle in Kermanshah Province, Iran * Maryam (name), a feminine given name (the Aramaic and Arabic form of Miriam, Mary) * Mary in Islam * Maryam (surah), 19th sura of the Qur'an * Maryam, Iran, a village in ...

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. By 1802, Baeda Maryam was reportedly a prisoner in

Semien Semien is Amharic and Tigrinya for "north", and may refer to: * Semien Mountains * Semien province * Kingdom of Semien, a historical political entity of the Beta Israel people * Marcus Semien Marcus Andrew Semien (born September 17, 1990) is a ...

. 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."Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 110f

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baeda Maryam 02 Of Ethiopia 18th-century births 18th-century emperors of Ethiopia 18th-century monarchs in Africa