Iyoas II ( Ge'ez: ኢዮአስ, died 3 June 1821) was

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...

from 14 June 1818 to 3 June 1821, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of

Hezqeyas Hezqeyas (died 13 September 1813) 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. Reign Hezqeyas was brought down from the Royal prison on Wehni by ''Azaj'' Dagale ...

Reign

The ''Royal chronicle'' provides very little information about his reign: only the date of his elevation and the year of his death. According to

Nathaniel Pearce Nathaniel Pearce (14 February 1779 – 12 August 1820) was an English explorer who spent many years in the Ethiopian Empire (then called 'Abyssinia' by Europeans) and wrote a journal of his experiences. Early life Pearce was born in East Acton ...

, Iyoas was selected Emperor over his nephews Zerobabel and Merrit by Ras Gugsa and '' Kenyazmach'' Akli Meru due to the nephews' bad characters. Prior to his elevation, he had been living as a monk in Waldebba.

Samuel Gobat Samuel Gobat (26 January 1799 – 11 May 1879) was a Swiss Calvinist who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death. Biography Samuel Gobat was born at Crémines, Canton of Bern, ...

, a near-contemporary of Iyoas, states he was "efficiently sustained by Ras Gugsa, who was his firm support, or rather his superior."Samuel Gobat, ''Journal of Three years' Residence in Abyssinia'', 1851 (New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969), p. 168 With Iyoas' death an interregnum of several months followed.

Notes

1821 deaths 19th-century emperors of Ethiopia Solomonic dynasty Year of birth unknown {{Ethiopia-royal-stub