Yeshaq I (), throne name: Gabra Masqal II (Ge'ez: ገብረ መስቀል) 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 1414 to 1429/1430, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the second son of Emperor Dawit I.

Ancestry

Of Amhara lineage. Yeshaq I was a son of Emperor Dawit I, probably by Seyon Mogasa, one of Dawit's wives. Yeshaq had several notable brothers among them Emperor Tewodros I who he succeeded in 1414. His younger brothers included Emperor Takla Maryam and Emperor

Zara Yaqob Zara Yaqob (; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Qostantinos I (; "Constantine"). He is known for the Geʽez literature that flourished during his reign, th ...

Sources

Much of the details of Yeshaq's reign is found in the works of the medieval Arab historian

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

as well as in scattered Geez sources, and in an early

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

poetic text. The overall image of Yeshaq which emerges from the sources is one of a powerful and confrontational Christian leader who fought his enemies, both political and religious, on several fronts.

Reign

Yeshaq's reign was marked by a revolt of the

Beta Israel Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara Region, Amhara and Tigray Region, Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide ter ...

. In response, the Emperor marched into

Wegera Wegera or Wogera (Amharic: ወገራ), is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Wegera is named for the former province Wegera, which was located roughly in the same location, and was later made part of the province of Semien. Part of the Semien ...

, where he defeated the rebels at Kossoge some north of

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 ...

, thereby ending the revolt. He also had the church Debre Yeshaq built there to commemorate his victory. Yeshaq also invaded the Shanqella region beyond Agawmeder, and to the southeast he fought against Mansur ad-Din and Jamal ad-Din II. Yeshaq, according to the Islamic historian

al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

, hired a group of

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

s led by al-Tabingha to train his army in gunnery and swordfighting, they also taught him the secrets of

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

. This is the earliest reference to firearms (Arabic ''naft'') in Ethiopia. About the same time another Egyptian visitor, a

Copt Copts (; ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptian population, descended from the ancient Egyptians. Copts pre ...

, "reorganized the kingdom," according to al-Maqrizi, "and collected so much wealth for the Hati he Emperorthat he enjoyed the king's authority." This unnamed Copt also introduced the practice of the Emperor dressing in "splendid" clothes and carrying a cross, which made him stand out from his subjects. Further,

George Wynn Brereton Huntingford George Wynn Brereton Huntingford (19 November 1901 – 19 February 1978) was an English linguist, anthropologist and historian. He lectured in East African languages and cultures at SOAS, University of London from 1950 until 1966.Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an ruler. He sent a letter by two dignitaries to

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

, which reached the king in 1428, proposing an alliance against the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and would be sealed by a dual marriage, that would require Infante Peter to bring a group of artisans to Ethiopia, where he would marry Yeshaq's daughter. It is not clear how or if Alfonso responded to this letter, although in a letter that reached Yeshaq's successor

in 1450, Alfonso wrote that he would be happy to send artisans to Ethiopia if their safe arrival could be guaranteed, for on a previous occasion a party of thirteen of his subjects traveling to Ethiopia had all perished. A notable example of Ethiopian literature that has survived from this period is a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

addressed to Yeshaq, which

Enrico Cerulli Enrico Cerulli (15 February 1898 – 19 August 1988)Enrico Cerulli
''Worldcat''. Retrieved 27 Oct 20 ...

singled out as a gem of Ethiopian poetry. The first mention of the Yem people is found (under the now pejorative exonym "Jangero") in the victory song of Yishaq I, with them stated as paying tribute in the form of horses to the king. The first mention of the ethnonym "Somali" dates to the reign of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Yishaq who had one of his court officials compose a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

celebrating a military victory over the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of Ifat's and his eponymous troops.

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

states that he was assassinated, and "buried in Tadbaba Maryam", a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in Sayint, while Ethiopian historian Tadesse Tamrat believes that the primary sources mask Yeshaq's death in battle against the Muslim Adalites under the Adal Sultan Jamal ad-Din II. Sultan of Adal Jamal ad-Din II later undertook a further expedition in which it is recorded that he killed or took prisoners of everyone within twenty-days journey of his frontier. The Emperor's forces countered by attacking three different parts of Adal and threatening its capital where the royal family resided. Jamal ad-Din rushed home covering the distance of what was twenty days of journey in only three days. He met the imperial army at Harjah, where Yeshaq's army, though exhausted, fought well but was eventually defeated. The Emperor Yeshaq according to Maqrizi was killed in this battle. His death like that of Dawit, is not recorded for the same reason that the royal Ethiopian chronicles suppressed the violent deaths of their kings whose reigns they extolled.Pankhurst, ''Ethiopian Borderlands'', p.58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeshaq 01 Of Ethiopia 1429 deaths 15th-century monarchs in Africa 15th-century emperors of Ethiopia 15th-century murdered monarchs Solomonic dynasty Year of birth unknown People murdered in Ethiopia