Iyasu II

Iyasu II
እያሱ
Iyasu II ; እያሱ
	Depiction of the court of Iyasu II (left) in an 18th century manuscript
Emperor of Ethiopia
Reign	19 September 1730 – 27 June 1755
Coronation	19 September 1730
Predecessor	Bakaffa
Successor	Iyoas I
Regent	Mentewab (1723–30)
Born	21 October 1723
Died	27 June 1755 (aged 31)
Burial	Debretsehay Kuskuam, Gondar, Ethiopia
Spouse	Woman from Amhara(first wife); Welete Bersabe of Karrayyu (second wife)
Issue	Adigo (by first wife); Aylo (by first wife); Iyoas I (by second wife)
House	House of Solomon
Father	Bakaffa
Mother	Mentewab
Religion	Coptic Orthodox

Iyasu II (Ge'ez: ኢያሱ; 21 October 1723^[2] – 27 June 1755), throne name Alem Sagad (Ge'ez: ዓለም ሰገድ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1730 to 1755,^[3] and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Emperor Bakaffa and Empress Mentewab (also known by her baptismal name of Welete Giyorgis).

The Empress Mentewab played a major role in Iyasu's reign, perhaps against her will. Shortly after he was proclaimed Emperor, a rival claimant assaulted the Royal Enclosure for eight days, only leaving the capital Gondar when an army of 30,000 from Gojjam appeared. Although the rebels failed to penetrate its walls, much of Gondar was left in ruins.^[4] Instead of taking the title of regent upon the succession of her underage son, Empress Mentewab had herself crowned as co-ruler, becoming the first woman to be crowned in this manner in Ethiopian history. Empress Mentewab wielded significant authority throughout the reign of her son, and well into the reign of her grandson as well.

^ ^a ^b ^c Budge, E. A. Wallis (1928). A History of Ethiopia: Volume II (Nubia and Abyssinia). New York: Routledge. p. 459.
^ 12 Teqemt 7216 Year of the World. Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, "'How Beautiful She Is!' in Her Mirror: Polysemic Images and Reflections of Power of an Eighteenth-Century Ethiopia Queen", Journal of Early Modern History, 2004, Vol. 8 Issue 3/4, p. 294
^ Richard Pankhurst, "An Eighteenth Century Ethiopian Dynastic Marriage Contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre," in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1979, p. 458.
^ Donald N. Levine, Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture (Chicago: University Press, 1965), p. 24. Details from Remedius Prutky's account in J.H. Arrowsmith-Brown (trans.), Prutky's Travels in Ethiopia and other Countries with notes by Richard Pankhurst (London: Hakluyt Society, 1991), pp. 173f

[Budge-459-1] Budge, E. A. Wallis (1928). A History of Ethiopia: Volume II (Nubia and Abyssinia). New York: Routledge. p. 459.

[2] 12 Teqemt 7216 Year of the World. Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, "'How Beautiful She Is!' in Her Mirror: Polysemic Images and Reflections of Power of an Eighteenth-Century Ethiopia Queen", Journal of Early Modern History, 2004, Vol. 8 Issue 3/4, p. 294

[3] Richard Pankhurst, "An Eighteenth Century Ethiopian Dynastic Marriage Contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre," in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1979, p. 458.

[4] Donald N. Levine, Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture (Chicago: University Press, 1965), p. 24. Details from Remedius Prutky's account in J.H. Arrowsmith-Brown (trans.), Prutky's Travels in Ethiopia and other Countries with notes by Richard Pankhurst (London: Hakluyt Society, 1991), pp. 173f

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