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Ethiopian Religious Civil War of the 1620s (after Susenyos's Conversion)

Type Event Region East Africa Time 1622–1630

After Emperor Susenyos publicly converted to Catholicism in 1622 and declared it the state religion, a large-scale religious civil war erupted in 162…

Timeline

  1. 1622–1624Dankaz and Lake Tana region · EthiopiaAfter Susenyos's public conversion in 1622, the Orthodox Church refused to recognize Catholic rites; in 1624 the papal vicar apostolic Afonso Mendes arrived and pushed hardline policies such as abolishing the Sabbath and instituting more fasts, provoking secret coordination among monks and local nobles.
  2. 1626–1628Gojjam and Tigray · EthiopiaAround 1626, Orthodox nobles (including the Fasilides faction in Gojjam and local lords of Tigray) rose openly under the banner of 'defending the Alexandrian Orthodox faith'; imperial and rebel forces fought repeatedly in the highlands, and although Susenyos temporarily held the advantage with Portuguese firearms, he could not eradicate the resistance.
  3. 1629–1630Throughout the Ethiopian Empire · EthiopiaFrom 1629 to 1630 the fighting spread to more provinces, with Orthodox rebel forces approaching the court's core regions; Susenyos fell into military and financial difficulties, while his son Fasilides rose in prestige within the army. By 1630 the civil war had become irreversible, laying the groundwork for the 1632 edict of religious toleration and the emperor's abdication.

Sources