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Yohannes I

Type Figure Region Ethiopia Time c. 1640–1682 Also known as Emperor of Ethiopia

Yohannes I (c. 1640–1682) was a Solomonic emperor who succeeded Fasilides in 1667 with the title A'ilaf Sagad, continuing Gondar's development, enfor…

Timeline

  1. 1640–1666Gondar · Amhara RegionYohannes was fourth son of Emperor Fasilides, born at Tadda, and in his youth was imprisoned by his father in Gondar's Beta Afras. Between 1661 and 1666 he gradually accumulated support amid court factional struggles, preparing for succession.
  2. 1667–1670Gondar · Amhara RegionAfter Fasilides died in 1667, Yohannes ascended the throne by election of the nobles' assembly, taking the title A'ilaf Sagad and marrying his stepmother Sabla Wangel as empress. He continued Gondar's urban construction, convened a church council in 1668 to address marriage and theological disputes, enforced segregation of Muslims and Christians, and required Europeans residing in Ethiopia to convert to Orthodoxy.
  3. 1677–1682Lasta and Tigray · EthiopiaCampaigned twice against Lasta in 1677 and 1679 to quell revolts, suppressed a rising in southern Tigray in 1680 and reorganized Gojjam's defenses. Domestically he abolished the livestock tax and granted a general amnesty; when gravely ill in July 1682 he declared his son Iyasu I heir, and died on the 19th.

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