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Solomonid Ethiopia (1340s)

Type Event Region East Africa Time 1340–1350

In the 1340s Solomonid Ethiopia under expansionist emperor Amda Seyon I (r. 1314–1344) maintained suzerainty over Muslim sultanates of the Horn of Af…

Timeline

  1. 1340–1344Ifat–Shewa · EthiopiaIn the early 1340s Amda Seyon I still controlled Muslim vassal states such as Ifat, Harar, and Shewa; his suppression of the Sabr ad-Din rebellion in the 1330s had already established Christian imperial dominance east of the Awash Valley. The royal chronicle Glorious Victories of Amda Seyon portrayed the emperor as defender of Christianity, laying a stable foundation for the transfer of power in 1344.
  2. 1344Court of the Ethiopian Empire · EthiopiaAmda Seyon I died in 1344 and his eldest son Newaya Krestos (regnal title Sayf Ar'ed, 'Sword of Terror') inherited the throne. The new ruler continued the Solomonid claim to 'Solomon–Sheba' descent and quickly established control over court and church elites early in his reign.
  3. 1345–1350Adal–Mara · Horn of AfricaNewaya Krestos continued suppressing Muslim rebellions in Adal, Mara, and elsewhere early in his reign. Later in his rule, when the Mamluk sultan Salih imprisoned Patriarch Mark IV of Alexandria, Ethiopia detained Egyptian merchants within its borders in retaliation, forcing Cairo to concede. By the end of the 1340s the empire still maintained indirect influence over Red Sea trade routes.

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