← Explore on the interactive map

Yekuno Amlak

Type Figure Region Ethiopia Time c. 1216–1285 Also known as Founder of the Solomonic dynasty

Yekuno Amlak (c. 1216–1285), founder and emperor of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty, overthrew the Zagwe dynasty and was crowned in 1270;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1216–1270Shewa · ShewaOf Shewan noble birth claiming Solomonic descent, he long organized military and religious alliances against Zagwe rule, using the Solomonic-Sheban narrative constructed in the Kebra Nagast as the basis for political legitimacy.
  2. 1270–1285Amba Sagana · ShewaDefeated the last Zagwe ruler and was crowned in 1270, formally establishing the Solomonic dynasty. Shifted the political center from the Lalibela area to Shewa, strengthened the relationship between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the state religion, and laid the dynastic and ideological framework for later imperial expansion.

Sources