Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia
1936877
202854632
2008-04-02T18:26:58Z
VolkovBot
3035831
robot Adding: [[he:תקלה גיורגיס הראשון, קיסר אתיופיה]]
'''Tekle Giyorgis I''' ([[Ge'ez alphabet|Ge'ez]] ተክለ ጊዮርጊስ "Plant of [[Saint George]]"; c.[[1750s|1751]] - [[12 December]] [[1817]]<ref>Nathaniel Pearce estimated his age as 66 at the time of his death, which would mean Tekle Giyorgis was born in 1751. {{Ref Ethiopia|Pearce|pages=vol. 2 p. 168}}</ref>) was [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] (throne name '''Feqr Sagad''') intermittently between [[20 July]] [[1779]] and June [[1800]], and a member of the [[Solomonic dynasty]]. He was the youngest son of [[Yohannes II of Ethiopia|Yohannes II]] and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of [[Tekle Haymanot II of Ethiopia|Tekle Haymanot II]].
According to Sven Rubenson, who described Teke Giyorgis as the last emperor to exercise authority on his own, "It is not without justification that he has in Ethiopian tradition received the nickname ''Fiṣame Mengist'', 'the end of the government'".<ref>{{Ref Ethiopia|Rubenson-1966|pages= p. 18}}</ref>
== Physical description ==
[[Nathaniel Pearce]], who lived in Ethiopia during the 1810s, was acquainted with Tekle Giyorgis and described the emperor, at age 66, as
: tall, and stout in proportion, always wears his hair long and plaited; has large eyes, a Roman nose, not much beard, and a very manly and expressive countenance, though he is a great coward. He has a dark, shining skin which is very singular, as ... [his parents and brother], were very fair for Abyssinians ... while he, the youngest son, is as dark as [[mahogany]]. The [[Ras (title)|Ras]] [i.e. Wolde Selassie] who knew the whole family, often remarked this, and repeated "Black without and black within."<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 272f</ref>
Pearce continues his description on the next page, noting that Tekle Giyorgis
: is remarkably proud of his person: though a little bald at the top of his head, he manages to have the hair, which is nearly a span long, so plaited and disposed as to hide the bald part. He always wears silver or gold bodkin with a large head, called ''wolever'', upon his forehead; and round the instep, and below the ancle, a string of oval silver or gold beads, such as are worn by all women rich and poor, and which are called ''aloo''.<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 274</ref>
Then the Englishman concludes this description with an account of the former Emperor's character, by writing, "I shall begin by stating, in plain English, that he is a great liar and a great miser, and from his childhood has been remarkable for his changeable and deceitful temper, and utter disregard of his oath."<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 274</ref> Pearce illustrates this by his treatment of [[Wolde Gabriel]], the son of Ras [[Mikael Sehul]], who had restored him to the throne after the Rasses [[Ali I of Yejju|Ali]] and [[Ras Meru|Meru]] rebelled against him: when Wolde Gabriel protested that his men had were exhausted after their campaign against the rebels, and could not march forth with the Emperor to [[Shewa]], Tekle Giyorgis conspired with his captured foes to arrest and kept Wolde Gabriel in chains, until he had ransomed himself with "the last article of value he possessed".<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 276</ref>
== Life ==
Tekle Giyorgis gained and lost the Imperial throne five times after Ras [[Wolde Selassie]] and Ras Kefla Adyam called him down from the royal prison at [[Wehni]] and made him Emperor in 1779. According to [[E. A. Wallis Budge]], the Emperor proved unpopular from the beginning, and until he was deposed for the first time in [[8 February]] [[1784]] by Ras [[Abeto of Gojjam]], he was forced at times to seek a safe haven from Ras Wolde Selassie.<ref>{{Ref Ethiopia|WallisBudge-1928|pages= p. 477}}</ref> Eventually he could not exert his authority in any part of his realm. According to the ''Royal chronicle of Abyssinia'', Tekle Giyorgis was campaigning against Ras Haile in [[Gojjam]], who was in revolt against him, when a group of nobles marched together against him. The Emperor withdrew across the [[Abay River|Abay]] to [[Afarwanat]], where a battle took place in which the Emperor was defeated, fleeing southward to [[Amba Sel|Ambasell]] in [[Shewa]].<ref>{{Ref Ethiopia|WeldBlundell-1922|pages= p. 342}}</ref>
Before Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor on [[24 April]] [[1788]], two rivals for the throne had appeared: [[Atse Iyasu|Iyasu]] and [[Atse Baeda Maryam|Baeda Maryam]], supported by rivals of Ras Ali. Until he lost the throne [[26 July]] [[1789]], Tekle Giyorgis was one of five Emperors ruling in Ethiopia in the years of 1788 and 1789 — the others being [[Iyasu III of Ethiopia|Iyasu III]], [[Tekle Haymanot of Gondar|Tekle Haymanot]], [[Hezqeyas of Ethiopia]].<ref>Budge, ''A History of Ethiopia'', p. 478</ref>
In January [[1794]], Tekle Giyorgis defeated the warlord Ras [[Haile Yosadiq]], and once again was Emperor. He went to the province of [[Dembiya]] in the northwestern part of [[Begemder]] to seek the support of [[Dejazmach]] [[Gadelu]], but the Dejazmach would not receive him; however, Ras [[Aligaz of Yejju|Aligaz]] the brother of Ras Ali and who had a large army encamped at [[Tchat Weha]] did receive him, and with his help Tekle Giyorgis was able to hold onto the throne until [[15 April]] [[1795]].<ref>Budge, ''A History of Ethiopia'', p. 479</ref>
Tekle Giyorgis was restored as Emperor a fourth time December 1795, and remained Emperor until [[20 May]] [[1796]]. His fifth period as emperor was from [[4 January]] [[1798]] to [[20 May]] [[1799]], and his last ran from [[24 March]] [[1800]] into June of that year. He lived the rest of his life in [[Waldebba]] and [[Tigray province|Tigray]].<ref>Rubenson, ''King of Kings'', p. 18.</ref>
Despite the fact that the Imperial throne had little power or income, Tekle Giyorgis continued to work towards his restoration. Pearce recounts how the common wisdom, while he lived in Ethiopia, expected Ras Wolde Selassie to restore Tekle Giyorgis to the throne. He notes a meeting the former Emperor and the Ras had at [[Axum]] [[17 January]] [[1814]],<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 155ff</ref> but the Ras declined to help the former ruler. Tekle Giyorgis then left for the court of Wolde Selassie's rival, Ras [[Gebre]], and stirred up trouble between the two until Wolde Selassie met Gebre, and was undeceived; Ras Wolde Selassie took custody of Tekle Giyorgis and afterwards exiled him to Axum, where he was kept under close watch until the Ras' death.<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 1 pp. 254f, 277f</ref> Having fled to Axum after the death of his patron the Ras, Pearce found the former king doing quite well in that city, selling noble titles to the victorious warlords in return for shares of their plunder; only [[Sabagadis]] refused to take a part in this trade.<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 2 pp. 123ff</ref> He died of natural causes at Axum, and was buried in the churchyard of Mariam Sean of that city.<ref>Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 2 p. 168</ref>
Richard Pankhurst states that Tekle Giyorgis erected Debre Metmaq Maryam church in [[Gondar]], the last example of Imperial patronage in that city in that century.<ref>{{Ref Ethiopia|Pankhurst-1982|pages= p. 179}}</ref>
== Notes ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1779–1784 | preceded=[[Salomon II of Ethiopia|Salomon II]] | succeeded=[[Iyasu III of Ethiopia|Iyasu III]]}}
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1788–1789 | preceded=[[Iyasu III of Ethiopia|Iyasu III]] | succeeded=[[Hezqeyas of Ethiopia|Hezqeyas]]}}
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1789–1792 | preceded=[[Hezqeyas of Ethiopia|Hezqeyas]] | succeeded=[[Baeda Maryam II of Ethiopia|Baeda Maryam II]]}}
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1793–1795 | preceded=[[Baeda Maryam II of Ethiopia|Baeda Maryam II]] | succeeded=[[Salomon III of Ethiopia|Salomon III]]}}
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1798–1799 | preceded=[[Yonas of Ethiopia|Yonas]] | succeeded=[[Salomon III of Ethiopia|Salomon III]]}}
{{Succession |office=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]] | years=1800 | preceded=[[Demetros of Ethiopia|Demetros]] | succeeded=[[Demetros of Ethiopia|Demetros]]}}
[[Category: 1817 deaths]]
[[Category:Emperors of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Solomonid dynasty]]
[[de:Tekle Giyorgis I.]]
[[fr:Takla Guiorguis d'Éthiopie]]
[[he:תקלה גיורגיס הראשון, קיסר אתיופיה]]