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Amda Seyon I
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'''Amda Seyon I''' (
Amharic "Pillar of Zion") was ''
Emperor of Ethiopia {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}}'' (
1314 -
1344) of
Ethiopia (throne name '''Gabra Masqal''' "slave of the cross"), and a member of the
Solomonid dynasty.
According to the British expert on Ethiopia, Edward Ullendorf, "Amde Tseyon was one of the most outstanding Ethiopian kings of any age and a singular figure dominating the
Horn of Africa in the
14th century."
#References 1
Ancestry
It is argued that there is sufficient evidence to show that Amda Seyon was the son of
Wedem Arad. However, when a deputation of
monks led by
Basalota Mikael accused him of
incest for marrying Emperor Wedem Arad's concubine Zan Margesa and threatened to
excommunication excommunicate him, he claimed to be the biological son of the Emperor's brother Qidm Asagid; this explanation may have had its origins in court gossip. Whatever the truth of Amda Seyon's parentage, the Imperial history known as the Paris Chronicle records that he expressed his rage at his accusers by beating one of them, Abbot
Anorewos of Segaja, and exiling the other ecclesiastics to
Dembea and
Begemder.
#References 2
Military actions
According Taddesse Tamrat, Emperor Amda Seyon improved the imperial army, which until his reign was not as heavily armed as his
Muslim adversaries, who are described as having "swords, daggers, iron sticks (''dimbus'')" and other weapons useful in close quarters. Amda Seyon obtained through traders swords and daggers, creating a special
regiment armed with swords; along with this unit, he also formed a special regiment of shield-bearers, whom Taddesse Tamrat speculates was used to guard his archers.
#References 3
Taddesse Tamrat reports that he found a contemporary note written in a manuscript now kept in the island monastery of
Lake Hayq, which mentions that in
1316/
1317, Emperor Amda Seyon successfully campaigned against the Muslim kingdoms of
Kingdom of Damot Damot and
Hadiya.
#References 4
The most important primary source for his reign, ''The Glorious Victories'', describes the extensive military campaigns Amda Seyon undertook in the plains drained by the
Awash River. Beginning on 24 Yakatit (=
18 February), Emperor Amda Seyon led this army against a number of enemies; another document, referring to this year, states that he defeated 10 kings.
#References 5 he defeated sultan
Sabr ad-Din I and sacked his capital, making his brother
Jamal ad-Din I Jamal ad-Din sultan; the Emperor then foiled an ambush set by Jamal ad-Din and the rebel kings of
Adal and
Mora in the
Battle of Das despite being ill, then led his army against
Talag, the current capital of Adal, where the brother of the king of Adal and three of the king's sons surrendered. The Emperor then defeated another king, retraced his steps and replaced Jamal ad-Din with his other brother
Nasr ad-Din, ravaged the kingdom of
Dawaro, then before the end of the month of December ravaged the land of
Sarka and imprisoned its governor Yosef.
#References 6 These efforts extended Ethiopian rule for the first time across the
Awash River, gaining control of Dawaro,
Bale Province, Ethiopia Bale, and other Muslim states.
The year when these extensive military actions occurred is disputed. In his translation of ''The Glorious Victories'', G.W.B. Huntingford notes that Amda Seyon is recorded as celebrating
Easter on 28 Minazya (= 23 April), which would best fit the year
1329.
#References 7 Taddesse Tamrat, on the other hand, points to another document which dates Amda Seyon's 18th
regnal year to 498
Ethiopian calendar Year of Grace, which confirms that the year 516 in ''The Glorious Victories'' is correct and that the campaigns took place in AD
1332.
#References 8
Trade and culture
Trade flourished under Amda Seyon.
Archeology Archeological investigations in the treasuries of
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Ethiopian churches and monasteries have recovered
coins,
textiles and other objects that prove the existence of trade with the
Byzantine Empire. Taddesse Tamrat also notes that he had a
Syrian secretary from a
Christian family of
Damascus, who helped him keep in close touch with events in the
Middle East.
#References 9
Some of the earliest works of
Ethiopian literature were written during Amda Seyon's reign. Perhaps the best known is the
Kebra Nagast, which was translated from
Arabic language Arabic at the request of Yaebika Egzi'e, governor of
Enderta. Other works from this period include the ''Mashafa Mestira Samay Wamedr'' ("The Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth") written by Yeshaq of
Debre Gol, and the ''Zena Eskender'' ("History of Alexander the Great"), a romance wherein
Alexander the Great becomes a Christian saint. Also worth mentioning is that four of the ''Soldiers Songs'' were composed during the reign of Amda Seyon, and are the earliest existing examples of
Amharic.
#References 10
References
# Cited in Paul B. Henze, ''Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 63
# G.W.B. Huntingford, ''The Glorious Victories of Ameda Seyon, King of Ethiopia'' (Oxford: University Press, 1965), pp. 6ff.
# Taddesse Tamrat, ''Church and State in Ethiopia (1270-1527)'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), pp. 89-94.
# Taddesse Tamrat, pp. 135ff.
# Huntingford, ''The Glorious Victories'', p. 5.
# ''The Glorious Victories'', ''passim''.
# Huntingford, ''The Glorious Victories'', p. 53.
# Taddesse Tamrat, p. 138 n.2. (He also states that he disagrees with Huntingford over many of the geographical identifications, p. 139 n.4.)
# Tadesse Tamrat, p. 89.
# A translation with notes of these four songs is included in ''The Glorious Victories'', pp. 129-134.
{{Succession |office=
Emperor of Ethiopia .html">Wedem Arad
succeeded=Newaya Krestos}}
Category:Rulers of Ethiopia
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