Iyasu I (Ge'ez: ኢያሱ ፩; 1654 – 13 October 1706), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ), also known as Iyasu the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 19 July 1682 until his death in 1706, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.
Described as the last “great” Gondarine monarch, Iyasu temporarily halted the trend of decline through his brilliance as a military leader, reestablishing control over rebellious vassals and conquering areas to the south of his domain. In addition to his military and political exploits, Iyasu was a patron of architecture, arts and literature. He also attempted to settle doctrinal differences within Ethiopia's Coptic Church, but without long-lasting success.
Iyasu was deposed by his own son Tekle Haymanot I in 1706 and assassinated by the relatives of one of his concubines. A series of ineffectual emperors followed and imperial power declined until the advent of Tewodros II in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Of Amhara descent, Iyasu I was the son of Emperor Yohannes I by his wife Sabla Wangel.
Iyasu's siblings were brothers Yostos, Tewoflos and Gelawdewos, and sisters Amlakawit and Eleni.
After the death of his eldest brother Yostos in June 1676, Iyasu inherited the governorship over Semien. In 1677–1678, he accompanied his father on a military campaign against the region of Lasta.
Iyasu fell out with his father in 1681, and according to the chronicles, the prince and his followers crossed the Blue Nile At a place called Bete Walato, in Oromo occupied territory, Iyasu met a large number of his father's former subjects, the Kordidas, a largely Amhara group who wished to free themselves from Oromo rule and return to Christianity, the religion of their ancestors. The group made Iyasu promise them that if and when he came to the throne he would help them achieve this ambition. Not long after this Iyasu reconciled with his father.
On 15 July 1682, the ailing Emperor Yohannes I made Iyasu his successor. The dignitaries witnessing Yohannes I final proclamation were Kanafero and Za-Wald (both Azzaz), basha Lesana Krestos, blattengeta Akala Krestos, dejazmach's Anestasyos and Delba Iyasus, and fitawrari Fesseha Krestos among others.
Yohannes I died on 19 July 1682 and Iyasu ascended the throne, with the serag masare Malkea Krestos putting the crown on his head. The Tsehafi Taezaz's Hawarya Krestos and Walda Haymanot sent sealed letters to various countries to announce the death of Yohannes I, and that the reign of his son Iyasu I has begun.
His reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters (the first in 1684, in the public square of Gondar), matters of state, and to proclaim laws.
In the late 17th century, Iyasu I established the Lewa; the first separate armed force with police functions. Its duties were to keep public order in the towns and on the roads.
In November 1698, after reports of extortion suffered by merchants, Iyasu I summoned all scholars and rulers of Tigray from Enderta to Wogera. He asked them about the regulation of taxes then exacted at the customs posts (also known as the Kella system). He told the Tigrayan rulers and scholars to discuss on the matter and suggest and new customs regulation and this led to decrease of taxes, and tax exemptions for small merchants, which encouraged trade. The monarch declared that anyone attempting to tax them would have his property confiscated, and be punishable by death. Iyasu I ordered the chiefs, and the location of all Tigray Kella, be announced by herald, and recorded in the royal chronicle.
Military campaigns and conflicts
Iyasu I strengthen his control over his southern domains through his alliance with two influential Amhara warlords, Demetros of Merhabete and Negasi of Menz. Having accepted the suzerainty of their northern monarch, Demetros was granted the old imperial title of Sahafe Lam while Negasi was honoured in Gondar with pomp and circumstance receiving gifts from the Emperor.
It was during his reign that individual Oromo first found service in the Imperial court. In 1704, Iyasu I settled various Oromo groups who accepted Amhara culture, adopted the Amharic language, and converted to Christianity such as the Gawe on the north bank of the Abbay as a bulwark against attacks by other hostile Oromos living south of the Abbay.
Several ethnic groups suffering from persecution and raids in Oromo occupied territories, from the Kordidas Amharas in 1681 to the Talatas in 1695, aligned themselves with Iyasu's government, in hope of securing succour from the monarch. In 1689, Iyasu's Armenian trade agent, Khodja Murad told the Dutch in Batavia that the king of Hadiya had ‘‘submitted of his own free will to the rule of Abyssinia.’’ after suffering defeats and pressures by Oromos. The chief of Hadiya ‘‘together with his entire people’’ had ‘‘embraced the Christian religion’’, and married ‘‘a certain princess from the dynasty of the Abyssinian emperors.’’
Iyasu I also had a separate squadron of soldiers from the Beta Israel and units of Wellag soldiers under his command.
In the second year of his reign, he confronted an invasion of the Wollo Oromo into Amhara, defeating them at Melka Shimfa.