View source for Lij Iyasu

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=September 2021}}
{{short description|Uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title        = [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij|Lij]]
| name         = Iyasu <br> {{lang|gez| ኢያሱ}}
| image        = Lidj Iyasu.jpg
| succession   = [[Emperor of Ethiopia]]
| reign        = 12 December 1913 – 27 September 1916
| predecessor  = [[Menelik II]]
| successor    = [[Zewditu]]
| spouse       = [[Seble Wongel Hailu]]
| dynasty      = [[Solomonic dynasty|House of Solomon]] (Wollo Branch)
| father       = [[Mikael of Wollo|Mikael Ali]]
| mother       = ''Woizero'' Shewaregga Menelik
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1895|2|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Dessie]], [[Wollo]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1935|11|25|1895|2|4|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Addis Ababa]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]
| full name    = Kifle Yaqob (baptismal name)
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = Compound of St Markos Church
| religion     = [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]]
}}
'''''Lij'' Iyasu''' ({{langx|gez|ልጅ ኢያሱ}}; 4 February 1895{{efn|The precise year of Iyasu's birth is not known. In the ''Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia'', the year is incompletely given as "18…"; in the same chapter, Iyasu is said to have been 12 years old in [[Ethiopian calendar|EC]] 1901 (or AD 1908/9). In his notes to this passage, Reidulf K. Molvaer notes, "He was 13 or 14 rather than 12 years old (the 'family tradition' of [[Haile Selassie|Teferi Mekonnin]] and [[Imru Haile Selassie|Imru Haile-Sellasie]] was that Iyasu was about three years younger than them.)" ''Prowess, Piety, and Politics: The Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia (1909–1930)'' (Koeln: Ruediger Koeppe, 1994), p. 314 and note. Molvaer notes that other traditions put the year of his birth in 1892 and 1897 (p. 558). The year "1887" given in the 1911 ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' is the EC date, not the Common Era; the author of the article confused the two.}} – 25 November 1935) also known as '''Iyasu V'''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Barry |title=Dictionary of World Biography |publisher=ANU Press |page=431 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Dictionary_of_World_Biography/DO1fDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=iyasu+v&pg=PA431&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> was the designated [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was '''Kifle Yaqob''' (ክፍለ ያዕቆብ ''kəflä y’aqob''). Ethiopian emperors traditionally chose their regnal name on the day they were crowned,{{efn|For instance, Tewodros II and Menelik II were respectively known as Kassa Hailu and Sahle Maryam before they were crowned.<ref>{{harvp|Henze|2000|pp=132–133}}</ref>}} and since he was never crowned, he is usually referred to as ''[[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij|Lij]]'' Iyasu, "Lij" meaning child, especially one born of royal blood.{{efn|While sometimes misinterpreted as Iyasu V, ''Lij'' Iyasu was never referred to as "Iyasu V" or even as an emperor during his rule, either by Ethiopians or by foreigners. Thus, in the treaty of commerce signed between the United States and Ethiopia in June 1914, the ruler of Ethiopia is referred to as "His Royal Highness, Prince Lidj Yassou". [http://images.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/EFacs/1920v02/reference/frus.frus1920v02.i0010.pdf]}}

==Early life and ancestry==
''Lij'' Iyasu was born on 4 February 1895 in the city of [[Dessie]], in the [[Wollo]] province of Ethiopia. Iyasu’s father was a Muslim ruler of [[Wollo]],  his mother ''Woizero'' ("Lady") Shoaregga, was a Shewan [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and the eldest daughter of Emperor [[Menelik II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ficquet |first1=Éloi |title=The Life and Times of Lïj Iyasu of Ethiopia |date=2014 |publisher=Lit Verlag |pages=4 |isbn=978-3-643-90476-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rMj7AgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/34381774 | title=Understanding Lïj Iyasu through his Forefathers: The Mammedoch Imam-s of Wello | last1=Ficquet | first1=Eloi }}</ref> Iyasu's father was [[Ras (title)|''Ras'']] [[Mikael of Wollo|Mikael]], Governor of Wollo and longstanding friend of Menelik. Mikael had been born ''Mohammed Ali'' and was a Muslim until 1875, when he converted to [[Christianity]] by order of Yohannes IV in Boru meda council in order to stay in power.  <ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=58}}</ref>

==Emperorship==
===Background===
Late in his life, Emperor Menelik was confronted with the problem of his succession; if he did not explicitly name an heir before he died, the nation he had built would likely dissolve into civil war and be devoured by European colonial powers. He had four possible heirs. According to the traditional rules of succession, the next direct patrilineal descendant was the grandson of Menelik's uncle, ''[[Dejazmach]]'' [[Taye Gulilat]]. His other three heirs were all in the female line. The first of these was his oldest grandson, ''Dejazmach'' [[Wosan Seged]], son of his daughter [[Shoagarad Menelik|Shoaregga Menelik]] by her first marriage to [[Wedadjo Gobena]]. The second heir of the female line was his younger grandson ''Lij'' Iyasu. Finally, the third heir of the female line was Menelik's elder daughter ''Woizero'' [[Zewditu I|Zewditu]], who was married to ''Ras'' [[Gugsa Welle]], nephew of the Empress [[Taitu Betul|Taitu]].

Menelik refused to consider Taye Gulilat, whom he deeply disliked. Wosan Seged was eliminated from consideration due to dwarfism. In March 1908, at any rate, Wosan Seged was in poor health and dying of [[tuberculosis]]. It was clear that the aristocracy would not respect a woman as their leader, so Zewditu was also not seriously considered at this time.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=229f}}</ref>  On 11 June 1908, Menelik experienced a [[stroke]] while on pilgrimage to [[Debre Libanos]]. On 15 May 1909 Menelik informed his ministers that Iyasu would succeed him.{{cn|date=September 2020}} However, due to Iyasu's youth, Menelik agreed to the suggestion that he appoint a [[Regent]] ([[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles|''Enderase'']]){{efn|Equivalent to [[Regent]].}} during the minority of his [[heir apparent]].<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=231}}</ref>  Until Iyasu came of age, the elder statesman Ras Tessema Nadew would be [[Plenipotentiary|Regent Plenipotentiary]] (''Balemulu 'Enderase'').

In May 1909, shortly before the Emperor made this decision, ''Lij'' Iyasu was married to ''Woizero'' [[Romanework Mengesha]], the daughter of ''Ras'' [[Ras Mengesha Yohannes|Mengesha Yohannes]], granddaughter of Emperor [[Yohannes IV]], and the niece of Empress Taitu.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=238}}</ref> However, that marriage was annulled without having been consummated. Subsequently, in April 1910, Iyasu married [[Seble Wengel Hailu]], the daughter of ''Ras'' [[Hailu Tekle Haymanot]] of [[Gojjam]].

===Regency===
[[File:Lij Iyasu Ras Tassamma 1910.jpg|thumb|left|''Lij'' Iyasu with the new regent, Ras Tessema]]
[[File:Lij Iyasu with Dejazmach Tafari.png|thumb|left|''Lij'' Iyasu with ''Dejazmach'' Teferi (later Emperor [[Haile Selassie I]]).]]
Not long after his decision that ''Lij'' Iyasu would succeed him, Emperor Menelik succumbed to further strokes. These eventually left him a mere shell of his once-powerful self, and incapacitated until his death in 1913. During his last years, in a bid to retain power, Empress Taitu intrigued against his choice, intending to substitute either her step-daughter ''Leilt'' Zewditu or her daughter's husband ''Ras'' Gugsa Welle (who happened to be Taitu's nephew) for Iyasu. In response to Taitu's intriguing, a number of nobles organized in an ever-closer alliance against her. On 28 October 1909, after a massive stroke, Menelik's choice of Iyasu as his heir was made public with ''Ras'' ''Bitweded'' [[Tessema Nadew]] as regent.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=241}}</ref>

The new regent found his authority undermined not only by the still living but paralyzed Emperor Menelik, but also by the Empress. For example, she insisted that questions from the foreign legations in [[Addis Ababa]] be directed to her, not to Tessema.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=243}}</ref> Furthermore, Tessema himself suffered from an illness, which left him appearing helpless and apathetic and would take his life within a year. It took a ''[[coup d'état]]'' engineered by a group of aristocrats and the head of the [[Imperial Bodyguard]] to convince ''Ras'' Tesemma and [[Habte Giyorgis]] to decisively limit the influence of the Empress.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=244}}</ref> Despite these developments, the imperial government continued to falter: administrators were unwilling to make decisions because Tessema himself might be overthrown, and foreign affairs likewise suffered. Despite this, Harold Marcus notes that the presence of Tessema "did curb ministerial dissensions and intrigues and was a reminder of the existence of central authority."<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=250}}</ref>

With Tessema, Iyasu continued Menelik's program of modernization, including the establishment of the first police force in [[Addis Ababa]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Bahru Zewde|title= A History of Modern Ethiopia|url= https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00bahr|url-access= registration|year= 2001|edition=second|publisher= James Currey|location= Oxford|isbn=0-85255-786-8|page= [https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00bahr/page/122 122]}}</ref>  On 10 April 1911, Tessema Nadew died and, when the council met to appoint a successor as ''Enderase'', ''Lij'' Iyasu demanded a role in the process. When asked whom he desired in the position, he is reported to have replied, "Myself!"  On 11 May, the seal of Iyasu replaced that of his grandfather, although not with the style of Emperor.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=251}}</ref>

Marcus describes Iyasu's abilities as a ruler:

{{quote |From the very beginning of his ''de facto'' reign, ''Lij'' Iyasu showed that he was not the stuff from which great monarchs were made. He was bright, but also impulsive, cruel, lascivious, prone to depressions and egocentricities, and politically inept. Despite his vision of an Ethiopia in which religion and ethnic affiliations made no difference in a man's political or private career, he had no clear comprehension of the power realities in the empire, nor of his own position as its ruler.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=251f}}</ref>}}

In the first year, he was faced with several serious challenges to his rule. On 31 May, ''Ras'' Abate attempted a ''coup d’état'' by seizing the arsenal and its modern weapons in the palace, but was eventually convinced to make a public submission in return for being allowed to depart for his estates in the southern provinces. On 14 July, an attempt was made to poison Iyasu. That same year Menelik's soldiers sent a delegation demanding back pay and regular supplies, which made clear that the government was on the brink of financial insolvency. Intelligence reached Iyasu's father, ''Ras'' Mikael, of another plot, and he arrived on 14 November in Addis Ababa with an army of 8,000 men. This was only the first of many efforts ''Ras'' Mikael made to keep his son on the Imperial throne.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=253–258}}</ref> Mikael established a powerful position behind the scenes.

At this point, ''Lij'' Iyasu decided to leave the capital, ostensibly on a military expedition against the [[Afar people|Afar]], but he simply traveled through eastern [[Shewa]] and into [[Wollo]], meeting with the common people. He had promised to return to Addis Ababa in May 1912, but instead visited Debre Libanos, then [[Addis Alem, Shewa|Addis Alem]], before joining ''Dajazmach'' Kabbada's expedition into southwest Ethiopia.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=258f}}</ref> Here ''Lij'' Iyasu took part in a series of slave raids, in which 40,000&nbsp;people of both sexes were captured, "half of whom died en route of [[smallpox]], [[dysentery]], hunger and fatigue."<ref>Richard Pankhurst, ''Economic History of Ethiopia'' (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 107.</ref>  Marcus explains this constant journeying beyond the capital by his will "to prove that the government could not function without him and to force the ministers to authorize his immediate coronation."<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=259}}</ref>

Once he finally returned to the capital, he came into conflict with the commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, which was eventually settled by the mediation of [[Abuna]] [[Abuna Mattheos X|Mattewos]]. The conflict began when Iyasu expressed his wish to the ministers that the incapacitated Emperor be removed from the Imperial Palace so that Iyasu himself could take up residence there. Trying to please the heir, the ministers asked for an audience with Empress Taitu and suggested that she take the Emperor to [[Ankober]] as a change of scene that might be beneficial for his health. Taitu had however been informed that Iyasu was intent on moving into the Imperial Palace, and defiantly refused to move either herself or her husband from the Palace. Informed of this exchange, the commander of the Imperial Bodyguard swore that he would protect the Emperor in his palace with his life. Angrily, Iyasu ordered the palace complex surrounded by his soldiers and only allowed in enough food for the Emperor himself. With Iyasu's soldiers in a tense standoff with the Imperial guard, the situation deteriorated to the point that gunfire was exchanged, and the bedridden Emperor had to be moved to the cellars as his bedroom windows were shattered in the battle. Hearing the guns, the Archbishop rushed to the scene and arranged for a ceasefire. Empress Taitu then emerged from the palace to publicly berate Iyasu as an ungrateful child who wanted to kill his grandfather. She angrily declared that neither she nor the Emperor would be going anywhere and returned to her rooms. Iyasu was thwarted, but demanded vengeance against the commander of the Imperial Bodyguard. Although he had wanted him severely punished, he was convinced to accept a sentence of banishment from the capital. Iyasu indulged in a lavish celebration, which led the European diplomats to conclude "that he was purposely neglecting urgent business and impeding the ministers from carrying out their duties".<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=260}}</ref>

''Lij'' Iyasu left the capital after little more than a month, and during this time engaged in a raid upon the Afar, who had reportedly massacred 300 of the [[Karayu Oromo]] at the village of Sadimalka on the [[Awash River]]. Unable to find the responsible parties, he made a punitive raid upon the general population which provoked a general uprising of the Afar. On 8 April, after repeated messages from his father to return to the capital, he finally did arrive at the city and managed to accomplish nothing. On 8 May, Iyasu left to meet his father in [[Dessie]].<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=260}}</ref>

==Reign==
[[File:Lidsch Ieassu, nepot al lui Menelik.jpg|thumb|Iyasu and his retinue, ca. 1914.|left]]
On the night of 12–13 December 1913, Emperor Menelik II died. Iyasu was informed of his grandfather's death. The Emperor's body was secretly locked away in a small room adjoining the Se'el Bet Kidane Meheret (Our Lady Covenant of Mercy) Church on the grounds of the Imperial Palace. No public announcement of the Emperor's death was made, and no requiem or any type of mourning ritual was allowed. Empress Taitu was immediately expelled from the Imperial Palace and sent to the old palace on Mt. Entoto. ''Lij'' Iyasu's aunt, [[Zewditu]] Menelik, was also removed from the palace and banished into internal exile at her estates at Falle.  By mid-January, the news had slipped through the official wall of silence. On 10 January 1914, the leading nobles of Ethiopia had gathered to discuss their response to his loss and the future of Ethiopia. "Although no records of the 1914 meeting have come to the author's notice," Marcus admits, he states that "it is safe to conclude" that their arrival in Addis Ababa "indicated their fidelity to Menelik's heir." However, they opposed his immediate coronation, although they did approve of his proposal to crown his father "[[Mikael of Wollo|Negus of the North]]".<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=261f}}</ref>

''Lij'' Iyasu showed a pronounced lack of interest in the day-to-day running of the government, leaving most of the work for the ministers to deal with. However, the cabinet of ministers remained largely unchanged from the days of his grandfather, and by now the ministers wielded much power and influence. They were constantly subject to insults and disparagement by ''Lij'' Iyasu who referred to them as "my grandfather's fattened sheep."<ref>Bahru Zewde, ''A History'', p. 123.</ref>  He constantly spoke of his intention of dismissing "these Shewans", as he called them, and appointing new officials and creating a new aristocracy of his own choosing. His essentially reformist orientation clashed with the conservatism of his grandfather's old ministers. As Paul Henze notes, Iyasu "seems deliberately to have antagonized the Shewan establishment. He lacked the diplomatic skill and the refined sense of discretion that came naturally to [[Haile Selassie I|Tafari]]."<ref>{{harvp|Henze|2000|p=193}}</ref>

Iyasu's many capricious acts served only to further alienate the aristocracy. One was his betrothal of his royal-blooded cousin ''Woizero'' Sakamyelesh Seyfu to his former driver, Tilahun. Another was the appointment of his Syrian friend, the rubber merchant [[Hasib Ydlibi]], to the position of ''[[Nagadras]]'' (or Customs-Master) at the railway depot at [[Dire Dawa]], thus giving him control of the vast tariffs and customs that were collected there. All this, combined with Iyasu's frequent absences from the capital, created the ideal environment for the ministers, led by ''Fitawrari'' [[Habte Giyorgis]], the Minister of War, to plot his downfall.

===Alleged conversion to Islam===
[[File:Iyasu in a Muslim Turban.png|thumb|''Lij'' Iyasu wearing a Muslim [[turban]] with [[Abdullahi Sadiq]].]]
In 1914, Iyasu assigned [[Abdullahi Sadiq]] with the governorship of [[Ogaden]], a decision that was vehemently opposed by the British.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keller |first1=Tait |title=Environmental Histories of the First World War |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=226 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWJjDwAAQBAJ&q=iyasu+abdullahi+sadiq+ogaden&pg=PA226|isbn=978-1108429160 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Scramble in the Horn |publisher=Everest press |page=448 |url=http://dspace-roma3.caspur.it/bitstream/2307/2960/1/The%20scramble%20in%20the%20Horn%20of%20Africa.%20History%20of%20Somalia%20(1827-1977).pdf |access-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713202443/http://dspace-roma3.caspur.it/bitstream/2307/2960/1/The%20scramble%20in%20the%20Horn%20of%20Africa.%20History%20of%20Somalia%20(1827-1977).pdf |archive-date=13 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In February 1915, Iyasu travelled to [[Harar]] with Abdullahi Sadiq, who had become his constant companion, and went to the largest mosque of the city, the [[Jamia Mosque, Harar|Jamia Mosque]], for a three-hour service. Throughout his stay in Harar he was friendly towards the Muslims, an act which worried the priests of Ethiopia; when he remained in this Muslim community over Easter, they were scandalized.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|p=268}}</ref>

However, the foreign delegations in Addis Ababa had been lobbying for him to join their sides in [[World War I]]. According to Marcus, many of the Ethiopian nobility and commoners were impressed by the early successes of the [[Central Powers]], and both listened eagerly to [[German Empire|German]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] propaganda concerning events. Both sides sought Ethiopian support: the Central Powers wanted the Ethiopians to drive the Italians out of [[Italian Eritrea|Eritrea]] and [[Italian Somaliland|Somalia]]. Rumors circulated that, in return for Iyasu invading the [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|Sudan]] with 50,000 soldiers, he would be rewarded with the strategic port of [[French Somaliland|Djibouti]]. At a minimum, the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] sought to keep Ethiopia neutral.<ref>{{harvp|Nicolle|1997|p=5}}</ref>

In August 1915, Iyasu went to [[French Somaliland]] in disguise, without informing either French diplomats in Addis Ababa or even the colonial government. There he spent two days in mysterious meetings. Although Marcus states that "What actually happened will not be known until information from the French archives becomes available," ''[[Fitawrari]]'' ("Commander of the Vanguard") [[Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam]], a fervent reformer and a onetime friend of Iyasu, states in his recently published autobiography that the Djibouti trip was something of a vacation for ''Lij'' Iyasu, and that he spent much of his time consorting with Muslim notables in the city and consuming large amounts of [[khat|qat]] as well as completely depleting the funds of the Ethiopian mission in the French colony.<ref name=TekleHawariat>{{citation | first = Tekle | last = Hawariat | title = Story of My Life}}.</ref>

Around the same time, the British reported that documents preaching [[jihad]] against the Europeans had been posted in the Harar marketplace. That August, the British reported that supplies were being sent to [[Jijiga]] to support the activities of [[Mohammed Abdullah Hassan]] and [[Sheikh Hassan Barsane]], a devout Muslim pair who were at war with the British and Italians in [[Somalia]] and [[Somaliland]]. Then in September, the Italians revealed that one of their Somali agents had witnessed Iyasu declaring to an assemblage of Muslim leaders that he was a Muslim, and swore to his apostasy on a Quran.<ref>{{harvp|Marcus|1995|pp=265–276}}</ref> Although Harold Marcus accepts these reports at face value, [[Bahru Zewde]] is more suspicious of their veracity and instead argues that Iyasu's intent was to integrate the [[Somalis]] into the [[Ethiopian Empire]], but "Allied ingenuity lent palpability to Iyasu's apostasy (which was the main charge levelled against him) by forging pictures and documents to prove the charge."<ref>Bahru Zewde, ''A History'', pp. 126f.</ref>  Whatever the truth, these reports brought the simmering discontent with Iyasu to a fierce boil against him. European colonial powers in the region began supporting a coup d'état against Iyasu because of signs he was about join World War 1 on the opposing side.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Ethiopian prince scuppered Germany's WW1 plans |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-37428682 |agency=BBC News}}</ref>

===Fall===
{{Main|Battle of Segale}}
On 27 September 1916, while at the city of Harar, ''Lij'' Iyasu was deposed in favor of his aunt, [[Zewditu]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Historical dictionary of Ethiopia | first=David Hamilton | last=Shinn |author2=Ofcansky, Thomas P. |author3=Prouty, Chris | publisher=Scarecrow Press | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8108-4910-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ep7__RWqq4IC&pg=PA228}}</ref> The nobility under the leadership of Fitawrari [[Habte Giyorgis Dinagde]] had assembled in the capital and charged ''Lij'' Iyasu with apostasy, alleging that he had converted to Islam and had thus forfeited the Imperial crown.  The Coptic Archbishop [[Abuna Mattheos X|Mattewos]], after some hesitation, was convinced to release the nobility from its oath of loyalty to Iyasu, and he was declared deposed from the throne and excommunicated from the Church.  The assembly of nobles then named Zewditu Menelik as Empress of Ethiopia, and Dejazmatch Tafari Makonnen was elevated to the title of Ras, and made heir to the throne.   Iyasu sent an army to attack Addis Ababa, which was met at [[Mieso]] and turned back. His father initially hesitated, then marched south from Dessie with 80,000 troops. On 27 October, ''Negus'' Mikael was defeated at the [[Battle of Segale]]. According to Paul Henze, Iyasu had reached [[Ankober]] the morning of the battle with a few thousand loyal followers, and after witnessing his father's defeat, fled towards the [[Eritrea]]n border.<ref>{{harvp|Henze|2000|p=196}}</ref> On 8 November, Iyasu appeared in [[Dessie]] where he vainly sought the support from the nobility of Tigray and then the Italians. On 10 December, Iyasu fled and took refuge with his followers on the abandoned [[Amba Mariam|amba of Maqdala]]. At Maqdala, he was surrounded and subjected to an uninspired siege. On 18 July 1917, Iyasu slipped through the siege lines and rallied the peasantry of Wollo to revolt. On 27 August in Wello,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rMj7AgAAQBAJ|title=The Life and Times of Lïj Iyasu of Ethiopia: New Insights|last1=Ficquet|first1=Éloi|last2=Smidt|first2=Wolbert G.C.|date=2014|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3643904768|pages=172|language=en}}</ref> troops under Habte Giyorgis defeated the rebels and captured many of Iyasu's generals, including ''Ras'' Imer.<ref>{{cite book|first=Harold|last=Marcus|title=Haile Sellassie I: The Formative Years|location=Lawrenceville|publisher=Red Sea Press|year=1996|pages=24–30}}</ref> After this defeat, with a few hundred picked men, Iyasu fled to the desert of the [[Afar Triangle]], where he roamed for five years. On 11 January 1921, Iyasu was captured and taken into custody by [[Gugsa Araya Selassie]]. He was handed over to the custody of his cousin ''Ras'' [[Kassa Haile Darge]]. ''Ras'' Kassa kept Iyasu in comfortable house arrest at his country home at [[Fiche, Ethiopia|Fiche]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}

Empress Zewditu I, who in spite of having been treated harshly by her nephew seems to have had considerable sympathy for Iyasu's fate, is said to have tried to have him handed over to her personal custody in order that he "be brought back to Christ and salvation" under her guidance. In her view, the most serious part of his fate was his excommunication, and she deeply wanted to save her nephew from what she regarded as assured damnation. While her plea to have her nephew moved to the Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa was vehemently vetoed by both ''[[Fitawrari]]'' Habte Giorgis and by the Crown Prince, ''Ras'' Teferi Makonnen, the Empress took care that Iyasu lived in luxury and was supplied with whatever he desired. ''Ras'' Kassa also adhered to this policy for as long as Iyasu was in his custody, so the terms of Iyasu's imprisonment were not particularly harsh.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

==Later years==
Empress Zewditu died in 1930, and was succeeded by Emperor [[Haile Selassie]], who was considerably less sympathetic to Iyasu. Haile Selassie upon becoming emperor revealed the ten offenses that caused Iyasu's dethronement:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dilebo |first1=Getahun |title=Emperor Menelik's Ethiopia, 1865-1916 National Unification Or Amhara Communal Domination |date=1986 |publisher=UMI Howard University |pages=245–247 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z11BnQEACAAJ}}</ref>

{{Blockquote
|text=1. He married four [[Moslem|Muslim]] women. 2. He spent governmental money to build mosques in [[Jigjiga]]. 3. He gave the Ethiopian flag to a foreign consul in Addis Ababa on a Moslem holiday. 4. He was seen in a worship service in a mosque wearing [[Somali people|Somali]] costume. 5. He was seen reading the [[Quran|Koran]]. 6. His bodyguards wore uniforms with an [[Islam]]ic banner. 7. He restored a church land to Moslems in Harar after 32 years since [[Ras Makonnen]] gave it to priests. 8. He gave his daughter to a Moslem guardian. 9. He traced his genealogical origins to the prophet in rejection of his Solomonic origins. 10. On the day when Menelik died he spent the day at a horse show instead of mourning for the one who gave him the throne.}}

In 1931, Iyasu escaped from imprisonment at Fiche. He apparently achieved his freedom with the aid of his former father-in-law, ''Ras'' [[Hailu Tekle Haymanot]] of [[Gojjam]], although Haile Selassie claimed that the Italians had a hand in his escape – or at least planned to assist in Iyasu's attempt to regain the throne. In his autobiography, Haile Selassie reports that when Italian Baron [[Raimondo Franchetti]] landed his plane in a field outside of [[Addis Alem, Shewa|Addis Alem]], onlookers "noticed that inside it were a machine-gun as well as rifles and many cartridges" – implying these were to arm Iyasu's followers.<ref>Haile Selassie I, ''My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I'', translated from Amharic by Edward Ullendorff (Chicago: Frontline Books, 1999), vol. 1 p. 204.</ref>

Iyasu was recaptured shortly after his escape.{{efn|These four days of Iyasu's escape, a man "out of sight, but never forgotten", are recounted by Anthony Mockler.<ref>Mockler, ''Haile Selassie's War'', pp. 18–20.</ref>}}  Having deeply alienated ''Ras'' Kassa with his escape, and having angered the Emperor, Iyasu was taken to a fortress on the slopes of [[Mount Gara Muleta]] in [[Girawa (woreda)|Girawa]],{{efn|David Buxton describes his visit to this prison in the mid-1940s. ''Travels in Ethiopia'', 2nd ed. (London: Benn, 1957), pp. 133f}} where he was guarded closely by locals loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie. When [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|the forces of Italy invaded Ethiopia]] in 1935, aircraft of the [[Regia Aeronautica|Royal Italian Air Force]] scattered fliers asking the population to rebel against Haile Selassie and support the "true Emperor Iyasu V."  It was feared that the Italians would make use of Iyasu to fragment Ethiopian resistance to their conquest.

In November 1935, Iyasu's death was announced. The circumstances surrounding his death and his burial place remain shrouded in mystery. One rumour that persists to this day is that Emperor Haile Selassie ordered his guards to kill him. Others dispute this and allege that Iyasu died of natural causes. His grandson and current Iyasuist claimant to the Ethiopian throne, [[Girma Yohannis Iyasu|''Lij'' Girma Yohannes]], claims that Iyasu's body was brought to the Church of St. Mark at Addis Ababa's Guenete Leul Palace (since 1961 the main campus of [[Addis Ababa University]]) and buried there in secret. Because he had been excommunicated, these claims are extremely unlikely. Another recently published account states that Iyasu was interred in the grave prepared for Emperor Haile Selassie's confessor and almoner, Abba Hanna Jimma, at [[Debre Libanos]]. This account contends that, upon the priest's death, ''Lij'' Iyasu's remains were moved to the crypt of [[Tekle Haymanot|St. Tekle Haimanot's Church]] at the monastery, and placed below the tomb prepared for Ethiopia's first Patriarch, [[Abuna Basilios]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}

==Family==
His younger sister Zenebe Worq was married off at a young age to ''Ras'' Bezabih of Gojjam, but died in childbirth. Iyasu also had an elder half-sister, ''Woizero'' Sehin Mikael, married to ''Jantirar'' Asfaw, Lord of [[Ambassel]], whose daughter would eventually become Empress [[Menen Asfaw]], wife of Emperor [[Haile Selassie]].  Another half sister of ''Lij'' Iyasu was ''Woizero'' Tewabech Mikael, second wife of Ras [[Seyoum Mangasha]] of Tigray.  While through his Imperial mother, Iyasu could claim to be descended from [[King Solomon]] and the [[Queen of Sheba]], through his father, he claimed descent from [[Muhammad]].{{efn|This genealogy is published in {{cite book|last= Wallis Budge|first=E.A.|title=A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia|orig-year=1928|year=1970|publisher=Anthropological Publications|location=Oosterhout, the Netherlands|pages=546f}}}} Iyasu seems to have had at least thirteen secondary wives and an uncertain number of natural children, several of whom have been Iyasuist claimants to the Imperial throne, as well as grandchildren like Girma Yohannes. ''Lij'' Iyasu's only legitimate child was a daughter born in 1916 to him and [[Sabla Wangel Hailu|Seble Wengel Hailu]], [[Alem Tsahai Iyasu]], who was granted the title of '''Emebet-hoy{{what?|date=October 2023}}''' by Emperor Haile Selassie.

==Evaluation==
The Ethiopian historian [[Bahru Zewde]] describes Iyasu's reign as "one of the most enigmatic in Ethiopian history."<ref name=Bahru-121>Bahru Zewde, ''A History'', p. 121.</ref> A common account of his reign is provided by [[J. Spencer Trimingham]], who writes that his acts favoring Islam were
<blockquote>...encouraged by German and Turkish diplomats. He made the ''[[fuqaha]]'' construct a genealogy deriving his ancestry on his father's side from the [[Prophet]]. He made prolonged stays in Harar where he adopted Muslim dress and customs. He put away his Christian wife, Romane-Warq, and started a ''[[harem|harim]]'' by marrying the daughters of 'Afar and [[Oromo people|Oromo]] chiefs, including a daughter and niece of [[Abba Jifar II|Abba Jifar]] of [[Kingdom of Jimma|Jimma]]. He built mosques at Dire Dawa and Jigjiga. In 1916 he officially placed Abyssinia in religious dependence upon [[Turkey]], and sent the Turkish consul-general an Abyssinian flag embroidered with a crescent and the Islamic formula of faith. He sent similar flags to his own Muslim chiefs and promised to lead them to the ''jihad''. He entered into negotiations with [[Mohammed Abdullah Hassan|Muhammed ibn 'Abd Allah]], the [[Mahdi]] of the [[Ogaden]], and sent him rifles and ammunition. He then issued a summons to all [[Somali people|Somali]]s, some of whom regarded him as true Mahdi, to follow him in a ''jihad'' against the Christians, and went to Jigjiga to collect an army.<ref>Trimingham, ''Islam in Ethiopia'' (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), pp. 130f. {{ISBN?}}</ref></blockquote>

According to ''Fitawrari'' [[Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam]], ''Lij'' Iyasu at one point announced "If I do not make Ethiopia Muslim, then I am not Iyasu."  He also recalls ''Lij'' Iyasu's visit to [[Dire Dawa]] in 1916, when the ruler walked into a Roman Catholic church in that city (this act alone would scandalize the Ethiopian Orthodox establishment) and commenced to light and smoke a cigarette while Mass was being conducted. Tekle Hawariat concludes that Iyasu was completely unsuited for the throne, and that his deposing was necessary for the survival of the Empire and the good of the people.<ref name=TekleHawariat/>

Bahru Zewde on the other hand, while admitting that "contradiction and inconsistency were the hallmark of his character and policies", notes that Iyasu's reign was characterized by "a series of measures which, because of the social and economic security they implied, may well be considered progressive." Iyasu modernized many sections of the Ethiopian criminal code, and created a [[Law enforcement in Ethiopia|municipal police force]], the ''Terenbulle''. His overtures to the Muslim inhabitants of Ethiopia "can be interpreted as one of trying to redress the injustices of the past, of making the Muslims feel at home in their own country."<ref>Bahru Zewde, ''A History'', pp. 122–124 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

However, Iyasu had the misfortune of being succeeded (in Bahru Zewde's words) "by a ruler of extraordinary political longevity who found it in his interest to suppress any objective appreciation of the man."<ref name=Bahru-121/>  According to Paul B. Henze, during the reign of his cousin [[Haile Selassie]], Iyasu was "practically an 'unperson'. If he was referred to at all, it was invariably in extremely negative terms." While admitting the lack of information about this man, Henze suggests that "the fairest conclusion that can be reached on the basis of present knowledge may be to credit him with good intentions but condemn him for intemperate, inept and in the end, disastrous performance."<ref>{{harvp|Henze|2000|p=194}}</ref>

== Honours ==
=== National ===
* [[File:ETH Order of Solomon BAR.png|60px]] Knight Grand Cordon of the [[Order of Solomon]]{{cn|date=June 2020}}
=== Foreign ===
* [[File:Ord Leopold-GC.png|60px]] Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Leopold (Austria)|Order of Leopold]] (Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1912){{cn|date=June 2020}}
* [[File:Cavaliere di Gran Croce OCI Kingdom BAR.svg|60px]] Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Crown of Italy]] (Kingdom of Italy, 1912){{cn|date=June 2020}}
* [[File:UK Royal Victorian Order honorary member ribbon.svg|60px]] Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (United Kingdom, 7 September 1911){{cn|date=June 2020}}

== Notes and references ==
;Footnotes
{{notelist|2}}

;Citations
{{reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|first = Paul B.|last = Henze|title = Layers of Time. A History of Ethiopia|publisher = Palgrave Macmillan|location = New York|year = 2000|doi = 10.1007/978-1-137-11786-1|isbn = 0-312-22719-1}}
* {{cite book| first=Harold G.| last=Marcus| title=The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844–1913 | publisher=Red Sea| year=1995|location=Lawrenceville |isbn=1-56902-010-8 }}
*{{cite book|first=Anthony |last=Mockler|title=Haile Sellassie's War|publisher=Olive Branch Press|year=2002|location=New York|isbn=978-1-56656-473-1}}
* {{cite book| first=David| last=Nicolle| title=The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935–1936 | publisher=Osprey| year=1997|location=Westminster, MD |isbn=978-1-85532-692-7|page=48}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com/pages/iyasu.htm Ethiopian Treasures – Lij Iyasu – Ethiopia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184921/http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com/pages/iyasu.htm |date=3 March 2016 }}
*[https://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown/lij.html Imperial Ethiopie Homepages – Lij Eyasu – Ethiopia]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/008591}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Solomonic dynasty|House of Solomon]]|4 February|1895|25 November|1935}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Menelik II]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Emperor of Ethiopia]]<br>(Never crowned) | years=12 December 1913 – 27 September 1916}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Zewditu|Zewditu I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Emperors of Ethiopia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyasu 05 Of Ethiopia}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Ethiopian people]] 
[[Category:20th-century emperors of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Ethiopian former Christians]]
[[Category:Ethiopian Muslims]]
[[Category:Converts to Islam]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
[[Category:People from Amhara Region]]
[[Category:Solomonic dynasty]]
[[Category:Oromo people]]
[[Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Cancelled invasions]]