Yohannes IV ዮሓንስ ፬ይ | |
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Emperor of Ethiopia | |
Reign | 11 July 1871 – 10 March 1889 |
Coronation | 12 January 1872 |
Predecessor | Tekle Giyorgis II |
Successor | Menelik II |
Born | May Baha, Tembien, Ethiopian Empire | 11 July 1837
Died | 10 March 1889 Gallabat, Mahdist Sudan | (aged 51)
Spouse | Woizero Tibebe Selassie |
Issue | Ras Araya Selassie Ras Mengesha |
Dynasty | House of Solomon |
Father | Dejazmatch Mercha Wolde Kidan, Shum of Tembien |
Mother | Woizero Silass Dimtsu of Chelekot, Enderta |
Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox |
Styles of Yohannes IV of Ethiopia | |
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Reference style | Tigrinya: ግርማዊ girmāwī His Imperial Majesty |
Spoken style | Amharic: ጃንሆይ djānhoi Your Imperial Majesty (lit. "O [esteemed] royal") |
Alternative style | Amharic: ጌቶቹ getochu Our Lord (familiar) (lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes |
Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓንስ ፬ይ Rabaiy Yōḥānnes; horse name Abba Bezbiz also known as Kahśsai; born Lij Kahssai Mercha; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889)[1] was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large-scale Egyptian invasion.
In his earlier years, he rebelled against Tewodros II; having risen to power in the 1860s, he maintained the policy of Tewodros, that of continued unification and also implemented a policy of touring entire regions and meetings with governors. He assisted the British in their British expedition to Abyssinia which ended in Tewodros' suicide, from which Yohannes was rewarded in ammunition and artillery. He regarded Islam as a hindrance to the stability of the state and worked to strengthen Christian dominance in Ethiopia. Its estimated that he had converted 550,000 Oromos and Jebertis to Christianity. In foreign policy, he had disagreements and military conflicts with both Isma'il Pasha of the Khedivate of Egypt and Muhammad Ahmad during the latter's Mahdist War.