Yekuno Amlak becomes Emperor of Ethiopia in 1270
Yekuno Amlak ይኩኖ አምላክ became Emperor of Ethiopia on August 10, 1270.
He took the name Tesfa Iyasus ተስፋ ኢየሱስ and ruled until 1285.
Ethiopian Orthodox priests, village, King Yekuno Amlak
Part of the Coronation of Haile Selassie series
Issued by Ethiopia in 1962.
Designer: Afewerk Tekle
The new dynasty that Yekuno Amlak founded came to be known as the “Solomonic” dynasty because its scions claimed descent not only from Aksum but also from King Solomon of ancient Israel. According to traditions that were eventually molded into a national epic, the lineage of Aksumite kings originated with the offspring of an alleged union between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, whose domains Ethiopians have variously identified with parts of Southwest Arabia and/or Aksum. Consequently, the notion arose that royal legitimacy derived from descent in a line of Solomonic kings. The Tigray and Amhara, who saw themselves as heirs to Aksum, denied the Zagwe any share in that heritage and viewed the Zagwe as usurpers. Yekuno Amlak’s accession thus came to be seen as the legitimate “restoration” of the Solomonic line, even though the Amhara king’s northern ancestry was at best uncertain. Nonetheless, his assumption of the throne brought the Solomonic dynasty to power, and all subsequent Ethiopian kings traced their legitimacy to him and, thereby, to Solomon and Sheba.
Under Yekuno Amlak, Amhara became the geographical and political center of the Christian kingdom. The seat of government, or rather of overlordship, was usually in Amhara, the ruler of which, calling himself negus negusti (king of kings, or emperor), exacted tribute, when he could, from the other provinces. The title of negus negusti was to a considerable extent based on the blood in the veins of the claimant. All the emperors based their claims on their direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba; but it is needless to say that in many, if not in most, cases their success had been due more to the force of their arms than to the purity of their lineage. Some of the rulers of the larger provinces at times were given, or gave themselves, the title of negus or king, so that on occasion as many as three, or even more, neguses have been reigning at the same time; and this must be borne in mind by the student of Abyssinian history in order to avoid confusion of rulers.