19th century – 19th century
Ethiopia
Yohannes IV was the Ethiopian emperor who defeated Egyptian invasions in the battles of Gundat and Gura during the 1870s. These victories strengthened his authority, secured his position over much of the Christian Ethiopian highlands, and enabled him to pursue political unification. His reign also involved negotiations with Menelik of Shoa, religious conversion policies, and persistent efforts to recover territories occupied by Egypt and regain access to the sea.
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The Story
The death of Téwodros II left Ethiopia divided among rival rulers. Menelik had made himself King of Shoa, Ras Gobasé ruled Amhara, Wag and Lasta and assumed the imperial name Takia Giorgis, while Kassa of Tigré possessed the greatest power. The British arms supplied after the Magdala expedition strengthened Kassa’s position in the ensuing contest.
In 1871 Ras Gobasé attempted to seize Adwa, the capital of Tigré, but Kassa defeated him in July. Kassa was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV at Axum in January 1872. The accession marked the rise of a ruler who, according to the excerpt, achieved greater effective unification than Téwodros through a more conciliatory relationship with provincial nobility.
Yohannes presented himself as a friend and protector of the clergy. He secured an abuna from Egypt before his coronation, maintained contact with the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem and sent funds to support it. He built churches at Adwa and Magdala, endowed the Church at Axum with extensive lands and renewed a grant to the monastery of Dabra Bizan overlooking the Red Sea.
Yohannes pursued an active programme of religious regulation. After converting his wife Halima from Islam before their marriage, he attempted mass baptisms of Muslims, especially among the Azebo Oromo, and persecuted Roman Catholic converts. He also forbade witchcraft and prohibited smoking and snuff-taking in accordance with the Ethiopian Church’s opposition to tobacco.
The emperor also sought military innovation. He imported firearms and employed the British officer John Kirkham to train his soldiers. These reforms unfolded amid pressure from Egypt, whose ruler Ismail was building an empire in the Sudan and hoped to annex much of Ethiopia. The Ottoman transfer of Massawa to Egyptian rule in May 1868, followed by Egyptian seizure of Zulla and the restriction of arms imports, created a direct strategic threat.
Egyptian expansion continued with the occupation of Bogos and Halhal by Werber Munzinger in the spring of 1872 and the sale of Ailet to the Egyptian government by its chief. Yohannes responded by sending Kirkham to England with a letter for Queen Victoria, appealing for help against Egyptian expansion and drawing attention to Ethiopia’s lack of a port through which it could communicate with Christian powers.
19th century – 19th century
Ethiopia
Yohannes IV was the Ethiopian emperor who defeated Egyptian invasions in the battles of Gundat and Gura during the 1870s. These victories strengthened his authority, secured his position over much of the Christian Ethiopian highlands, and enabled him to pursue political unification. His reign also involved negotiations with Menelik of Shoa, religious conversion policies, and persistent efforts to recover territories occupied by Egypt and regain access to the sea.
Continue exploring
The Story
The death of Téwodros II left Ethiopia divided among rival rulers. Menelik had made himself King of Shoa, Ras Gobasé ruled Amhara, Wag and Lasta and assumed the imperial name Takia Giorgis, while Kassa of Tigré possessed the greatest power. The British arms supplied after the Magdala expedition strengthened Kassa’s position in the ensuing contest.
In 1871 Ras Gobasé attempted to seize Adwa, the capital of Tigré, but Kassa defeated him in July. Kassa was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV at Axum in January 1872. The accession marked the rise of a ruler who, according to the excerpt, achieved greater effective unification than Téwodros through a more conciliatory relationship with provincial nobility.
Yohannes presented himself as a friend and protector of the clergy. He secured an abuna from Egypt before his coronation, maintained contact with the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem and sent funds to support it. He built churches at Adwa and Magdala, endowed the Church at Axum with extensive lands and renewed a grant to the monastery of Dabra Bizan overlooking the Red Sea.
Yohannes pursued an active programme of religious regulation. After converting his wife Halima from Islam before their marriage, he attempted mass baptisms of Muslims, especially among the Azebo Oromo, and persecuted Roman Catholic converts. He also forbade witchcraft and prohibited smoking and snuff-taking in accordance with the Ethiopian Church’s opposition to tobacco.
The emperor also sought military innovation. He imported firearms and employed the British officer John Kirkham to train his soldiers. These reforms unfolded amid pressure from Egypt, whose ruler Ismail was building an empire in the Sudan and hoped to annex much of Ethiopia. The Ottoman transfer of Massawa to Egyptian rule in May 1868, followed by Egyptian seizure of Zulla and the restriction of arms imports, created a direct strategic threat.
Egyptian expansion continued with the occupation of Bogos and Halhal by Werber Munzinger in the spring of 1872 and the sale of Ailet to the Egyptian government by its chief. Yohannes responded by sending Kirkham to England with a letter for Queen Victoria, appealing for help against Egyptian expansion and drawing attention to Ethiopia’s lack of a port through which it could communicate with Christian powers.
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