Na'od

Na'od (Amharic: ናዖድ) ( 1493– 31 July 1508) was Emperor (nəgusä nägäst) (1494 – 31 July 1508) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

Na'od
Reign1494 – 31 July 1508
PredecessorAmda Seyon II
SuccessorDawit II
DynastySolomonic dynasty
FatherBaeda Maryam I

Reign

Na'od was the second son of Baeda Maryam I and his second wife Kalyupe (also called "Calliope"), and was born at Gabarge.[1]

Like Eskender before him, he relied on the counsel of the Queen Mother Eleni. Despite her help, his reign was marked by internal dissension.

Na'od was very talented in Amharic and Ge'ez poetry. He was also a notable author who wrote a number of religious books.[2]

Na'od began construction on a lavish church in the Amhara province, which was decorated with gold leaf and known as Mekane Selassie. However, he died before it was completed, and he was buried in a tomb inside the church. His son Emperor Lebna Dengel completed the construction in 1530.[3] Francisco Álvares records seeing the church as it was being constructed, and mentions that he was kept from entering it by the local clergy.[4]

Military career

The defence of the Empire was very strong during the reign of Na'od as he scored many victories over the Muslims of Adal.[5]

G.W.B Huntingford claims that Na'od was killed near Jejeno (possibly Mekane Selassie) while campaigning against Muslim forces.[6]

Taddesse Tamrat states that Na'od died on his way to repulse a Muslim raid in the eastern provinces.[7][8]

Notes
  1. James Bruce, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (1805 edition), vol. 3, p. 148
  2. Taddesse Tamrat State and Church in Ethiopia p 560-570
  3. Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The Conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 231f
  4. C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, The Prester John of the Indies (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961), pp. 360f, 582
  5. Futuh Al-Habasha p.164-168
  6. G.W.B. Huntingford, The historical geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704, (Oxford University Press: 1989), p. 105
  7. Taddesse Tamrat State and Church in Ethiopia p 581
  8. ibid. p 58
Preceded by
Amda Seyon II		 Emperor of Ethiopia
1494–1508		 Succeeded by
Dawit II


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