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Gelawdewos

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Also known as Asnaf Sagad I

Galawdewos (, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559), also known as Claudius in European sources, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Atsnaph Sagad I (Ge'ez: አጽናፍ ሰገድ). A male line descendant of medieval Amhara kings, he was a younger son of Dawit II and Seble Wongel.

Person · Open Library

Born
1523?
Died
1559
Works
2

Top works

  • Confessio fidei Claudii, Regis Aethiopiae
  • Ein Brief des abessinischen Königs Asnaf Sagad (Claudius) an Papst Paul III aus dem Jahre 1541
  • Confessio fidei Claudii regis Æthiopæ, cum notis et versione Latina Jobi Ludolfi ..

via Open Library + Wikidata

Key facts

Royalty.name
Galawdewos
Royalty.title
Negusa Nagast
Royalty.image
Claudius,_King_of_Ethiopia.jpg
Royalty.image_size
250px
Royalty.caption
Contemporary Portuguese depiction of Gelawdewos receiving the Latin Patriarch Andrés de Oviedo
Royalty.reign
3 September 1540 – 23 March 1559
Royalty.predecessor
Dawit II
Royalty.successor
Menas
Royalty.succession
Emperor of Ethiopia
Royalty.issue
Sabana GiyorgisMashihawit
Royalty.dynasty
House of Solomon
Royalty.regnal name
Atsnaf Sagad I
Royalty.full name
Mar Gelawdewos
Royalty.father
Dawit II
Royalty.mother
Seble Wongel
Royalty.birth_date
1521/1522
Royalty.birth_place
Amhara, Ethiopian Empire
Royalty.death_place
Fatagar, Ethiopian Empire

via Wikipedia infobox

~8 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Early reign
  • Campaigns
  • Family
  • References
  • Further reading

Galawdewos (, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559), also known as Claudius in European sources, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Atsnaph Sagad I (Ge'ez: አጽናፍ ሰገድ). A male line descendant of medieval Amhara kings, he was a younger son of Dawit II and Seble Wongel.

== Early reign == The son of Dawit II by his wife, Seble Wongel, after the death of his father Gelawdewos succeeded to the throne on 2 September 1540 at the age of 18. During imam Ahmed's occupation of Abyssinia, Galawdewos initially took refuge in the province of Gafat. Despite his youth, over the next few months he made several successful attacks on the Adalite garrisons in northern Ethiopia. At the time of the Portuguese arrival in Ethiopia, Gelawdewos was in northern Shewa leading a small guerrilla movement against the Muslim occupation. When he heard of the Portuguese arrival he marched northward to join them but the Portuguese had already started fighting Ahmad ibn Ibrahim in the province of Tigray.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gelawdewos” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.