Baeda Maryam ("He who is in the Hand of Mary") (1448 - 1478) was negus (1468 - 1478) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. Born at Dabra Berhan, he was the son of Zara Yaqob by Seyon Morgasa.¹ Events January 5/ 6 - Christopher of Bavaria, Norway and Sweden dies with no designated heir leaving all three kingdoms with vacant thrones. ... Events February 18 - George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London. ... Negus is the Amharic word for king. The term negus negust means king of kings, or Emperor. ... Events Births Charles I of Savoy February 29 - Pope Paul III Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, dramatist and composer Deaths February 3 - Johannes Gutenberg, publisher Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg, Albanias national hero Gennadius II, Patriarch of Constantinople Joanot Martorell, author of Tirant lo Blanc Categories: 1468 ... The Solomonid dynasty is the traditional royal house of Ethiopia, claming descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said to have given birth to the traditional first king Menelik I after her Biblically-described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. ... Zara Yaqob (throne name Kuestantinos I or Constantine I) (1399 - 1468) was negus (1434 - 1468) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. ...

Towards the end of Zara Yaqob's life, he became increasingly convinced that members of his family were plotting against him, and had several of them beaten. Baeda Maryam's mother Seyon Morgasa died from this mistreatment in 1462, and Baeda Maryam buried his mother in secret in the church of Maqdesa Maryam, near Dabra Berhan, and donated incense and other gifts to support the church. Zara Yaqob then directed his anger at Baeda Maryam, until members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church repaired the rift between the two, and Zara Yaqob publically designated Baeda Maryam as his successor. Events Settlers from Portugal begin to settle the Cape Verde islands. ... The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Church until it was granted its own Patriarch by Cyril VI, the Coptic Pope, in 1959. ...

With his own mother dead, Baeda Maryam gave Eleni, a wife of his father, the title of Queen Mother. She proved to be an effective member of the royal family, and Paul B. Henze comments that she "was practically co-monarch" during his reign.² However, Edward Ullendorff notes Baeda Maryam was unable to hold together the far-flung empire his father left him: "some of the outlying provinces recently conquered began to grow restive; the feudal lords whom Zar'a Ya'qob had only ephemerally brought under central control reasserted their regional authority; and the senior clergy relapsed into some of the old-established ways of conduct and ecclesiastical organization."³

Baeda Maryam moved his court to the Gurage country, using it as a base for campaigns in Dawaro and Bale. His constant campaigning led to a peace treaty with Muhammed, the son of Badley-ad-din, and used the peace it brought to his southern borders to successfully campaign against the restive Falasha in his northern territories. But on Muhammed's death, war with Adal flared up once again. The Gurage are an ethnic group in Ethiopia who are uniquely known for their work ethic and skill as traders. ... Bale was a province in the south-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Goba. ... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... This article is about the African sultanate. ...

On his death, he was buried in a tomb at Atrousa Maryam, on the left bank of the Abay River, which was notable for its painting of Mary and Christ by the artist Brancaleon, a Venetian who came to live in Ethiopia at an early age where he became wealthy and very respected. His tomb was later destroyed in an Oromo raid in 1709, when they sacked the church, enslaved or killed all of the people present, and hurled the coffin of Baeda Maryam over the nearby cliffs.⁴ The Abay River is a river in Ethiopia. ... Mary is a popular name worldwide, and the most popular name for a female in the United States. ... Christ, from the Greek in english known as Χριστός, or Khristós, means anointed, and is equivalent to the Hebrew term Messiah. ... Location within Italy Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... The Oromo are an African ethnic group (pejoratively termed Galla) found in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Kenya. ... Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ...

References

1. His Chronicle is translated in part by Richard K. P. Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles (Addis Ababa: Oxford University Press, 1967).
2. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p.75.
3. Edward Ullendorff, The Ethiopians: An Introduction to the Country and People, second edition (London: Oxford University Press, 1960), p. 70.
4. E. A. Wallis Budge, A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, 1928 (Oosterhout, the Netherlands: Anthopological Publications, 1970), pp. 313f.