Eleni or Helena (died April, 1522) was the wife of Zara Yaqob, and Queen of Ethiopia. She played a significant role in the government of Ethiopia during her lifetime, acting as regent or advisor to a number of Emperors; one testimony of this is the manuscript Bruce 88, which states that she had been in the palace of three illustrious kings: Zara Yaqob; his son by another wife, Baeda Maryam, and Na'od.¹ Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ... The Emperor of Ethiopia (Amharic negus negust, King of Kings) was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. ... 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. ... Naod was negus (1494 - 1508) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. ...

The daughter of Mehmad king of Hadiya, she converted to Christianity upon marrying Zara Yaqob. Although the Portuguese historian Balthasar Tellez wrote that she had no children, in some manuscripts of Francisco Alvarez's The Prester John of the Indies, a male relative of Lebna Dengel who escaped from Amba Geshen is described as her son.² Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... Francisco Alvarez (1465?-1541?) was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. ... Dawit II or David II, better known by his throne name Lebna Dengel (1501 - September 2, 1540) was negus (1508 - 1540) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. ...

With his own mother Seyon Morgasa dead, Emperor Baeda Maryam gave Eleni the title of Queen Mother. She proved to be an effective member of the royal family; Paul B. Henze comments that she "was practically co-monarch" during his reign.³ Likewise, the Emperor Na'od also relied on her counsel.

Alvarez was told by the Abuna Marqos, that upon Emperor Na'od's death in combat "he and Queen Elena made him [Lebna Dengel] King, because they had all of the great men in their hands"⁴ This statement points to the power Elena wielded. Likewise Elena, understanding the increasing threat that Ethiopia faced from the growing Ottoman influence in the region, with the counsel of Pero da Covilhã sent Mattheus as an ambassador to Portugal, a fact that the Portuguese only understood after they arrived in Ethiopia, and which complicated Dom Rodrigo da Lima's mission to the Ethiopian Emperor.⁵ The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Pedro or Pero da Covilhã (c. ...

Alvarez also notes that Elena possessed extensive estates in the province of Gojjam.⁶ Gojjam, or Gojam, was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debra Markos. ...

The date of Eleni's death is not entirely certain; Henze states that she died at an advanced age in the 1520s,⁷ but Beckingham and Huntingford argue that the evidence in Alvarez's account provides enough information to date her death to April, 1522.⁸ Despite the uncertainty, Alvarez makes it clear that she died while he was in Ethiopia, adding that her passing was a cause for sorrow by her subjects:

There was a great rumour and talk at the Court about the death of Queen Elena. They said that since she had died all of them had died great and small, and that while she lived, all lived and were defended and protected; and she was the father and mother of all.⁹

References

1. Beckingham and Huntingford, translators, The Prester John of the Indies by Francisco Alvarez (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961), p. 14 n.3
2. Francisco Alvarez, Prester John, p. 245
3. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 75
4. Alvarez, Prester John, p. 243
5. Beckingham and Huntingford, translators, Prester John, p.307; paraphrasing the account of Gaspar Correa. Apparently Alvarez never learned this, for in his narrative he repeats without explanation Lebna Dengel's claim that Mattheus lacked the authority to represent him (e.g., p. 283).
6. Alvarez, Prester John, pp. 425, 458.
7. Beckingham and Huntingford discuss the evidence on p. 425 n.1 of their translation.
8. Alvarez, Prester John, p. 434.