Fasilidos or Basilides (throne name `Alam Sagad) was negus (1632 - October 18, 1667) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. He was the son of Sissinios. Negus is the Amharic word for king. The term negus negust means king of kings, or Emperor. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Events January 20 - Poland cedes Kyiv, Smolensk, and eastern Ukraine to Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo that put a final end to the Deluge, and Poland lost its status as a Central European power. ... The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ityopiya, Amharic ኢትዮጵያ) is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. ...

He was proclaimed negus in 1630 during a revolt led by Sersa Krestos, but did not actually reach the throne until his father abdicated in 1632. Fasilidos immediately acted to restore the power of the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He confiscated the lands of the Jesuits at Danakaz and elsewhere in the empire, and relegated them once again to Fremona. Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... 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. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

He requested a new abuna from the Patriarch of Alexandria, restoring the relationship that had allowed to lapse. The Patriarch of Alexandria is the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. ...

When he heard that the Portugese bombarded Mombasa, Fasilidos assumed that Alfonso Mendez, the Roman Catholic prelate, was behind the act, and banished the remaining Jesuits from his lands. Mendez and most of his followers made their way back to Goa, being robbed or held in prison several times on the way. The Republic of Portugal (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, the westernmost country in continental Europe. ... Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination of Christianity with over one billion members. ... A prelate is a member of the clergy having a special canonical jurisdiction over a territory or a group of people; usually, a prelate is a bishop. ... Goa (गोवा) is Indias smallest state in terms of area and the second smallest in terms of population after Sikkim. ...

He founded what became the city of Gondar in 1636. Gondar (less commonly spelled Gonder) was the old imperial capital of Ethiopia located in Beghemidir province. ... Events February 24 - King Christian of Denmark gives an order that all beggars that are able to work must be sent to Brinholmen Island to build ships or as galley rowers March 26 - Utrecht University founded in The Netherlands. ...

Fasilidos campaigned against the restive Agaw in 1637, and for the rest of his reign he was occupied either with repelling Oromo raids into his realm, or punitive expeditionas against the Agaw. Events February 3 - Tulipmania collapses in Netherlands by government order February 15 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor December 17 - Japan Pierre de Fermat makes a marginal claim to have proof of what would become known as Fermats Last Theorem. ... The Oromo are an African ethnic group (pejoratively termed Galla) found in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Kenya. ...

In 1665, he ordered the "Books of the Franks" -- the remaining religious writings of the Catholics -- burnt. Events March 4 - Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War March 6 - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication March 16 - Bucharest allows Jews to settle in the city in exchange of annual tax of 16 guilders June 3 - The Duke of York defeats the Dutch Fleet off the...

In 1666, after his son Dawit rebelled, Fasilidos incarcerated him at Wehni, reviving the ancient practice of confining troublesome members of the Imperial family to a mountaintop, as they had once been confined at Amba Geshen. Events September 2 - Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles IIs baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. ...

Fasilidos died on October 18, 1667 at Azazo, 5 miles south of Gondar. His body was interred at St. Stephen's Monastery on Daga Island, located in Lake Tana. When Nathaniel T. Kenney was shown Fasilidos' remains, a smaller mummy also shared the coffin. A monk told Kenney that it was Fasilidos' seven-year-old son Isur, who had been smothered in a crush of people who had come to pay the new king homage.¹ Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. ...

References

1. Nathaniel T. Kenney, "Ethiopian Adventure", National Geographic, 127 (1965), p.557.