Lej Iyasu Mikael (February 3, 1896-July (?) 1935), grandson of Emperor Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913], was the nominal ruler of Ethiopia from about 1909, when Menilek proclaimed him to be his heir, to 1916, when he was deposed by the Ethiopian church and nobility.
He was the son of Wayzaro Shawaraggad Menilek, daughter of the emperor, and of Ras Mikael of Wallo. He was brought up at the imperial court in Addis Ababa, and learned French and German from private tutors. He also studied in the first modern school in the city, founded by the emperor.
In May 1909, he married Romanawarq Mangasha, a grand-daughter of Emperor Yohannes IV, and in the same month Emperor Menilek officially declared him heir to the throne. Six months later, the emperor appointed Tassama Nadaw as regent for Iyasu. During Menilek’s illness, from 1909 to April 1911, when Tassama Nadaw died, Iyasu submitted to the regency without complaint.
In May 1911, Lej Iyasu assumed the role of emperor, and instructed everybody to recognize him as such. Some of the officials, especially Ras Abata, the leader of the Shawan nobles, tried to establish a regency council under the authority of which Iyasu was to function until he came of age, but they failed. Iyasu did not crown himself emperor, but made his own promotions, and elevated several minor officials to high positions.
He also shocked the nobility by crowning his father Negus (king) in May 1914. He abandoned convention, and often travelled to the predominantly Muslim southern and eastern provinces for reasons that were suspect among the Christian Amhara. He also changed women companions, and made unofficial contacts with non-Christian, especially Muslim, elements, and with German and Turkish representatives in Ethiopia while World War I was being fought in Europe and the Middle East.
When he was away from the capital, many of the nobles and the clergy (who had French and British contacts) plotted against him, and accused him of forsaking the state religion, of mismanaging state affairs, and of immorality.
They accordingly declared him deposed on September 27, 1916. Wayzaro Zawditu Menilek, Iyasu’s aunt, was then enthroned as the Empress Zawditu , with Ras Tafari Makonnen, later to become Emperor Haile Selassie as her heir and regent.
Iyasu mobilized a sizeable force and attempted to resist in Harar, but he was defeated, and fled to the eastern lowlands. In October, his father marched on Shawa, but he too was defeated and taken captive. Iyasu rallied what remained of his father’s army, and continued the struggle in Wallo. A large army under the command of the War Minister, Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, was sent against him
from Addis Ababa.
In August 1917, Iyasu was again defeated at Dase and in the stronghold of Maqdala. He then fled to the eastern lowlands where he lay hidden for more than four years. Finally he wandered to Tegré, and was captured by one of the regional governors, who handed him over to the central government. He spent the rest of his life in the prisons of Koramash, Feche, and Harar and died in 1935.
SVEN RUBENSON
