Sabagadis

Sabagadis (baptismal name "Za-Manfas Qedus"; c. 1770–1831) was a Dejazmach or governor of Tigray, a province in northern Ethiopia. He was the son of Waldu of Agame, and a member of the Irob people.

Sabagadis gained some notoriety in the first decade of the 19th century for rebelling a number of times against his overlord, Ras Wolde Selassie. But just before the death of Wolde Selassie it seems that he made up with his master and became one of his loyal lieutenants. Following Wolde Selassie's death in 1816, he defied the authority of Wolde Selassie's son, and became the most powerful warlord in Tigray. Making Adigrat his capital, he ruled Tigray, Semien, and a small strip of the coastal plains of Eritrea by 1818. His rule also extended to the Eritrean highlands (Hamasien, Akele Guzay, and Seraye).

Dejazmach Sabagadis believed that firearms were vital to neutralize the power of the Yejju cavalry, so he devoted much time and effort to both collecting them, and seeking European help in buying them; this included seeking British help—or at least permission—to capture the port of Massawa. As a consequence, Sabagadis was one of the first Ethiopians to attempt building peaceful relationships with other countries in modern times. As a result of these things, by the 1820s he was seen both in Europe—and in Ethiopia—as the champion of Christianity.

Three of his letters have survived. One to the Patriarch of Alexandria Peter complains of the behavior of Abuna Qerellos, sarcastically asking, "Was it because you hated Ethiopia that you sent him? Did you not know his conduct before, [and] so you sent him?" Another one is addressed to King George IV of Great Britain, asking for "one hundred cavalrymen, a carpenter, [and] a church builder who will build the way [you do] in your country".

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