Tekle Haymanot II of Ethiopia
| Tekle Haymanot II | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |
| Reign | 18 October 1769 – August 1770 |
| Predecessor | Yohannes II |
| Successor | Susenyos II |
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |
| Reign | December 1770 – 13 April 1777 |
| Predecessor | Susenyos II |
| Successor | Salomon II |
| Born | 1754 |
| Died | 7 September 1777 |
| House | House of Solomon |
| Father | Yohannes II |
| Mother | Sancheviyar |
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
Tekle Haymanot II (Ge'ez ተክለ ሃይማኖት, "Plant of the faith"; 1754 – 7 September 1777) was nəgusä nägäst as Admas Sagad III (Ge'ez አድማስ ሰገድ "to whom the horizon bows"; 18 October 1769 – 13 April 1777) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Yohannes II by Woizero Sancheviyar, at the Imperial prison of Mount Wehni.
The Scots explorer James Bruce (who was in Ethiopia from September 1769 to November 1771) described his appearance as follows:
Tekle Haymanot became Emperor at the age of 15 when his father Yohannes was killed by Ras Mikael Sehul, the aged warlord of Tigray. He joined Ras Mikael in defeating Fasil at the Battle of Faggeta on 9 December 1769. He lost the throne briefly in 1770 when he and Ras Mikael left the capital city of Gondar for Tigray, and Susenyos II was made Emperor by rival warlords in Gondar, but regained it when Ras Mikael returned to Gondar on 23 December of that year.
Upon returning to the capital, Ras Mikael immediately killed a troop of travelling actors who had performed a satire of him. A number of former rebels, who had switched sides, brought to him a number of prisoners, including the Aqabe sa'at Abba Salama; after a show trial, Ras Mikael had them brutally executed. In the days that followed, Ras Mikael wrought his vengeance on all who had opposed him; as James Bruce wrote:
The next year saw Ras Mikael Sehul defeated in the Three battles of Sarbakusa against his adversaries near Teda in May, which forced the Ras to retreat to Gondar, where he surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Ras Mikael for a year, then sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province. Emperor Tekle Haymanot managed to avoid his mentor's fate at that time, and Wand Bewossen only brought him into his power when the warlord surprised him at Qaroda, capturing him while he and his men were eating. Yet Wand Bewossen's control of the Ethiopian government was short-lived; he was defeated in 1772 by the coalition of Fasil, Ras Goshu, and Dejazmach Hailu Eshte at Checheho and forced to retreat to Lasta.
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