Yohannes IV
| Yohannes IV ዮሐንስ |
|
|---|---|
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |
Emperor Yohannes IV with his son and heir, Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes
|
|
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |
| Reign | 11 July 1871 – 10 March 1889 |
| Coronation | 12 January 1872 |
| Predecessor | Tekle Giyorgis II |
| Successor | Menelik II |
| Born |
11 July 1837 Tembien, Tigray, Ethiopian Empire |
| Died | 10 March 1889 (aged 51) Metemma, Ethiopian Empire |
| Spouse | None (widowed before becoming Emperor) |
| Issue |
Ras Araya Selassie Ras Mengeshah |
| House | House of Solomon (Tigrean Branch) |
| Father | Dejazmatch Mercha, Shum of Tembien |
| Mother | Woizero Silass Dimtsu of Chelekot, Enderta |
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
Yohannes IV (Geez ዮሓንስ, Yōḥānnis; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889), born Lij Kassay Mercha and formerly known in English as King John, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 until his death in 1889.
Yohannes IV was born at Mai-biha, a village then within the jurisdiction of Enderta province. He was the son of Mercha, (or "governor") of Tembien, and his wife (or "Dame") Silass Dimtsu (Amata Selassie), who was the daughter of (roughly equivalent to "Duke") Dimtsu Debbab of Enderta the nephew of the powerful Ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta. Yohannes could claim Solomonic blood through the line of his paternal grandmother Woizero Workewoha KaleKristoss of Adwa, who was the granddaughter of Ras Mikael Sehul, and his wife Aster Iyasu, daughter of Empress Mentewab and her lover Melmal Iyasu. Yohannes could also claim Solomonic descent more distantly through his father's Tembien family, also through a female link to the dynasty. Amata Selassie's father Dimtsu of Endarta belonged to the family which in late 18th and early 19th centuries had held overlordship of Tigray, and her mother descended from the aristocratic line of the Shums of Agame.
In 1868, at the time of Emperor Tewodros II's suicide in response to the British rescue mission under Sir Robert Napier, Dejazmach Kassai controlled the province of Tigray. With Tewodros's death, he became one of the three most powerful princes in Ethiopia along with Wagshum Gobeze of Lasta and Wag (the future Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II) and King Menelek of Shewa (the future Emperor Menelek II). Kassai was in fact Wagshum Gobeze's prodigy and ally: Wagshum had married his sister Dinqinesh Mercha and was instrumental in helping Kassai rise to power in Tigray. The British expedition had left Yohannes a great deal of ordnance, however, and Kassai refused to pay homage to Wagshum when he declared himself the emperor Tekle Giyorgis II at Sogota in Wag. At first Tekle Giyorgis attempted to mollify him by naming him Re-ese Mekwanint ("first among the nobles"): Kassai promptly began using the title but continued to dispute Tekle Giyorgis's right to supremacy or homage.
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