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Born the son of Mercha the Shum of Tembien , and his wife woizero Silass (Amata Selassie) of Enderta , lord Kassai could claim Solomonic Blood through the line of his mother's Enderta family, which was decended from Ras Mikael Sehul and his wife Aster Eyasu, daughter of Empress Mantuab and her lover Melmal Eyasu. Melmal Eyasu was a Solomonic prince, and nephew of the widowed Empress Mentuab's husband Emperor Bakaffa . Kassai could also claim Solomonic decent 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 1700's and early 1800's had held overlordship of Tigray, and her mother descended from dynasty of Shum of Agame . Mercha's mother the lady consort of Tembien was also a granddaughter of Mikael Sehul , whose family held Eritrea's and Tigray's overlordship in most part of 18th century. Dejazmach Kassai was a sworn enemy of Emperor Tewodros II , and gave logistical and political support to the British forces who arrived to defeat Emperor Tewodros in 1868 . In gratitude, the British gave Dejazmatch Kassai a large number of modern firearms as they withdrew following their victory at Magdala . This helped him to control the province of Tigray , and he became one of the three most powerful princes in Ethiopia (the others being Wagshum Gobeze of Lasta and Wag i.e the future Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II, and Sahle Maryam King of Shewa i.e the future Emperor Menelek II ), each of whom vied to become sole ruler, and who could claim to be descended from the Solomonic kings. Dejazmach Kassai's rivalry with the Wagshum was further complicated by the fact that Dejazmatch Kassai's sister, Dinqinesh Mercha , was married to Wagshum Gobeze. In 1868, Wagshum Gobeze proclaimed himself Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia at Soqota in his district of Wag . Due to the fact that the '' Abuna '' of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had died shortly before, there was no one to crown the new Emperor. In an effort to get Kassai to recognize this title, Tekle Giyorgis gave his brother-in-law the title of Reese Masafint, "Re-ese Mekwanint", or "first among the nobles", premier duke. Dejazmach Kassai promptly started using the title, but still did not recognize Tekle Giyorgis' new rank and refused to pay homage to him. Tekle Giyorgis made the first move, crossing the Takazze River in 1871 in a campaign against Kassai. Relying on the training the British adventurer John Kirkham had given his troops, Dejazmach Kassai met the erst-while Emperor near Adowa on July 11 of that year, capturing and deposing his attacker; Tekle Giyorgis died in captivity the next year. Kassai had long prepared for this day, and had gathered the funds to pay the Coptic Patriarch Of Alexandria to appoint a new Archbishop over the Ethiopian Church , Abuna Atnatewos , in accordance with custom; Atnatewos arrived in June 1869 along with two other bishops, Matewos for Shewa, and Petros for Gojjam . It was the first time that the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria had appointed three Bishops for Ethiopia. Atnatewos then crowned Kassai emperor January 12 , 1872 at Axum . He took the name and title of Emperor Yohannes IV, King of Zion and King of Kings of Ethiopia, becoming the first emperor crowned in that historic city since Fasilides in 1632 . Ras Adal of Gojjam soon after submitted to Yohannes and recognized him as Emperor, and was rewarded with the title of Negus of Gojjam, and the new name of Tekle Haymanot . Throughout his reign, Yohannes was embroiled in military struggles on his northern frontiers. First was from Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Egypt , who sought to bring the entire Nile River Basin under his rule. The Egyptians flirted with encouraging Menelik of Shewa against the Emperor, but earned Menelik's enmity by marching from the port of Zeila and occupied the city-state of Harrar on October 11 , 1875 . Both Menelik and Yohannes had regarded Harrar as a renegade province of Ethiopia, and Egyptian seizure of the Emirate was not welcome to either of them. The Egyptians then marched into northern Ethiopia from their coastal possessions around the port of Massawa . Yohannes pleaded with the British to stop their Egyptian allies, and even withdrew from his own territory in order to show the Europeans that he was the wronged party and that the Khedive was the aggressor. However, Yohannes soon realized that the Europeans would not stop the Khedive of Egypt and so he gathered up his armies and marched to meet the Egyptian force. The two armies met at Gundat (also called Guda-gude) on the morning of November 16 , 1875. The Egyptians were tricked into marching into a narrow and steep valley and were wiped out by Ethiopian gunners surrounding the valley from the surrounding mountains. Virtually the entire Egyptian force, along with its many officers of European and North American background, was killed. News of this huge defeat was suppressed in Egypt for fear that it would undermine the government of the Khedive. A new Egyptian force was assembled and sent to avenge the defeat at Gundat. The Egyptians were defeated again at the Battle Of Gura (March 7-9, 1876 ), where the Ethiopians were led again by the Emperor, and his loyal general, the capable (future) Ras Alula . This victory was followed by Menelik's submission to Yohannes March 20 , 1878 , and in return Yohannes recognized Menelik's hereditary right to the title of king of Shewa , and re-crowned him on March 26 . Yohannes took this opportunity to try to tie the Shewan King more closely to him by arranging for Menelik's daughter Zewditu (future Empress of Ethiopia in her own right), to his own son and heir, Ras Araya Selassie. He also arranged for a general council of the Ethiopian Church in which various heresies were stamped out in Gojjam and Shewa. Yohannes also ordered the Moslems of Wollo to convert to Christianity within six months or face forfeiture of their properties. Ras Ali of Wollo became Ras (later King) Michael of Wollo, and the Emperor stood as his Godfather at his baptism. He was given Menelik of Shewa's other daughter, Shewarega Menelik, as his wife. When on September 23 , 1885 . About the same time, Italy took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannis. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Kings of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannis, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassal kings. Yohannis brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar and burned its holy Churches. He marched north from Gojjam to confront the armies of the Mahdi. Yohannes' life came to an end while he was dealing with another invasion by the followers of Muhammad Ahmad's successor, Abdallahi Ibn Muhammad , at the Battle Of Metemma on March 9 , 1889 . Mortally wounded by a sniper during the battle, he had been carried to his tent, where he announced that his nephew Ras Mengesha was actually his natural son, and named him his heir (his elder son Ras Araya Selassie had died a few years earlier). He died a few hours later. Although the Ethiopian army had almost annihilated their opponents in this battle, hearing that their ruler had been slain shattered their morale and allowed the Mahdists to counterattack, scattering their enemy and capturing the body of the emperor. It was brought back to their capital at Omdurman , where the head was put on a pike and displayed. Although a group of Tigrean nobles led by Ras Alula attempted to promote the claim of Yohannes' son, Ras Mengesha Yohannes , as emperor, many of the dead monarch's other relatives on both the Enderta and Tembien sides of his family objected and went into open rebellion against Mengesha. Tigray was torn assunder by the rebellions of various members of the Emperor's family against Mengesha and each other. Menelik of Shewa took advantage of Tigrean disorder, and after allowing the Italians to occupy Hamasien, Serai and Akale Guzai, districts loyal to Yohannes IV, he was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia as Menelik II . Yohannes IV's death reduced the influence of Tigrayans to the Ethiopian government, and opened way to Italians to occupy more districts, a seizure that later resulted in the creation of the colony of Eritrea , and the later defeat of Italy at the Battle of Adowa at the hands of Emperor Menelik. The Tigrean nobility retained influence at the Imperial court of Menelik and his successors, although not at the level they enjoyed under Yohannes IV. Yohannes' descendants ruled over Tigray as hereditary Princes until the Ethiopian Revolution and the fall of the monarchy in 1974 ended their rule. There are two lines of decent from Yohannes IV, one through his elder son Ras Araya Selassie by way of his son Ras Gugsa Araya , and the second through Ras Mengesha Yohannes. Yohannes IV is still remembered in Ethiopia mostly as a great patriot and martyr for his country and his faith. He is regarded with less sympathy by moslems who remember him as intolerant of their faith, and oppressive of their rights with his harsh requirements that they convert. ''Note: sources give both 1821 and 1831 as his year of birth.'' BIBLIOGRAPHY
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