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Egwale Seyon (Ge'ez እጓለ ጽዮን; died 12 June 1818〔Nathaniel Pearce, ''The Life and Adventures of Nathaniel Pearce'', J.J. Halls (editor) (London, 1831), vol. 2 p. 215〕) or Gwalu (ጓሉ) was ' (throne name Newaya Sagad; June 1801 – 12 June 1818) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Hezqeyas. According to Henry Salt, after a period when the Imperial throne was held by a number of different appointees due to "the preponderance of the different provinces", ''Rasses'' Wolde Selassie of Tigray and Gugsa of Yejju, and chief of the Oromo, brought this rapid succession to an end by making Egwale Seyon Emperor. He then married Walatta Iyasus, the sister of Ras Gugsa, and they had five children. When Salt visited ''Ras'' Wolde Selassie at his palace in Chalacot in 1809/1810, the Emperor's brother, ''Kenyazmach'' Iyasu, was also a guest of the Ras.〔Henry Salt, ''A Voyage to Abyssinia and Travels into the Interior of that Country'', 1814 (London: Frank Cass, 1958), p. 262〕 The writer of ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia'' notes that, after one brief campaign into Wegera with ''Ras'' Gugsa at the beginning of his reign, which was notable for Ewale Seyon's meeting with his father Hezqeyas, he never left Gondar.〔H. Weld Blundell, ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769-1840'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 473〕 The chronicler later laments : Nothing took place in the habitations, since nothing was done good or bad, no appointments and no dismissals; for there was an authority over the Negus in the hands of a Galla, who was called ''Dajazmach'' Gugsa.〔Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', p. 478〕 From 1803 on, his reign was marked by constant civil war. Most of the battles were part of a three-sided struggle between ''Ras'' Gugsa, ''Ras'' Zewde of Gojjam, and Wolde Selassie. Egwale Seyon was also twice attacked at Gondar (1804 and 1808) by the disgraced ''Balambaras'' Asserat, who was supported by armies of the Oromo who lived south of the Abay River.〔E. A. Wallis Budge, ''A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia'', 1928 (Oosterhout, the Netherlands: Anthropological Publications, 1970), p. 481. According to the ''Royal chronicle'', Asserat died after Easter, 1806 (Weld Blundell, p. 479).〕 Following the death of Abuna Yosab III in 1803, ''Ras'' Gugsa plundered the episcopal properties, but ''Ras'' Zewde forced him to return a part of what his men had stolen.〔Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', pp. 474f〕 A little more than five years later, ''Ras'' Zewde attempted to depose Egwale Seyon and replace him with the former Emperor Tekle Giyorgis, but on February 24, 1809 ''Ras'' Gugsa arrived and ''Ras'' Zewde's army refused to fight; ''Ras'' Zewde escaped on foot, and returned to his village.〔Weld Blundell, ''Royal chronicle'', pp. 483f〕 Salt notes that throughout the turmoil of his reign, Egwale Seyon lived "neglected at Gondar, with a very small retinue of servants, and an income by no means adequate to the support of his dignity; so that, as he possesses neither wealth, power, nor influence in the state; royalty may be considered, for a time, almost eclipsed in the country."〔 Nathaniel Pearce commented, following the Emperor's death, that Egwale Seyon "was always very sickly and of a weak constitution".〔Pearce, ''Life and Adventures'', vol. 2 p. 246〕 Despite his political impotence, one tangible accomplishment of Egwale Seyon's reign was his benefaction of Debre Berhan Selassie Church, known for its impressive collection of paintings; his patronage is proved by his numerous portraits in that church.〔Stuart Munro-Hay, ''Ethiopia, the unknown land: a cultural and historical guide'' (London: I.B. Tauris, 2002), p. 144, 146〕 == References == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Egwale Seyon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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