Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TARIH KULTUR VE SANAT ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-JOURNAL OF HISTORY CULTURE AND ART RESEARCH, cilt.7, sa.1, ss.740-751, 2018 (Hakemli Dergi)
The reign of Lij Iyasu was one of the most controversial periods in the history of Ethiopia. Iyasu came to power because of an absence of a direct male line from the reigning King, Menelik (1889-1913). He was the product of the crisis of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was the son of Michael, the ex-Muslim, who was converted to Christianity by force after the council of Boru Meda in 1878. He was the descendant of the two largest ethnic groups in the country, the Oromo, and Amhara. His background was helpful to stop the creeping inequality developing in the country at that time, however; it was the same background that contributed to the demise of Iyasu. He was also involved in the politics of the First World War. He had a good relationship with the Ottoman and the Somali nationalist, Sayyid Abdalle Hassen. His relation to the Ottoman and conversion to Islam irritated the European powers. Those factors contributed greatly to his downfall. This article will put light on the period of Lij Iyasu including the question of his conversion to Islam and political events based on available oral and written sources.