[February 1] Admas Sagad I, emperor of Ethiopia

The standard of the House of Solomon

True Name: Menas (ሜናስ)

Parents: Dawit II, emperor of Ethiopia, and Wanag Mogassa

Royal House: Solomon

Spouse: Adimas Moas, daughter of Robel, governor of Bora & Selawe

Reign: 1559 – 1563

Predecessor: Asnaf Sagad I

Summary: Menas had an interesting childhood. He had been captured in his teens and should have been castrated and sent into slavery. Instead, he found a wife through his captivity and then was given as a a gift to the Sultan of Yemen in return for military aide. The Ethiopian Emperor's capture of the Iman's son allowed for a prisoner exchange, and Menas was returned to the royal family.

He was made king in 1559 upon the death of his brother. His reign was rife with European problems. In the first year, he banished a group of Jesuit missionaries to a small enclave where they soon thrived. The next year, a revolt occurred supported by the Portuguese. The revolt was led by a provincial leader who chose as the figurehead an illegitimate son of one of Menas' elder brothers. One-by-one, Menas captured and killed the supporters of the revolt, but it consumed most of his short reign. When the revolt should have been quelled, another pretender, this time supported by the Ottoman Pasha, was elected to replace the executed pretender. Menas returned to his capital to regroup and came down with a fever. He died on march a few days later. The pasha made peace with Menas' successor, Malak Sagad I, later that year, but rebelled again in the ensuing years. 

Date of Death: 1 February 1563

Successor: Malak Sagad I


Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Henry II, duke of Brabant (1248)
• Charles IV, king of France (1328)
• Alexander VIII, pope of Rome (1691)
• Augustus II, king of Poland (1733)
• Carlos, king of Portugal (1908)