Lebna Dengel - Ethiopian Ruler

 Emperor Lebna Dengel of Ethiopia

Emperor Lebna Dengel of Ethiopia, also known as Dawit II, or David II, was one of the celebrated Christian kings of Ethiopia. Lebna Dengel succeeded to the throne of Ethiopia at the age of 12, partly through the maneuverings of his grandmother, the empress Eleni.

The empress was the daughter of King Hadiya, a Muslim, and she officially served as Lebna Dengel’s regent. Eleni had begun her rise to power when she became one of the four wives of Zara Yakob (1438–68) in 1445, thereby joining her prominent Muslim family with the Christian family of Zara Yakob.

As one of the celebrated evangelizing emperors of Ethiopia, along with Amda Tseyon (1314–44) and Sayfa Arad (1344–72), Zara Yakob holds a unique place in Ethiopian history. When he built a new royal residence at Debre Berhan, Eleni, who had converted to Christianity, established a church on the grounds.


Zara Yakob died after designating his young son Ba’eda Maryam (1468–78) as his heir, and Eleni became even more prominent in Ethiopian politics. Since his mother was dead, Ba’eda Maryam designated Eleni, to whom he was close, as the queen mother and chose her to serve as his regent.

Eleni also served in this capacity during the troubled reign of her son Na’od (1494–1505), who had succeeded his half brother Ba’eda Maryam to the throne. When Na’od was killed in a battle against the Muslims, his son Lebna Dengel was only seven years old.

Throughout much of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Eleni served as the power behind the Ethiopian throne, essentially serving as the reigning monarch. As a devout and active Christian, Eleni is credited with founding the modern church of Ethiopia. Although her exact birth date is unknown, Eleni was born sometime in the 1430s and died in the early 1520s in her 90s.

While Christians and Muslims coexisted in Ethiopia during Lebna Dengel’s reign, it was far from a peaceful relationship. In 1516, when the emir Mahfuz of Haran invaded the Ethiopian highlands, Lebna Dengel ambushed the invaders and continued to press his advantage by killing the emir and following them back to Haran, where he again attacked.

Lebna Dengel returned to his home a hero, convinced that the Muslims would no longer threaten Ethiopian Christians. He was fatally wrong. Suspecting that a Muslim attack was imminent, Eleni sent out a plea for assistance from Portugal. Consequently, in 1520, a Portuguese expeditionary force arrived in Ethiopia, led by Dom Ridrigo da Lama.

Despite the presence of the Portuguese in Ethiopia, in March 1529, Muslim forces under Ahmed Ibn Ghazi (c. 1507–43), popularly known as “the Gran,” triumphed over Lebna Dengel’s forces. By 1531, Muslim forces were in control of Ethiopia and remained so until 1543.

During the period of Muslim dominance, Emperor Lebna Dengel actively resisted all efforts to make him renounce his faith. When Ahmed ibn Ghazi demanded the hand of Lebna Dengel’s daughter in marriage, warning Lebna Dengel that he had no other course than to comply, the emperor summarily refused.

Assuring the Gran that he would not allow his daughter to marry a nonbeliever, Lebna Dengel wrote to him that he was determined to retain his trust in the Lord rather than in the Gran. Afterward, Lebna Dengel’s faith was repeatedly tested as he was forced to flee for his life. For the rest of his life, he was often hungry, uncomfortable, and in physical danger.

Lebna Dengel was still hiding from Muslim forces when he was killed in battle on September 2, 1540, near the monastery of Dabra Dam in Tigre. Subsequently, the tide turned for Christian Ethiopians. Lebna Dengel had appealed to Portugal for assistance in 1535, but help did not arrive until after his death.

The emperor Galawdewos (Claudius) succeeded to his father’s throne, and the Ethiopian Empire was restored with the help of the Portuguese who arrived in Ethiopia in 1541. This force of 400 Portuguese musketeers was led by Cristóvão da Gama, the son of the celebrated explorer Vasco da Gama.

After Lebna Dengel’s death, his son Galawdewos, assisted by the Portuguese musketeers, led an attack in which the Gran was killed in 1543 in a battle near Lake Tana. Once the Muslims were ousted, the Christians performed a penitential and reinstatement ceremony and proclaimed the return of Christianity to Ethiopia.

Although the Muslims had been ousted from Ethiopia, the Gran’s widow, Bati Del Wambara, continued raids on the Christians. Galawdewos was killed in battle in 1559, and the Muslims triumphantly displayed his head on a stake.

Many of the Portuguese who survived the various battles remained in Ethiopia when the troops pulled out of Ethiopia in 1547. They were soon joined by a group of Jesuit missionaries. The presence of the Portuguese was evident in Ethiopia in a number of ways since the Portuguese government fully intended to retain a certain amount of power in the country The Portuguese taught the Ethiopian soldiers how to use firearms and converted a number of locals to Western Catholicism.

By the mid-17th century, however, the Ethiopian government had expelled the Jesuits and denied other missionaries admission to the country. For the next two centuries, Ethiopia rejected all foreign overtures, preferring to exist in isolation.

Koprülü Family

Koprülü Family

Four different members of the Koprülü family served as grand viziers in the Ottoman Empire during the 17th century. Of obscure Albanian origins, Mohammad Koprülü had a fairly inauspicious career in the vast Ottoman bureaucracy until 1656, when he was appointed grand vizier. He soon distinguished himself as an able, efficient, and honest administrator.

Mohammad removed corrupt officials from office and oversaw the defeat of major rebellions in the Anatolian Peninsula and the Balkans. He also reinstituted rigorous adherence to the law.

Before his death in 1661, Mohammad recommended that his son Ahmed (Fazil Ahmed Koprülü) succeed him as grand vizier. Ahmed (served 1661–76) proved to be as able an direktur as his father and continued to strengthen the empire.


Led by Kara Mustafa, Ahmed’s brother-in-law, the Ottomans moved in 1683 to regain their ascendancy in Hungary and lay siege to Vienna, the city Suleiman I the Magnificent had failed to take in 1529. Reinforced with troops from Poland, the Habsburgs, now equipped with heavy artillery, defeated the Ottomans, who were forced to retreat to Belgrade. Upon the sultan’s orders, Kara Mustafa was then assassinated.

In 1689, Ahmed’s brother Mustafa was appointed grand vizier and continued the family tradition of honest administration; Mustafa reduced some taxes—a popular policy—as well as instituting other economic reforms.

Although a devout Muslim, Mustafa was also known for his religious tolerance and fair treatment of the large Christian minority populations in the empire and he became known as “Koprülü the Virtuous.” However, his tenure as grand vizier was short as he died fighting with Ottoman troops in the Balkans in 1691.

In 1697, Sultan Mustafa II sought to restore Ottoman power by appointing Husayn Koprülü as his grand vizier. His tax policies enabled the Ottomans to raise and equip a large army and fleet to protect territory in the Balkans; Husayn served as vizier until 1702 and another Koprülü became vizier for a short time in 1710. But even the reforms and efficiency of the Koprülü viziers failed to halt the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the gradual loss of territory to Russian and other European enemies.

Mamluk Dynasties in Egypt

Mamluk Dynasties

The Mamluks ruled Egypt from the middle of the 13th century to 1517. The first 24 Mamluk sultans were called the Bahri (river) rulers. In 1382, they were followed by the Burji (tower) Mamluks, so called because they had been quartered in the towers of the Citadel fortress overlooking Cairo. The Mamluks, mostly of Turkish and Mongol origins, were slaves and professional soldiers.

They were purchased by other former slaves as young boys in the slave markets in Syria and Egypt and educated as a professional military caste. With the completion of their education they were freed and given full military regalia and land to pay for the upkeep of the equipment and horses.

The Mamluks were notoriously disputatious and constantly fought among themselves for succession to the throne. Since there was no principle of hereditary monarchy, any Mamluk could hope to become the ruler if he could overthrow the current sultan.

As a result, the average reign of a sultan was only six years. Mamluks married within the caste to the sisters and relatives of other Mamluks. Their society was based on a feudal hierarchy of allegiance of a vassal to a lord.


Recent converts to Islam, the Mamluks emphasized their rule as Muslims, even though many of them were not personally particularly devout. They allowed the exiled Abbasid caliph from Baghdad to reside in Cairo but successive caliphs exercised no real power.

The Mamluks encouraged metalworking, book binding, and textile industries. But Mamluk attempts to monopolize the trade on luxury goods, coupled with high taxes, discouraged many foreign and local merchants.

As great builders and patrons of the arts, the Mamluks encouraged scholars, including renowned historian Ibn Khaldun, to work in Cairo. Under the Mamluks, Cairo became a major intellectual and artistic center and grew into arguably the largest city in the region.

The Mamluks built hospitals, caravan-saries, public fountains, and massive mausoleums for their families. The mausoleum of Sultan Qaitbay (reigned 1468–96) was particularly impressive. Much of medieval Cairo dates from the Mamluk era.

Mamluk soldier

The Mamluk sultan Baybars (reigned 1260–77) drove the crusaders out of the eastern Mediterranean and repelled major invasions by the Mongols. A wily politician, Baybars also established alliances with potential enemies of Sicily, Seville, and the Turks.

The Black Death (plague) in 1340 reduced the population throughout Mamluk territories; in Cairo alone over 25 percent of the people perished. They were further weakened by Timurlane’s destruction in Syria. The expansion of Portuguese trading outposts along the African and Indian coasts led to mounting economic competition and as they lost control of trade from the east, the revenues from commerce declined.

In addition, constant disputes over succession weakened Mamluk authority and made them vulnerable to outside attacks. Their failure to forge a united front contributed to their defeat and the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.

Janissaries

Janissaries

Following the custom of expanding empires everywhere, the Ottoman sultans had routinely taken one-fifth of the booty taken in conquest for themselves, enslaving some of those conquered as footsoldiers for further military conquests.

However as the empire took control of predominantly Muslim territories, Islamic legal injunctions against the enslavement of other Muslims made the old practice impossible. Therefore, Muslim theologians under Murad I (reigned 1362–89) innovated a levy where by young non-Muslim boys were taken into the sultan’s service. These enforced recruits were called Yeni Cheri, new soldiers, or Janissaries.

On a rotation system of about every five years, a levy or devshirme of young boys between the ages of eight and 20 was collected from mostly Christian areas, especially in the Balkans. All the recruits were taught Turkish and converted to Islam.


The most able of the young boys were taken to be educated in the palace to become servants and, sometimes, high officials within the vast Ottoman bureaucracy. The rest were given rigorous military training and became a formidable fighting force. The Janissaries owed their sole allegiance to the sultan.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the first so-called gunpowder empires, and the Janissaries were known for their skills with the most advanced weaponry of the age. The Janissaries enjoyed considerable legal privileges, including the right to own land and to pass on property to their heirs under Islamic law.

Gradually the Janissaries increased in numbers and power and became the core of the Ottoman army with increased pay and benefits. Spread throughout the empire, the Janissaries lived communally in military barracks and were the main protectors of the Ottoman government throughout the provinces.

When the empire was at its zenith, the Janissaries were loyal protectors and champions of the sultan. However, as the empire declined and the sultans became increasingly weak and corrupt, the Janissaries became a political force in their own right and frequently rose up in armed rebellions.

The overturning of the huge cooking pots used by all Janissary garrisons became the signal of such revolts. In some instances, the Janissaries even overthrew sultans to replace them with candidates of their own selection.

Jahangir - Mughal Ruler

Jahangir - Mughal Ruler

Jahangir inherited the Mughal throne from his father, Akbar, the greatest Mughal emperor. His realm included part of Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent up to the Deccan. It was one of the largest empires of the world and enjoyed prosperity.

Prince Salim (Selim) was Akbar’s eldest son, who took the reign name Jahangir, which means “world grasper.” He explained in his memoir that there was a contemporary Ottoman emperor also named Salim, which made him decide to change his name.

Jahangir had to suppress many revolts during his reign, including those of his sons, one of whom he had blinded after the revolt failed. Other campaigns were against rulers in the Deccan area subdued by Emperor Akbar and again in revolt, and against the Persian ruler for control of Kandahar.

In addition to his frank memoir, there are vivid accounts by others about Jahangir. One was by his boon companion, the English sea captain William Hawkins, and another was by Sir Thomas Roe, English ambassador, who arrived at the Mughal court in 1616 to negotiate a treaty between England and the Mughal government but failed and left two years later.


As were many Mughal princes, Jahangir was addicted to strong alcoholic drinks, and to eating opium, which seldom left him sober. He professed himself an orthodox Muslim but was generally tolerant of other religions. However, he let divine faith, a religion that his father sponsored, wither away.

In 1611, Jahangir married the Persian-born widow of one of his officials after having her husband killed for refusing to divorce her and for revolting against him. The lady was given the title Nur Jahan, which means “light of the world,” and she became the empress for the remainder of his reign. Both Jahangir and Nur Jahan patronized the arts. But Nur Jahan was also politically ambitious.

To influence her husband’s succession she married her daughter to one of his sons, and her niece (Mumtaz Mahal) to another, who became his father’s successor as Shah Jahan. She surrounded herself with her relatives, arousing the jealousy of Jahangir’s relatives; intrigues among the members of the two factions led to rebellion.

In 1627, her protégé, a general named Mahabat Khan, revolted in alliance with Shah Jahan; they imprisoned both Jahangir and Nur Jahan for several months. Just as he had revolted against his father, so he died in the midst of his son’s revolt, followed by a power struggle between his sons.

Despite wars and rebellions, Jahangir’s reign was generally prosperous, as he enjoyed the legacy of his father. His memoirs often expressed good intentions for promoting justice and efficiency, but he seldom followed through because of his indulgence in alcohol and drugs.

Isfahan (Persia)

Isfahan (Persia)

In 1592 Shah Abbas I made Isfahan the capital of the Safavid Empire. In an earlier era, Isfahan had been the capital of the Seljuk Empire, but under Shah Abbas the city became a major economic and cultural center or as the Persian saying went, “Isfahan is half the world.”

The Masjid-i Jami, or Friday Mosque (1088), an earlier Seljuk building, dominates one section of the city. This mosque is known for its brick domed chambers and stucco mihrab (prayer niche). Under Shah Abbas, a huge open square, the Maydan-i Shah, with a polo field the favorite amusement of the Safavid court, became the centerpiece of the city. The square was surrounded by Safavid buildings.


The Masjid-i Shaykh Lutfallah (1602) stands on one side; a vast covered bazaar anchors another, and the monumental Masjid-i Shah (1612–13) dominates a third side. An elaborately decorated blue tiled dome with Qu’ranic inscriptions in finely wrought calligraphy covers the mosque, which is entered through a courtyard and towering iwans, or arched entryways.

The Ali Qapu, a vast royal palace complex, is the main building on the fourth side of the square. The palace’s second-story porch, covered by a wooden roof supported by slender columns, overlooks the square. From this porch, the shah and his court could watch polo games and other state ceremonies.

Persian floral patterns

As a commercial center, Isfahan attracted numerous traders and artisans, many of whom built lavish homes with gardens that were much esteemed in Ottoman Empire, flowers and bird motifs were favorite designs among the Safavids.

The Safavids became known for Persian carpets with floral patterns and center medallions as opposed to the geometric designs favored by tribal artisans. Safavid artists also excelled in the painting of miniatures and illustrated manuscripts, many of which included figural representations that were rare in Arab or Ottoman works.

Ahmed ibn Ghazi

Ahmed ibn Ghazi

Popularly known as the Gran or Ahmed, the Left-handed, Ahmed ibn Ghazi, the king of Adal, was a Somali general who, after establishing an inland Muslim empire, laid siege to Ethiopia in 1529 in an attempt to wipe out Christianity and establish Ethiopia as a Muslim state.

Christian Ethiopia was particularly vulnerable to outside attacks from neighboring Muslim countries because from 1478 to 1527, the average age of Ethiopian rulers was only 11. The Sultanate of Harar, which was heavily Muslim, repeatedly attempted to overtake Ethiopia. Around 1500, zealous Muslims announced the onset of a jihad (holy war) in which Islam was to be instated throughout Africa.

In the late 1520s, the sultanate’s position was reinforced by the Islamization of Somali, which was effected by the concentrated efforts of Turkish and Arab adventurers. Consequently, Harar’s troops, led by Ahmed ibn Ghazi, attacked Ethiopia in 1529. Ahmed’s forces were reinforced by the recently conquered Chushitic troops who hoped to gain their freedom by fighting with Ahmed’s forces.

Ahmed triumphed during the Battle of Amba Sel on October 28, 1531. By the following year, he had succeeded in gaining control of Ethiopia and had forced Ethiopian emperor Lebna Dengel (1508–40) into hiding. Ahmed subsequently established himself as the ruler of Ethiopia. He was a vengeful conqueror, brutally destroying land and churches and devastating the Ethiopian people.

Once he was in power, Ahmed proceeded with his attempts to eradicate Christianity from Ethiopia. He even destroyed the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion where Ethiopian emperors had been crowned for centuries. At swordpoint, Ahmed’s troops ordered Ethiopian Christians to renounce their faith and swear allegiance to the Muslim faith instead.

Ahmed also executed a Portuguese commander who refused to convert to Islam. Although appearing to comply with Ahmed’s orders, the Ethiopian Christians, including Emperor Lebna Dengel, continued to adhere to the Christian faith. When Ahmed ordered the emperor to command his daughter to marry him, Lebna Dengel defied him and refused to have his daughter marry a nonbeliever.

On September 2, 1540, Ahmed succeeded in tracking Lebna Dengel to the monastery of Dabra Dam in Tigre, where the emperor was killed in battle. However, the emperor’s earlier request for military assistance from Portugal had finally resulted in the arrival of 400 Portuguese musketeers in Ethiopia under the leadership of Christovao da Gama, the son of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

In addition to the Portuguese, the Ethiopians had been reinforced by large numbers of Oromo (Galla) people, who threw considerable force into destroying Islamic communities and attacking the invaders.

While generally successful in their attacks on Ahmed’s troops, da Gama and 140 of his troops were killed in a battle north of the Tekez River. After Lebna Dengel’s death, his son Galawdewos, who had succeeded to the Ethiopian throne, led an attack on Ahmed’s forces on February 21, 1543.

Ahmed ibn Ghazi statue

In what became known as the Battle of Wayna Daga, a Portuguese musketeer who was determined to avenge the death of da Gama and his comrades killed Ahmed, even though it cost him his own life. Once Ahmed was dead, his troops lost the will to continue the jihad. As a result of the Battle of Wayna Daga and Ahmed’s death, Galawdewos was able to restore the Ethiopian Empire.

The Ethiopian Christians celebrated their restoration to power by holding ceremonies in which they publicy renounced the Muslim faith and reembraced Christianity. Despite this success, Galawdewos’s reign was cut short when he was killed in one of the frequent raids conducted by Bati Del Wambara, Ahmed’s widow, who was determined to avenge her husband’s death.

During the years of Muslim occupation, much of Ethiopia had been destroyed. Ethiopia has survived as an African nation with a considerable Christian presence. Currently, between 35 and 40 percent of the Ethiopian population belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and between 45 and 50 percent embrace the Muslim faith.