Na'od

Who was Na'od?

Na'od was nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the second son of Baeda Maryam I and his second wife Kalyupe, and was born at Gabarge.

Like Eskender before him, he relied on the counsel of the Queen Mother Eleni. Despite her help, his reign was marked by internal dissension.

Na'od began construction on a lavish church in Amhara, which was decorated with gold leaf and known as Mekane Selassie. However, he died before it was completed, and he was buried in a tomb inside the church; his son Emperor Lebna Dengel completed the construction in 1530. Francisco Álvares records seeing the church as it was being constructed, and mentions that he was kept from entering it by the local clergy. However, not long after its completion, Imam Ahmad Gragn managed to penetrate the province of Amhara, and on 3 November 1531, he personally pillaged the structure and set it afire.

Na'od was killed near Jejeno while campaigning against the Muslims.