Yohannes II

Who was Yohannes II?

Yohannes II or John II was nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I, and brother of Emperors Tekle Haymanot I, Dawit III and Bakaffa.

According to James Bruce, during the reign of his brother Bakaffa, the Emperor had vanished from view and a rumor circulated that Bakaffa had died. Qegnazmach Giyorgis acted on this by bringing Yohannes down from the royal prison on Wehni to rule, but before Yohannes could be proclaimed emperor, Bakaffa revealed himself and ordered the two men punished for their presumption, Giyorgis with death and Yohannes by having his hand cut off. However, in his edition of Bruce's work Alexander Murray replaced Bruce's words with a summary of the Royal Chronicle, which records Yohannes had lost his hand for escaping from Wehni prior to this event, and instead, along with the other royal prisoners of Wehni, had refused to descend and be made Emperor.

Following the murder of Iyoas I, Ras Mikael Sehul summoned from Wehni the late Emperor's elderly great-uncle, Yohannes, and presented him to the royal council as his choice for Emperor. When one of the council pointed out that Yohannes lacked one of his hands, Mikael replied that if Yohannes needed help mounting his horse, he himself would help Yohannes.