Amha Iyasus

Who is Amha Iyasus?

Amha Iyasus, better known as Ammehayes, was a Meridazmach of Shewa, an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. He was the son of Qedami Qal, and a sister of Goshu of Amhara.

The Meridazmach made a diplomatic visit to the Emperor's court at Gondar in 1771, during the first decades of the chaotic Zemene Mesafint, where the Scots explorer James Bruce met him. Calling him "Yasous", Bruce describes Amha Iyasus as "the son of the governor of Shoa", "a man from twenty-six to twenty-eight years of age, tall, and of a just degree of corpulence, with arms and legs finely made; he had a very beautiful face, small features, and the most affable manners."