Iyasu IV

Who was Iyasu IV?

Iyasu IV or Joshua IV was nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Salomon III.

He was largely a figurehead, set on the throne by the Enderase or Regent, Ras Dori, who had deposed Gigar. However, Iyasu took to riding through the countryside and organizing raids; when Ras Ali II who had succeeded his uncle Ras Dori heard about this, he quickly deposed Iyasu. However, Samuel Gobat records in his journal that Iyasu's fall was due to efforts of the former Emperor Gigar, who "by false testimony" accused Iyasu of inviting Ras Ali's rival, Ali Faris, to depose the Enderase. "It is now said" Gobat wrote on 26 November 1832, "that the old king, Guigar, has procured his death by poison."