Dawit III of Ethiopia
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Dawit III (Ge'ez ዳዊት, throne name Adbar Sagad Ge'ez አድባር ሰገድ, "to whom the mountains bow") was {{IPA (8 February 1716 - 18 May 1721) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I and his concubine Kedeste Krestos.
Two important religious events happened during his reign. The first was when three Capuchin missionaries entered Ethiopia without Imperial permission, were tried by an ecclesiastical council, found to be heretics, and together with a child who accompanied them were stoned to death at Mount Abbo.
The second was a synod of the Ethiopian Church, presided over by Emperor Dawit, concerning a point of Christology which was disputed between the monks of the House of Ewostatewos and the monks of Debre Libanos. The monks of Debre Libanos, who were the losing party, demonstrated against the results of the council and irritated the Emperor to the point he sent a party of pagan Oromo from his Guard to slaughter them.1
However, Henze states that he is best remembered for his patronage of Amharic minstrels.2
Dawit fell ill shortly after this synod, and died under mysterious circumstances. His courtiers and a Muslim apothecary were accused of poisoning him and executed.3
Notes
- Richard P.K. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), pp. 146f.
- Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 104.
- Pankhurst, Ethiopian towns, p. 147.
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