Gelawdewos Gelawdewos ( Ge ' ez ገላውዴዎስ " galāwdēwōs " , modern " gelāwdēwōs " , " Claudius " ; 1521 / 1522 - March 23 , 1559 ) was Emperor ( throne name Asnaf Sagad I ( Ge ' ez አጽናፍ ሰገድ " aṣnāf sagad " , modern " āṣnāf seged " , " to whom the horizon bows " or " the remotest regions submit [ to him ] " ; September 3 , 1540 - March 23 , 1559 ) of Ethiopia , and a member of the Solomonic dynasty . He was a younger son of Dawit II by Sabla Wengel . Life . His reign was dominated by the struggle with Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al - Ghazi during the Abyssinian - Adal War , until Ahmad ' s defeat and death in the Battle of Wayna Daga on February 21 , 1543 . Gelawdewos devoted time and energy to rallying his people against Ahmad , a determination his chronicler credits prevented Ahmad ' s forcible conversions from being permanent . With Ahmad ' s death , Gelawdewos was not only able to eject the leaderless Muslim forces from the Ethiopian highlands , but also from the lowlands to the east which included Dawaro and Bale . He also turned his attention to the numerous Ethiopians who had crossed over to the Imam ' s side , either to further themselves or out of self - preservation . While some presented themselves to Gelawdewos expecting to be pardoned only to be executed , to many others he granted his safe - conduct , according to Miguel de Castanhoso , " for there were so many [ who had joined Imam Ahmad ] that had he ordered all to be killed , he would have remained alone . " However , while campaigning against the Agaw in Gojjam ( 1548 ) , Nur ibn Mujahid once again invaded Ethiopia . Gelawedewos ' s vassal Fanu ' el succeeded in repulsing them , but the Emperor followed up with a further attack into Muslim territory , plundering the countryside for six months . At one point he captured Harar , where Sultan Barakat ibn Umar Din of Adal was killed , the last member of the Walasma dynasty . According to a Harari chronicle , Gelawdewos was killed in battle . " Early in the engagement Galawdéwos was hit by a bullet , but continued to fight until surrounded by a score of Harari cavalry , who struck him fatally to the ground with their spears , " according to Pankhurst . Emir Nur had the Emperor ' s head sent to the country of Sa ' ad ad - Din , then rode off to plunder Ethiopian territory before returning home . The explorer Richard F . Burton tells a slightly different account , adding that Gelawedewos had been supervising the restoration of Debre Werq when he received a message from Emir Nur challenging him to combat . When the Emperor met the Emir , a priest warned that the angel Gabriel had told him Gelawdewos would needlessly risk his life — which caused most of the Ethiopian army to flee . According to G . W . B . Huntingford , Gelawdewos ' body was buried at Tadbaba Maryam and his head , which was brought back to Ethiopia by some traders , was buried in Ensaqya ( modern Antsokiya ) , in the tomb of St . Gelawdewos . Foreign relations . The first problem of foreign relations Gelawdewos had to deal with following his victory at Wayna Daga was João Bermudes , a Portuguese priest whom his father had sent abroad as his ambassador to secure help from Portugal . Bermudes had represented himself in Europe as the properly appointed Patriarch of Ethiopia ( or " Abuna " ) , and once he returned to Ethiopia , he claimed he had been appointed by Pope Paul III as Patriarch of Alexandria . A surviving letter dated 13 March 1546 from King John III to Emperor Gelawdewos , translated by Whiteway , is a response to a lost letter wherein the Ethiopian ruler asked , in essence , " Who is this João Bermudes fellow ? And why does he behave so irresponsibly ? " King John ' s answer was frank : According to Bermudes own account of his time in Ethiopia , early in the reign of Gelawdewos he was banished to Gafat , south of the Abay River , the first of several exiles that ended when Bermudes left Ethiopia . This banishment probably followed Gelawdewos ' receipt of King John ' s letter . In the same letter , King John promised to send priests more worthy than Bermudes , and during his reign two different groups of Jesuit missionaries arrived in Ethiopia . The first arrived 7 February 1555 to determine the state of the country and whether the Ethiopians would properly receive a Patriarch anointed by the Catholic church . Gelawdewos received them , but gave them no overt encouragement . The second landed in March 1557 , and was headed by André de Oviedo who had been made titular Bishop of Nice , who received them just before leaving to campaign against Nur ibn Mujahid but did not make any promises . In response to their arguments , Gelawdewos wrote his " Confession " , which defended the Miaphysite doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . According to Richard Pankhurst , Gelawdewos ' " Confession " helped his fellow Ethiopian Christians to remain " steadfast in their adherence to Sabbath observance , circumcision , and the prohibition against pork and other ' unclean ' foods . " Ethiopia ' s access to the outside world was severely crippled during his reign in 1557 , when the Ottoman Empire conquered Massawa . From that point forward , dignitaries and missionaries to Ethiopia had to travel in disguise to avoid Muslim authorities . This also allowed the Ottomans to block the Ethiopians from importing firearms .