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Germa Seyum

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Germa Seyum
King of Zagwe dynasty
Reign11th century
PredecessorJan Seyum
SuccessorYemrehana Krestos
DynastyZagwe dynasty
FatherMara Takla Haymanot
MotherMasoba Warq
ReligionEthiopian Orthodox Church

Germa Seyum (Ge'ez: ገርማ ስዩም) was King of Zagwe dynasty. He is known as Be'mnet on some regnal lists.[1]

Background

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Taddesse Tamrat states that he was a son of Mara Takla Haymanot, the younger brother of King Tatadim, and the father of Pentewudem, Kedus Harbe and Gebre Mesqel Lalibela.[2]

Germa Seyum is not named on shorter lists of Zagwe kings, but appears on longer lists, usually as the successor of Jan Seyum.[1] One version of the list contains 11 names and lists Germa Seyum as the fourth king, between Jan Seyum and Yemrehana Krestos, with 40 years of rule.[1][3] Another version of the list instead lists his successor as "Gempawedemo" (possibly Tatadim).[4]

The longest lists of Zagwe kings contain sixteen names and place Germa Seyum in eleventh place in the line of succession.[1] On this list he is stated to have reigned for 20 years.[1]

The exact dates of his reign are difficult to know because of the variation in reign lengths and order on different king lists. Working backwards from 1270, when the Zagwe dynasty was deposed, Germa Seyum would have reigned c. 981–1021,[5] c. 999–1039,[3] c. 1001–1041[4] or c. 1033–1053[1] depending on the regnal list.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Selassie 1972, pp. 240–241.
  2. ^ Tamrat 1972, p. 56n.
  3. ^ a b Basset 1882, p. 98.
  4. ^ a b Budge 1928, p. 217.
  5. ^ Rüppell 1840, p. 351.

Bibliography

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  • Basset, René (1882). Études sur l'histoire d'Éthiopie. Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Budge, E. A. (1928). A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume I). London: Methuen & Co.
  • Rüppell, Eduard (1840). Reise in Abyssinien: Zweiter Band. Frankfurt.
  • Selassie, Sergew Hable (1972). Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. Addis Ababa.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Tamrat, Taddesse (1972). Church and State in Ethiopia. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of Ethiopia Succeeded by