Menas was crowned emperor at
Mengista Samayat, now called Mengisto, southwest of
Debre Werq in
Gojjam, and shortly afterwards he campaigned against the
Beta Israel in
Semien province. According to
Jeronimo Lobo, Menas was known to have all the bad qualities of his
brother but not any of the good. Menas made no use of his ancestors capitals in
Shewa and
Fatagar or of his predecessor's (
Galawdewos) in Wej, and instead he established his residence in
Guba'e (now known as
Emfraz) a settlement located near
Lake Tana. He banished the
Jesuit bishop
Andrés de Oviedo and his companions to a village between
Axum and
Adwa called Maigwagwa (
Tigrinya may gwagwa, 'noisy water'), which the Jesuits had optimistically renamed
Fremona, after the missionary
Frumentius. About one year into his reign, Bahr Negus
Yeshaq rose in revolt in
Medri Bahri against Menas, proclaiming Tazkaro, the illegitimate son of Emperor Menas' brother, Yaqob, as
negus. Tazkaro was supported by the leader of the Portuguese who had followed
Cristóvão da Gama into Ethiopia, and allegedly by "the Prime Men of the Kingdom." This revolt occupied Menas' attention for the remainder of his short reign. He marched into
Lasta, at which point Yeshaq retreated into
Shire. The emperor found him there and defeated Yeshaq, then turned south to
Emfraz where he defeated the remaining supporters of Tazkaro on 2 July 1561. Tazkaro was captured, and Menas afterwards ordered him thrown from the rock of
Lamalmon to his death. Bahr Negash Yeshaq then obtained the support of
Özdemir, the
Ottoman Pasha of
Massawa, and proclaimed Tazkaro's infant brother, Marqos,
nəgusä nägäst. On 20 April 1562, Yeshaq and his ally
Osman, the son of Özdemir, defeated Menas in a battle at Enderta. Lobo states that the Turks and the Bahr Negash joined forces against Menas, defeated him, and ruined his army so thoroughly that he could no longer hold the campaign; he was forced to hide in the mountains, where he led a wandering and languishing life until his death. According to the
Royal Chronicle of his reign, which Bruce follows in his account, the Emperor fell back to
Atronsa Maryam to regroup for another assault on the Bahr Negash, but came down with a fever during the march, and died at Kolo on 1 February 1563. Budge, however, states Minas returned to
Shewa, and then to the lowlands of
Wag, where he was seized by the fever and died after a short illness. == Notes ==