Fasilides: The Emperor Who Rebuilt Ethiopia After Jesuits

In 1632, Emperor Fasilides took the throne of a fractured Ethiopia. His father, Susenyos, had converted to Catholicism, sparking a bloody civil war. Fasilides immediately expelled the Jesuits, restored the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and launched a building boom that created the fortress-city of Gondar — Ethiopia's first permanent capital in centuries. This episode explores how Fasilides navigated the aftermath of religious conflict, forged alliances with the Ottoman vassals of Massawa, and built a new royal compound whose crumbling ruins still stand. We also look at the intellectual life of his court: the Ge'ez literary revival, the role of the tabot, and the mysterious figure of the monk Walda Heywat. And we touch on the legend of the so-called 'House of Solomon' and how Fasilides cemented the Solomonic myth as a unifying national story. #Fasilides #Gondar #EthiopianOrthodox #Jesuits #Susenyos #Ge'ez #FasilGhebbi #WaldaHeywat #Massawa #SolomonicDynasty #Tabot #17thCentury #EastAfrica #EthiopianHistory #ReligiousConflict #ArkOfTheCovenant #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo