Emperor
Yohannes III (c. 1797 – c. 1873) was the last of the elder "Gondar" line of the
Solomonic dynasty to reign over
Ethiopia. He was the son of
Tekle Giyorgis. He was largely a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the
Enderase or Regent,
Ras Ali II a princeling of the Yejju Dynasty.
Ras Ali had compelled Emperor Yohannes to marry
Ras Ali's mother, the formidable Empress Menen Liben Amede, who dominated both her second husband and her son.