Ali I of Yejju

Ali I of Yejju (died 18 June 1788) was a "Ras" of Begemder, and following the death of "Ras" Mikael Sehul, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul, chieftain of the Yejju, and Woizero Gelebu Faris, daughter of Ras Faris of Lasta.
According to Abir, he founded the town of Debre Tabor, which became the capital of his dynasty. However, from the accounts in the "Royal chronicle" Ali is never mentioned as dwelling at Debre Tabor, instead he is more closely tied to Filakit Gereger (called Garagara in the "Royal chronicle").
Life.
One of the first steps in the advancement of Ali's career came in August 1781 when the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I summoned him to his court and made him "Balambaras". Two years later, while still a "Balambaras" he took part in the Emperor's abortive march on Shewa, which failed to cross the Checheho River. Ten months later, Ali joined "Ras" Haile Yosadiq and together conspired to depose the emperor, defeating him at Afarwanat, after which Tekle Giyorgis fled into exile at Amba Sel. Subsequently, the two nobles brought Iyasu Atsequ down from Wehni and made him Emperor 18 February 1784; in return, Ali was promoted to "Dejazmach".
Ali took several steps to consolidate his position and prepare his way to the next rank of power, "Ras Betowedded". One was to offer his niece Anqualit to the influential "Dejazmach" Hailu Eshte of Begemder. This alliance led to conflict between Ali and his former ally "Ras" Haile Yosadiq, and to Ali's decision to recall the Emperor Tekle Haymanot from exile in 1786 and restored him to power; in response, "Ras" Haile Yosadiq prudently provided a refuge to the deposed Emperor Iyasu in Gojjam. Another one was the systematic capture of the ambas of "Balambaras" Ramkha, which ended with the "Balambaras"' death in the sack of his base at Limon. Shortly after this, Ali was released from the excommunication that had been placed on him, and kept the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. A third step, which was not unique to Ali but taken by many of the warlords of the time, was to dissolve or reorganize the existing military units and create new ones, and granting them lands to support the soldiers. This would make the soldiers dependent on the warlord for their livings, not the Emperor.
Eventually "Ras" Haile was able to recruit "Dejazmach" Wolde Gabriel, the son of "Ras" Mikael Sehul to join him, and when it appeared Ali (who had managed by that time to obtain a promotion to "Ras") was preoccupied with the rebellion of his relative Yasufe in Lasta, proclaimed Baeda Maryam emperor. A peace was quickly patched up with Yasufe, and "Ras" Ali then turned his attention to this new threat. On the Thursday before Easter 1788, "Ras" Ali, "Dejazmach" Hailu Eshte, and the Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I met the allied forces of "Ras" Haile Yosadiq, "Dejazmach" Gebre, and Wolde Gabriel in the Battle of Madab. "Ras" Ali defeated this opponents; "Dejazmach" Wolde Gabriel was killed in battle and the pretender Baeda Maryam was captured. Only "Ras" Haile Yosadiq managed to escape the battle back to his territories in Gojjam.
"Ras" Ali died from an illness at Filakit Gereger, which the writer of the "Royal chronicle" claims was caused by his heavy drinking, and was buried at Lalibela.