Yaqob

Yaqob
ዓፄ ያዕቆብ
Emperor of Ethiopia
PredecessorSarsa Dengel
SuccessorSusenyos I
Reign1597–1603
Reign1604–1607
Bornc. 1590
Died10 March 1607(1607-03-10) (aged 16–17)
SpouseNazarena
IssueCosmas, Saga Krestos
Regnal name
Malak Sagad II
DynastyHouse of Solomon
FatherSarsa Dengel
MotherEmpress Maryam Sena
ReligionEthiopian Orthodox

Yaqob I (Ge'ez: ያዕቆብ; c. 1590 – 10 March 1607), throne name Malak Sagad II (Ge'ez: መለክ ሰገድ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1597 to 1607, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the eldest surviving son of Sarsa Dengel. According to E. A. Wallis Budge, Yaqob's mother was Empress Maryam Sena; others sources suggest she was Emebet Harego of the Beta Israel. Because Yaqob had at least three sons before his death, it is likely he was born no later than 1590. Most Ethiopian sources including Tekle Tsadik Mekuria however state that his mother was Harego, but that Empress Maryam Sena championed his right to the throne as she only bore Emperor Sarsa Dengel daughters, and hoped to dominate a long term regency for the boy monarch.