{[f. 365v]} Chapter XIII Which reports the history of Emperor Malâc Çaguêd as told by the books of Ethiopia

On the death of Adamâs Çaguêd, the father of Zer Ça Denguîl, the great men of the empire gathered and took counsel on whom they would make emperor. Some said that it should be the eldest son of the deceased, so that the people would not be troubled and there would not be any revolt. Others thought that they should not raise the emperor without all the great men of the empire being present, including Hamelmâl, Zara Ioânnes, Taquelâ Haimanôt and Manadeleôs. However, those who said that they should appoint an emperor at once prevailed, God having raised their spirit, so that he could sustain the empire with the help <[f. 316/305]> of strong men. And they concealed the emperor’s body and his death so that there might be no opposition to what they wanted to do. The following day, 12th February 1563, Azax Cumô, Cafelâ Mariâm chief of chiefs, Abba Azca Denguîl, {Cebehâd La Ab and Ananîa met and called Çarça Denguîl,} who, while young in age and small in body, was wise in his counsel and great in his works, and they put him on his father’s chair and asked Azâx Cumô what he wanted him to be called, and he said Malâc Çaguêd. He did not say this on his own account but, because he was the chief of the elders that year, he prophesied that this emperor would subjugate and trample on the false kings and the Turks, who later rose up. After this, they announced the death of the emperor his father and there was great sorrow and weeping in the camp. And then they went to the church where they had already buried the emperor father and stayed there for forty days, making remembrance (which means reading the Psalms and other books and saying prayers) and they gave many alms, as the elders ordered. Afterwards the emperor went with his mother, Çelûz Hailâ, and brothers and all his army to the land of Zamâ, where they spent Easter. And then they left for Gojâm and encamped his army at the foot of the mountain of Mangêsta Çamayât church, where Empress Çebelâ Oanguêl, his grandmother, was. She made the emperor, his brothers and his mother stay up there with her, because she had great love for them, leaving the camp below. The great men who were there took this opportunity to start complaining because of the malice that they already had in their hearts, for he who wants to separate from a friend always seeks an opportunity to do so. Gathering together, they swore secret oaths with each other and conspired to rise up against the emperor, and so they took down the debanâ (scilicet, the imperial tent)¹ and folded it up and went to Ezlamô, the chief of the conspirators who was in Gojâm, so that the emperor was left with just eight horsemen who had offered to stay with him until death.