Relieved from all fear of external enemies, the atten tion of Claudius was now occupied by affairs of religion. Bermudes, a turbulent bigot, insisted that the king should embrace the doctrines of the Roman church, and establish that religion throughout his dominions. Clau dius rejected with indignation such an insolent request, and a i iolent altercation ensued between the Abuna and the sovereign. Matters would have proceeded to the worst extremities, had not Claudius been prevented from revenging the insults of the patriarch, by a wish to conciliate the Portuguese, from whose continuance in the country he expected the greatest advantages. Arius Dias, their commander, had been persuaded, by the king's influence, to renounce the Roman catholic reli gion, and be baptized into that of Abyssinia by the name of Marcus, or I%,larco ; in consequence of which, he was regarded as a naturalized subject, and honoured with the most distinguished marks of royal favour. The quarrel with Bermudes bccomi g every day more vio lent, the king deprived hint of all authority over the Portuguese ; to whom lie intimated, that, as he had ap pointed Marco his captain-general, lie expected they would obey him alone during their residence in Abyssi nia. Indignant at this declaration, which, in fact, sub jected them to the power which they had come to pro tect, the Portuguese resolved to (lie sword in hand, rather than submit to such degrading terms. Claudius, having in vain attempted to force them to compliance, had next recourse to artifice ; declared his regret for the violent measures he had used, and his readiness to make any compensation for the wrongs which they might have suffered. In the mean time, by ordering his sub jects to supply them with no provisions, and bribing them with great sums of gold, he found means to weaken them effectually, by dispersing their leaders into different parts of the kingdom. The result of this quarrel was, that, w idiom any absolute enmity between the king atid the Poi tuguese, Bermudes was perswided to with draw to India ; to which place lie at length effected his escape, after skulking for two years, forlorn and despis ed, in a kingdom where he had aspired to equal power ith the sovereign.
Claudius had scarcely got rid of this turbulent ec clet:iastie, when a new deputation of priests arrived in his dominions. The Pope, anxious to establish his power in Abyssinia, had invested Nugncz Baretto, of the new order of Jesuits, with the dignity of patriarch of that country, and sent hint to attempt the of Claudius and his subjects.
Baretto, on arriving at Goa, was informed, that the Abyssinian monarch was so hostile to the church of Rome, that there was no probability of his being fa vourably received. The patriarch, therefore, rather than expose his own sacred dignity to the danger of in sult, thought proper to commission some inferior cler gymen as ambassadors to the king. Accordingly, Oviedo, bishop of I lierapolis, Carneyro, bishop of Nice, with several other dignitaries, arrived on this errand at Masuah, in the year 1538, and met with a more la\ ours ble reception than they had reason to expect. But the
thoughts of Claudius were then occupied about the more important concern of appointing a successor to his throne. He had no son, and his younger brother had been taken by the Moors, during his father's reign, and imprisoned on a high mountain in Adel. llis ransom appeared difficult, and would perhaps have been found impossible, had not a son of the famous Gragnit been at the same time a prisoner in Abyssinia ; by releasing whom, and paying besides four thousand ounces of gold, Claudius at length procured the restoration of his brother.
Nur, the son of Mugdid, had become passionately enamoured of the widow of Gragne ; but she refused to give him her hand, till he should present her with the Lead of Claudius, the murderer of her former husband. The lover willingly undertook the task, and challenged the Abyssinian monarch while marching towards Adel. Claudius was not of a disposition to decline the combat, though it had been prophesied that lie should die in this campaign. His soldiers, more alarmed by the predic t ion, abandoned their monarch in the commencement of the battle ; while attended by only 18 Portuguese and '30 horsemen or Abyssinia, he fought with the most heroic bravery, till at last lie fell, completely covered with wounds. II is head was cut off, and brought by Nur to his mistress, who hung it up on a tree before her door, where it remained for three years.
After this fatal engagement, which took place on the .2d of March 1559, Menas ascended the throne without opposition. During the greater part of his reign he was engaged in war with his own subjects, who were in to rebellion by the popish missionaries. The insolence of these ecclesiastics at last provoked the king to banish them to a barren and solitary mountain, inclu ding in their sentence all the rest of the Europeans ; in insult which they resented so highly, that they im Tr.ediately went over to the rebels. Their united forces were defeated by Menas, 'mt the victory was by no gleans so decisive as to put an end to the rebellion.
Afte. a turbulent reign of four years, Menas was suc ceeded by his son, Sertza Denghel, a boy of 12 years of age. This prince was engaged in almost perpetual conflicts w ith the Galla, the Palasha, and the Moors, in which lie was generally victorious. During his reign the Roman Catholics were unmolested, though such a strong prejudice had been excited against them in the minds both of the king and his subjects, that they never ventured to appear at court, nor were permitted to serve in the army. His last expedition was against some rebels who had begun to excite commotions in the province of Dz,ntot. A priest, revered for his sanc tity and skill in divination, bad warned him, in vain, not to proceed in this enterprise ; and, when he found the warlike monarch obstinate in his purpose, he only requested him not to cat of the fish or a certain river : this athice also was despised; and Sertza Denghel died in consequence of eating these fish, which were of a poisonous quality.