Person

Eleni of Ethiopia

d. 1522 · 16th century · Also known as Empress Eleni

Eleni was an Ethiopian empress, born a princess of the Muslim Hadiya Sultanate, who married Emperor Zara Yaqob and converted to Christianity. She remained a powerful figure at court under several later emperors and acted as regent for the young Lebna Dengel. Fearing the Adal Sultanate and the Ottomans, she sent the envoy Mateus to Portugal around 1509 to seek an alliance.

Eleni of Ethiopia
Image: Unknown, but died over 70 years ago · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Hadiya Sultanate

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Eleni of Ethiopia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/eleni-of-ethiopia
MLA
“Eleni of Ethiopia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/eleni-of-ethiopia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Eleni of Ethiopia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/eleni-of-ethiopia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Eleni of Ethiopia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/eleni-of-ethiopia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻