Eskender (, "Alexander"; 15 July 1471 – 7 May 1494) was Emperor of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Kwestantinos II (Ge’ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He was the son of Emperor Baeda Maryam I by his wife Queen Romna. His early years would see the jostling for power between the nobility and the ecclesiastical elite. During his reign, he was involved with several battles with the Adal Sultanate. At the age of 22, his death led to civil war between the supporters of his son, Amda Seyon II and his half-brother Na'od. It was during Eskender's reign that the famed Portuguese envoy Pedro de Covilham visited his court and was later forced to stay as an advisor. Background Due to his young age, his authority required a regent. Therefore, a council was formed of his mother Queen Romna, Tasfa Giyorgis (the abbot of the monastery of Lake Hayq), and the Bitwoded Amda Mikael. However, Queen Romna withdrew from this arrangement early on, entering a convent near Debre Libanos where she lived until her death. Abbot Tasfa Giyorgis proved no match for the experienced Bitwoded, and according to Taddesse Tamrat Amda Mikael "ruled the kingdom almost single handed." The Bitwoded's rule came to an end around 1486 when a palace coup led by the Emperor's step-grandmother Queen Mother Eleni resulted in his deposition and execution. Queen Eleni thereafter played a leading role in the Emperor's government. Reign Eskender's most significant military accomplishment was sacking Dakkar, the capital of the Adal Sultanate, when he destroyed houses and places of worship in 1478. As he led his army back home, the larger Adal army under amir Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din overtook them, killing many of his men and taking many prisoners. Eskender was said to have escaped capture only through the assistance of angels, and afterwards he built a church named Debere Meshwa'e (Place of Sacrifice). There is some disagreement over the context of this campaign, one view is presented by James Bruce, who adds that Zasillus, governor of Amhara, had been commanded to mobilize the forces in the south while Eskender himself raised levies from Angot and Tigray. According to Bruce, Eskender was responding to the predations of Mahfuz of Zeila. More recent scholars, such as Richard Pankhurst, hold that Eskender's sack of Dakkar led to Muhammad seeking peace with the Ethiopians, but he was outmaneuvered by