Hezqeyas was a member of the Solomonic dynasty who was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia from 1736 to 1737 by a group of notables opposed to Emperor Iyasu II. Hezqeyas had been confined to the royal prison on Mount Wehni until freed by his supporters, and had little influence over the early events. James Bruce mentions another usurper by the name of Hezqeyas, during the reign of Bakaffa. He was immediately arrested upon declaring his revolt, and a list of his supporters was found on him which led to more arrests. After a swift trial, the convicted were taken to Adababay in Gondar and slain with lances by the Emperor's bodyguard of Oromo. While Emperor Bakaffa commuted the execution of Hezqeyas to the rival having his hand cut off, nevertheless the rebel died from his punishment. The prime force behind the revolt, Ras Bitwoded Heraclius, avoided being connected with the revolt, but five days after Hezqeyas' death he was removed from his post and banished from Gondar. Hezqeyas' revolt A group of notables (which included Ras Elias, Tensa Mamo, Gebre Luel, Mattewos, and Agne) gathered an army and on 8 December 1734 marched from their rallying site on the Qaha River to the capital city of Gondar to further Hezqeyas' claims. Emperor Iyasus' bodyguard dispersed their attack on the Royal Enclosure, but the rebels regrouped outside Gondar. Two of their number, Azmach Qerellos and Azmach Newaya Selassie, went to Wehni where they brought Hezqeyas down to the camp on the Qaha and pronounced him Emperor; meanwhile, the loyalists sent a message to general Waragna, who was pacifying a revolt in Damot. However, it was not enough that Hezqeyas was now amongst them to carry the day, so his supporters told the people of Gondar that Iyasus had with him two Roman Catholic priests with him who had recently arrived in Ethiopia. When the Ichege and Abuna Krestodolos asked Hezqeyas how he happened to be proclaimed Emperor, he replied that it had happened because they had become careless about the true faith and allowed Catholic priests to come and live with the Emperor. This excited both the religious and the crowd to march on the Royal Enclosure and declare their intent to burn the palace down. For several days the mob attempted to carry out their threat, and despite the efforts of Billetana Gueta Wolde Leul they managed to set part of