Sahle Yohannes

Sahle Yohannes (1946-Present) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1974 until is deposition in 1976. Son of Emperor Yohannes Iyasu, Sahle was coronated as Emperor shortly after his fathers 1974 assassination during the pro-democracy riots that had been taking place since 1972. Sahle fled to Austria shortly after his coronation, where he fostered contacts with Europeans nations and began to undo his father's work of breaking tied in Europe. This move made him unpopular, especially after he made a deal handing the Congo to the Germans and returning under the protection of British Petroleum in exchange for mineral rights. The Ethiopian military rebelled under the leadership of Ras Hassan, and popular support in the country fell towards Sahle's younger brother Yaqob, who was seen as a potential rival of Sahle for the crown. After riots caused the loss of Somalia and Swahililand to Hassans rebellion, European support was withdrawn and Sahle was ousted from power and replaced with the younger Yaqob. Sahle currently lives in exile as the drummer in a blues-jazz band known as the Abyssinian Blues Band. He currently goes by the name of Samel.

As a character, Sahle is known for his immaturity and promiscuity, which saddled with his incompetence made him a controversial character in Ethiopian politics even before he became Emperor.

Description
Similar in appearance to his father, he has mostly stuck to western style in both grooming and clothing.

Early Life
Sahle was born in Dessie, Wollo Province. His father, Yohannes Iyasu, was Aboto-hoy (crown prince) of Ethiopia and Governor of Wollo. His mother, Elani Aman, was a local noble woman. Sahle was the eldest child, with a younger sister, Taytu, born in 1951 and a younger brother, Yaqob, born in 1953. As a child, Sahle was prone to orneriness. When he was 11, he stole the wife of the Captain of the Town Guard's bra and put it on their pet dog. As Sahle matured, immature tendencies like these stuck with him.

In 1958 at the age of 12, Sahle went to an German boys school, which he would attend until 1964, in which he entered the University of Leipzig at age 18 where he studied Political Science. He had a tendency to skip classes and took a very relaxed attitude to his schooling, causing him to not graduate until 1970. During his time in Europe, he often visited European nations for diplomatic purposes, though he usually found these visits to be boring. On one of these visits, he started a scandal after getting caught eating caviar out of the navel of a nude street hooker in Copenhagen in a limousine payed for by the Danish government.

Return to Ethiopia
After his return to Ethiopia in 1970 at the age of 24, the then Emperor Yohannes hired a political tutor for his son, an aging political adviser by the name of Baruti. Yohannes hoped that he ne'er do well son could be straightened up by Baruti, but Sahle continued to drink and whore in excess. In 1974, Yohannes was assassinated, causing Sahle to abruptly gain the throne.

Fleeing to Europe
Afraid of mounting anti-Imperial sentiment that was evolving into the Ethiopian Civil War, Sahle fled with his mother to Austria, leaving stewardship of Ethiopia to Ras Hassan. The European governments managed to turn Sahle against China, which had been a big ally of Yohannes; stating that the Chinese we beyond the revolts in Ethiopia. Sahle fell for the progaganda and cut all Ethiopian ties with China. While in Austria, Sahle petitioned European governments for aid, eventually gaining support of the Germans and the British Petroleum company, who offered to help Sahle restore order in exchange for returning the Congo to Belgium and giving BP mineral rights in Ethiopia. In response, Ras Hassan led the Ethiopian army into joining the rebellion against Sahle, seeing him as an incompotent leader.

Return to Ethiopia and Civil War
Sahle was able to return to Ethiopia after British Petroleum mercenaries and the German military drove the rebels and Hassan into the center of the country. Sahle set up a government with several European leaders, including his Prime Minister Vince Reynard. Interested in discrediting Ethiopia and Hassan, the German controlled Ethiopian intelligence was instructed to investigate the secret operations of the old Ethiopian regimes. This investigation was known as the "Wernicke report", named after it's primary investigator Kurt Wernicke. When Sahle found out, he was opposed to the report, seeing it as a threat to his legitimacy and an attack on his family. Despite his protestations, the European lead government continued the report in secret.

As the war continued, Sahles opposition began to look at his younger brother Yaqob as a potential replacement. Despite this, the war continued as usual and Sahle continued to act as he had since childhood. With the European government doing most of the work, Sahle spent much of his time drinking and whoring as he had before; inviting women to the Imperial Residence itself for sex, occasionally pleasuring them with gourds. As the war wore on, however, Yaqobs supporters began to win. After several riots broke out in Somalia and Swahililand, The Europeans pulled out of the war; the Germans due to trouble with Switzerland, and BP for financial reasons. The Yaqobists got the upper hand, and a Yaqobist revolt broke out in Addis Ababa

Deposition
Afraid of the Yaqobist uprising in Addis Ababa, Sahle and his handler Baruti attempted to flee the city dressed as arab women. Unable to continue their escape on the road, the began hopping across buildings, but near the end Sahle fell off a building and was captured by Yaqobists forces. Hassan took control of the city shortly after and Yaqob was made Emperor. Sahle was sentenced to house arrest, but promised a comfortable life.

Post-Deposition and Exile
Shortly after his deposition from office and house arrest Sahle escaped Ethiopia in an effort to flee capture by the Spanish Cazadores who had shortly before attempted to take his brother's life. Alluding Ethiopian security he managed to make his way into the Nubian desert. There he met Yared, and together they traveled north into Egypt where Sahle was able to find relative safety under the assumed identity of Samel.

Abyssinian Blues Band
After Yared, Sahle met Marc - a saxophonist and clarinetist with a odd ability to procure narcotics - and formed the Abyssinian Blues Band. They entered the Egyptian club scene in the later days of the Ottoman Empire. Particularly to British tycoon Stanley Barnham.

The band later fled Egypt after angering Barnham over the ex-Emperor's relationship with his whore Aaliyah, who had been saving money in the hopes of escaping her life of prostitution. The group managed to flee into Palestine, and from there moved to Sevan, Armenia where they presumed the same rule as they had in Cairo, but under the pretenses of serving the booming post-independence war entertainment capital and the various mob elements of a booming Sevan.

Legacy
Sahle's inept rule, combined with his immature and impulsive nature, is arguably the reason the Ethiopian Civil War escalated as it did. Considered a sell out who was willing to give his kingdom over to colonial forces in order to buy luxury, Sahle's legacy will continue to be negative. There is some concern that European forces might support a return of Sahle in order to oust the communist sympathizer Yaqob.