The years leading up to the
17th century were to see all manner of religious challenges from outside the country, notably from the Moslems under
Mohammed Gragn the Left-Handed in the 1530s and, more peaceably, from the Jesuits in the early 1600s. At the same time, the Oromos from Kenya and the south of the country were making strong incursions into the Ethiopian empire.
Ethiopia was in need of a strong emperor and found one in
Emperor Fasiledes who took over from his father Susenyos in 1632 and, in 1636, founded his new capital in
Gondar near Lake Tana. The city of Gondar was the first permanent capital and was to flourish until the early 19th century.
Emperor Fasiledes was to bring a period of stability to Ethiopia and Gondar was to become a sophisticated and artistic city with its central Royal Enclosure of magnificent castles started by Fasiledes and continued by ensuing monarchs.
