their complaints and resolve their grievances. His hatred for the ruling class and provincial leaders was evident. His policy was not merely born of hatred, but he proved that despite his young age and short reign, he possessed a political program for economic and social reform based on two pillars: eliminating class disparities by siding with the oppressed lower classes whose lands were confiscated and who became like slaves on the estates and properties of the ruling class; and the second is the elimination of religious and ethnic injustices and the attraction of Muslims, minorities, and nationalities to the state.

Iyasu and the aborted rule: His policy aimed to support rural society, affirm individual ownership, and launch an agricultural renaissance. He reduced waste and destruction that were institutionalized in the imperial system. He stopped the confiscation of property as a punishment and prohibited the practice of "esrat" (a form of forced labor or tribute) from peasants before collecting taxes. He also distributed lands and other resources to peasants. He promoted a number of young men and reduced the status of senior leaders and military commanders who had built the empire under his grandfather, Menelik, exempting the governors of Sidamo and Harar, among others.

Iyasu showed great interest in minorities who suffered from forced annexation, dispossession, and oppression. He was sympathetic to the Oromo, Somali, Afar, Tigray, and Harari peoples, appointing some of their leaders as governors. He had a special view towards the Ogaden people, appointing "Abdullah Sadiq" as governor of the region, which helped alleviate security tensions after the Somalis found a leader from among them to deal with. It seems the young emperor chose Harar and the Ogaden region to implement his ideas and programs to unite his people, remove oppression from Muslims, win over the inhabitants of newly annexed provinces, and achieve a degree of equality and justice for them. He also targeted the nobility who had seized their vast lands and controlled their resources. He began to reside more in Harar and Diredawa, visit its mosques, and appoint local Somalis, Oromos, and Yemenis to the city police instead of Amharas. While the imperial court included a number of European advisors, Iyasu appointed an Arab Muslim from the Levant as responsible for...