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Emperor Fasilides broke with this tradition of progressing through the territories, and founded the city of Gondar as his capital; its relative permanence makes the city historically important. Within the capital, Fasilides ordered the construction of an imposing edifice, the Fasil Ghebbi or Fasilides castle.
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, Gonder [a] or Gondär; [b] formerly ጐንደር, Gʷandar or Gʷender), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains.
Gondar prospered until the reign of Tekle Giyorgis (r. 1779–1784), appropriately nicknamed Fäsame Mängest ("the End of Government"). This period was characterized by glorious personalities of Emperors such as Iyasu I, Bakaffa, Mentewab, and Dawit III. All castles and churches were highly centralized for royal nobilities.
The Guzara royal castle; built by Emperor Minas in 1560 in Enfraz, Begemder (60 km (37 mi) east of Gonder) as a site of royal residence and camp a century before Emperor Fasilides founded and built the castles of Gondar. During the later 18th century, its capital was at Filakit Gereger, where Ras Ali died in 1788. [citation needed]
The death of Iyasu I in 1706 began the slow decline in Gondar’s supremacy. Emperor Iyasu I's regent, Empress Mentewab, brought her brother Ras Wolde Leul to Gondar and made him Ras Bitwaded. After this and Iyasu II’s death in 1755, brief dynastic conflicts occurred between Mentewab's Quaregnoch and the Yejju groups led by Wubit.
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region Amhara: 1979 19; ii, iii (cultural) The Ethiopian Empire had no fixed capital until Emperor Fasilides settled in Gondar in 1636. The palace complex served as the residence of the monarchs until 1864. It comprises the royal castle (pictured), several palaces, churches, monasteries, and other buildings.
Castles were built especially beginning with the reign of Sarsa Dengel around the Lake Tana region, and subsequent Emperors maintained the tradition, eventually resulting in the creation of the Fasil Ghebbi (royal enclosure of castles) in the newly founded capital (1636), Gondar.
Stamp depicting Iyasu I and Gonder by modern artist Afewerk Tekle. His reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters (the first in 1684, in the public square of Gondar), matters of state, and to proclaim laws.