Newaya Krestos

Newaya Krestos (Ge'ez: ንዋየ ክርስቶስ; throne name: Sayf Ar'ed, lit. "sword of terror") was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1344 to 1372, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the eldest son of Amda Seyon I.

The principal antagonist of the Sirat Sayf ibn Dhi-Yazan, a 15th century Arabic epic set during the Axumite conquest of Yemen, is named Sayf Ar'ed. Likely inspired by the Negus due to his wars with neighboring Muslims, this reference to the emperor played a crucial role in dating the medieval work. The hero of the plot has the mission to redirect the waters of the Nile, held by the Ethiopians, back towards Egypt. This was doubtlessly inspired to the same threats made by contemporary emperors to the Mamluks, and that these conflicts were effectively an Egyptian proxy war.