Afäwarq Gäbrä Iyäsus (; spelled in or Āfeworq Gebre Īyesūs; spelled in English Afewark Gebre Iyasus; 10 July 1868 – 25 September 1947) was an Ethiopian writer, who wrote the first novel in Amharic, Ləbb Wälläd Tarik (A Heart [better “Intellect”]-born Story), (Italian: Libb Wolled Tarik). Bahru Zewde writes, "Few people before or after him have demonstrated such superb mastery of the Amharic language. Few have ventured with such ingenuity into the hidden recesses of that language to come out with a wealth of vocabulary and idiom one scarcely thought the language possessed. Afäwarq is nonetheless a controversial figure for having supported the Italians during both the First and Second Italo-Ethiopian Wars.
Biography
Of Amhara descent, Afäwarq was born in Zegé on the southern shore of Lake Tana. He received a traditional education from the church of Ura Kidana Mehrat under the direction of his grandfather Manher Denqe, whom Bahru Zewde describes as "a noted scholar." He also practiced painting in the traditional Ethiopian style.
Afäwarq was also related to the Empress Taytu Betul, and it apparently was through her that he was introduced to Emperor Menelik II's court sometime after 1880. It was there he came to the attention of the Italian diplomat Count Pietro Antonelli, who was impressed with his artistic abilities and enabled him to study in Italy. Afäwarq left for Italy in September 1887, and was admitted to the International Institute in Milan, where he attended classes in painting at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts. During his studies in Milan, he was called to be the official interpreter for the Ethiopian delegation headed by then Dejazmach Makonnen Wolde Mikael. Afäwarq later claimed that it was he who pointed out the infamous discrepancy between the Amharic and Italian versions of article XVII of the Treaty of Wuchale.
He returned to Ethiopia, arriving in Addis Ababa on 11 July 1890, at a time when his Italian connections only made the Empress disfavor him. Afäwarq's relationship with Taytu only worsened, so he was relieved when he was asked in September 1894 to escort two men to Neuchatel in Switzerland where they had been enrolled at the International School. By this time Afäwarq had also married the daughter of Alfred Ilg. It was while in Switzerland that Afäwarq first sided with Italy over his homeland, crossing over to Italy with his two charges and putting all three at the service of the Italian authorities. The Italians quickly sent them to the war front; they arrived at Massawa 6 January 1896, but despite Italian plans and intentions nothing of consequence came of this misadventure, and the three men were at Asmara when the Italians were defeated at Adwa.
Afäwarq returned to Italy, and the next 16 years, as Bahru Zewde states, witnessed "some of the most important literary and intellectual accomplishments of his career. These included work on Amharic grammar, an Italian-Amharic conversation manual, the satirical Guide du voyageur, and the novel Ləbb Wälläd Tarik. Ləbb Wälläd Tarik, about twin siblings Tobbya and Waḥəd and also simply known as Tobbya, was published in Rome in 1908 under the name Afevork Ghevre Jesus and is widely considered the first novel in Amharic. Afäwarq also worked with the Italian Ethiopicist Francesco Gallina at this time.