Johannes had been unable to attend to…

Johannes had been unable to attend to the Italian threat because of difficulties to the west in Gonder and Gojam.

In 1887 Sudanese Muslims, known as Mahdists, had made incursions into Gojam and Begemdir and laid waste parts of those provinces.

In 1889 the emperor meets these forces in the Battle of Metema on the Sudanese border.

Although the invaders are defeated, Johannes himself is fatally wounded, and the Ethiopian forces disintegrate.

Just before his death, Johannes designated one of his sons, Ras Mengesha Johannes of Tigray, as his successor, but this gesture proves futile, as Menelik successfully claims the throne in 1889.