Father Afonso Mendes (18 June 1579 21 June 1659), was a Portuguese Jesuit theologian, and Patriarch of Ethiopia from 1622 to 1634. While E.A. Wallis Budge has expressed the commonly accepted opinion of this man, as being "rigid, uncompromising, narrow-minded, and intolerant", there are some who disagree with it. The writings of Mendes include Expeditionis Aethiopicae, which describes the customs and conditions of Ethiopia.

Susenyos I (Ge'ez: ሱስንዮስ Sūsinyōs; 1572 – 17 September 1632), also known by throne name Malak Sagad III, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1606 to 1632, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

He was the son of Abeto Fasil, as well as the grandson of Abeto Yakob and the great-grandson of Dawit II. As a result, while some authorities list Susenyos as a member of the Solomonic dynasty, others consider him—rather than his son, Fasilides—as the founder of the Gondar line of the dynasty (which is, however, ultimately a subset of the Solomonic dynasty).

Susenyos I was raised by a Borana clan through gudifacha (or adoption). His fellow Oromo Luba age-group generals were instrumental in his coming to power.Manuel de Almeida, a Portuguese Jesuit who lived in Ethiopia during Susenyos' reign, described the emperor as tall with the features of a man of quality, large handsome eyes, "and an ample and well groomed beard." He wore "a tunic of crimson velvet down to the knee, breeches of the Moorish style, a sash or girdle of many large pieces of fine gold, and an outer coat of damask of the same colour, like a capelhar."