Editing Lij Iyasu (section)

==Later years==
Empress Zewditu died in 1930, and was succeeded by Emperor [[Haile Selassie]], who was considerably less sympathetic to Iyasu. In 1931, Iyasu escaped from imprisonment at Fiche. He apparently achieved his freedom with the aid of his former father-in-law, ''Ras'' [[Hailu Tekle Haymanot]] of [[Gojjam]], although Haile Selassie claimed that the Italians had a hand in his escape – or at least planned to assist in Iyasu's attempt to regain the throne. In his autobiography, Haile Selassie reports that when Italian Baron [[Raimondo Franchetti]] landed his plane in a field outside of [[Addis Alem, Shewa|Addis Alem]], onlookers "noticed that inside it were a machine-gun as well as rifles and many cartridges" – implying these were to arm Iyasu's followers.<ref>Haile Selassie I, ''My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I'', translated from Amharic by Edward Ullendorff (Chicago: Frontline Books, 1999), vol. 1 p. 204.</ref>

Iyasu was recaptured shortly after his escape.{{efn|These four days of Iyasu's escape, a man "out of sight, but never forgotten", are recounted by Anthony Mockler.<ref>Mockler, ''Haile Selassie's War'', pp. 18–20.</ref>}}  Having deeply alienated ''Ras'' Kassa with his escape, and having angered the Emperor, Iyasu was taken to a fortress on the slopes of [[Mount Gara Muleta]] in [[Girawa (woreda)|Girawa]],{{efn|David Buxton describes his visit to this prison in the mid-1940s. ''Travels in Ethiopia'', 2nd ed. (London: Benn, 1957), pp. 133f}} where he was guarded closely by locals loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie. When [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|the forces of Italy invaded Ethiopia]] in 1935, aircraft of the [[Regia Aeronautica|Royal Italian Air Force]] scattered fliers asking the population to rebel against Haile Selassie and support the "true Emperor Iyasu V."  It was feared that the Italians would make use of Iyasu to fragment Ethiopian resistance to their conquest.

In November 1935, Iyasu's death was announced. The circumstances surrounding his death and his burial place remain shrouded in mystery. One rumour that persists to this day is that Emperor Haile Selassie ordered his guards to kill him. Others dispute this and allege that Iyasu died of natural causes. His grandson and current Iyasuist claimant to the Ethiopian throne, [[Girma Yohannis Iyasu|''Lij'' Girma Yohannes]], claims that Iyasu's body was brought to the Church of St. Mark at Addis Ababa's Guenete Leul Palace (since 1961 the main campus of [[Addis Ababa University]]) and buried there in secret. Because he had been excommunicated, these claims are extremely unlikely. Another recently published account states that Iyasu was interred in the grave prepared for Emperor Haile Selassie's confessor and almoner, Abba Hanna Jimma, at [[Debre Libanos]]. This account contends that, upon the priest's death, ''Lij'' Iyasu's remains were moved to the crypt of [[Tekle Haymanot|St. Tekle Haimanot's Church]] at the monastery, and placed below the tomb prepared for Ethiopia's first Patriarch, [[Abuna Basilios]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}