Shortly after he was proclaimed Emperor, a rival claimant assaulted the Royal Enclosure for eight days, only leaving the capital Gondar when an army of 30,000 from Gojjam appeared.

Frequently, Iyasu engaged in hunting expeditions, near Sennar, bringing game such as wild buffaloes, rhinoceroses, and elephants.

[7] According to Paul Henze, Iyasu "came under criticism for devoting too much time to pleasure (he loved hunting) and for spending too many resources on embellishing the capital, paying foreign workmen, and importing luxury goods, ornaments and mirrors from Europe.

"[8] Prutky, on the other hand blamed Iyasu's constrained revenues to the actions of his mother Mentewab: "Since the youthful emperor Jasu had only reached the age of eight when he ascended the throne, his mother the Queen divided out the provinces among the chief ministers in such a way that, at the time of my sojourn there, the Emperor, now over thirty years of age, saw his treasury diminished and scarcely enough for his ordinary expenses."

According to Edward Ullendorff, Iyasu's authority "scarcely extended beyond Begemder and Gojjam; Shoa and Lasta acknowledged only a token allegiance, while in the Tigray the long rule of the powerful Ras Mika'el had begun.

"[12] Iyasu II also conferred the dignity of Kantiba of the Habab (Nakfa and Sahel areas of present-day Eritrea) to Habtes, of the Bet Asegede family, after the latter came to Gondar to pay homage.

[13][14] Emperor Iyasu also resented deeply the romantic liaison his mother entered into with a young member of the Imperial family.

Saddened by this situation, she threatened to retire to her palace convent at Qusquam, but a group of nobles persuaded her to instead become regent for her grandson Iyoas I.

This woman wished to take part in the government of Ethiopia and as a result she and her sons were sent to the fortress of Wanhi on the orders of Mentewab.