 This article contains Ethiopic text. Ge'ez (gez ግዕዝ) also called Ethiopic, is an Abugida script that was originally developed to write Ge'ez, a Semitic language Without rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters. Mojibake is the happenstance of incorrect unreadable characters (garbage characters shown when Computer software fails to render a text correctly according to its associated |
| Emperor of Ethopia | ||
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 The Imperial coat of arms of Ethiopia |
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| Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethopia | ||
| First emperor | Mara Takla Haymanot (disputed) |
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| Last emperor | Haile Selassie | |
| Emperorship started | unknown | |
| Emperorship ended | September 12, 1974 | |
The Emperor (Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings") of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Mara Takla Haymanot was Nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia, and the founder of the Zagwe dynasty. Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, ɡɨʕɨz also transliterated Gi'iz, and referred to as Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic Language NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation A National Geographic Magazine article called imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy; in fact [it was] a benevolent autocracy. The National Geographic Magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler "[1]
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Style
The title of "King of Kings", often rendered imprecisely in English as "Emperor", dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, but was used in Axum by king Sembrouthes (c. King of Kings is a lofty title that has been used by several monarchies (usually empires in the informal sense of great powers throughout history and in many cases the literal title Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Axum, or Aksum, is a City in northern Ethiopia named after the Kingdom of Aksum, a naval and trading power that ruled from the region ca Sembrouthes was a king of Axum. He is known only from a single inscription in Greek that was found at Deqemhare or Deqqi Mehari in modern Eritrea 250 AD). However, Yuri Kobishchanov dates this usage to the period following the Persian victory over the Romans in 296-297. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Events and Trends Significant people Diocletian, Roman Emperor Maximian, Roman Emperor [2] Its use, from at least the reign of Yekuno Amlak onward, meant that both subordinate officials and tributary rulers, notably the gubernatorial vassals of Gojjam (who ranked 12th in the states non-dynastic protocol as per 1690), Welega, the seaward provinces and later Shewa, received the honorific title of nəgus, a word for "king. Emperor Yekuno Amlak (throne name Tasfa Iyasus) was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} ( 10 August 1270 - 19 June 1285 Welega was a province in the western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. Shewa ( Ge'ez ሽዋ šawā, modern šewā also spelled Shoa) is a historical region of Ethiopia "
The consort of the Emperor was referred to as the ətege, and the ruling Empress Zauditu used that title in addition to the feminized form nəgəstä nägäst ('queen of kings'). Zewditu (also spelled Zawditu or Zauditu; Ge'ez ዘውዲቱ April 29, 1876 - April 2, 1930) was
Succession
Succession to the throne at the death of the Monarch could be claimed by any male blood relative of the Emperor: sons, brothers, uncles or cousins. Primogeniture was preferred but not always enforced. As a result, two steps were taken: the first, employed on occasion before the 20th century, was to intern all of the Emperor's possible rivals in a secure location, which drastically limited their ability to disrupt the Empire with revolts or dispute the succession of an heir apparent; the second was that, with increasing frequency, Emperors were selected by a council of the senior officials of the realm, both secular and religious. An heir apparent is an Heir who (short of a fundamental change in the situation cannot be displaced from inheriting the term is used in contrast to Heir presumptive
Ethiopian traditions do not all agree as to exactly when the custom started of imprisoning rivals to the throne on a Mountain of the Princes. One tradition credits this practice to the Zagwe king Yemrehana Krestos, who is said to have received the idea in a dream;[3] Taddesse Tamrat discredits this tradition, arguing that the records of the Zagwe dynasty betray too many disputed successions for this to have been the case. The Zagwe dynasty ruled Ethiopia from the end of the Kingdom of Axum at an uncertain date in the 9th or 10th century to 1270, when Yekuno Amlak Yemrehana Krestos (called "Abraham" by Francisco Álvares) was Negus of Ethiopia, and a member of the Zagwe dynasty. [4] Another tradition, recorded by Thomas Pakenham, states that this practice predates the Zagwe dynasty, and was first practiced on Debre Damo, which was captured by the 10th century queen Gudit, who then isolated 200 princes there to death; however, Pakenham also notes that when questioned, the abbot of the monastery on Debre Damo knew of no such tale. Debre Damo is the name of a flat-topped mountain or amba, and a 6th century Monastery in northern Ethiopia. Gudit (or Yodit, meaning Judith; also known as Esato) is a semi-legendary non- Christian queen (flourished c [5] Taddesse Tamrat argues that this practice began in the reign of Wedem Arad, following the struggle for succession that he believes lies behind the series of brief reigns of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon. Wedem Arad (died 1314 was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} (1299 – 1314 of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. Senfa Ared IV was {{IPA|nəgusä nägäst}} ( 1294 - 1295) of Ethiopia. A constructivist approach states that the tradition was used on occasion, weakened or lapsed sometimes, and was sometimes revived to full effect after some unfortunate disputes - and that the custom started in time immemorial as Ethiopian common inheritance pattern allowed all agnates to also succeed to the lands of the monarchy - which however is contrary to keeping the country undivided. Patrilineality (aka agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage it generally involves the Inheritance of property names or titles
These potential rivals were incarcerated at Amba Geshen until Ahmed Gragn captured and destroyed that site; then, from the reign of Fasilides until the mid-18th century, at Wehni. Amba Geshen is the name of a mountain in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, northwest of Dessie, in what was the Amba Sel district of Wollo Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (c 1506 - February 21, 1543) ("the Conqueror" was an Imam and General of Adal Wehni is the name of one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male Heirs to the Emperor of Ethiopia were interned usually for life Rumors of these royal mountain residences were part of the inspiration for Samuel Johnson's short story, Rasselas. Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such The History of Rasselas Prince of Abissinia, often
Although the Emperor of Ethiopia had theoretically unlimited power over his subjects, his councilors came to play an increasing role in governing Ethiopia, because many Emperors were succeeded either by a child, or one of the incarcerated princes, who could only successfully leave their prisons with help from the outside. As a result, by the mid-18th century the power of the Emperor had been largely transferred to his deputies, like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray, who held the actual power of the Empire and elevated or deposed Emperors at will in their struggle for control of the entire realm. Mikael Sehul ( Tigrinya "Mikael the Astute" – his name at birth was Blatta Mikael; c
Ideology
The Emperors of Ethiopia derived their right to rule based on two dynastic claims: their descent from the kings of Axum, and their descent from Menelik I, the son of Solomon and Makeda, Queen of Sheba. The Kebra Nagast (var Kebra Negast, Ge'ez,ክብረ ነገሥት kəbrä nägäst or the Book of the Axum, or Aksum, is a City in northern Ethiopia named after the Kingdom of Aksum, a naval and trading power that ruled from the region ca Menelik I (originally named Ebna la-Hakim, "Son of the Wise" first Jewish Emperor of Ethiopia, is traditionally believed to be the son of King Solomon King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" The Queen of Sheba (ንግሥተ ሳባ, 'מלכת שבא, ملكة سبأ) was the woman who ruled the ancient kingdom of Sheba and is referred to in Habeshan
The claim to their relationship to the Kings of Axum derives from Yakuno Amlak's claim that he was the descendant of Dil Na'od, through his father, although he defeated and killed the last Zagwe king in battle. Dil Na'od was the last Negus of Axum before the Zagwe dynasty of Ethiopia. His claim to the throne was also helped by his marriage to that king's daughter, even though Ethiopians commonly do not acknowledge claims from the distaff side.
The claim of descent from Menelik I is based on the assertion that the kings of Axum were also the descendants of Menelik I; its definitive and best-known formulation is set forth in the Kebra Nagast. The Kebra Nagast (var Kebra Negast, Ge'ez,ክብረ ነገሥት kəbrä nägäst or the Book of the While the surviving records of these kings fail to shed light on their origins, this genealogical claim is first documented in the 10th century by an Arab historian. Interpretations of this claim vary widely. Some (including many inside Ethiopia) accept it as evident fact. At the other extreme, others (mostly interested non-Ethiopians) understand this as an expression of propaganda, attempting to connect the legitimacy of the state to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Some scholars take an approach in the middle, attempting to either find a connection between Axum and the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, or between Axum and the pre-exilic Kingdom of Judah. SABA was a German manufacturer for electronic equipment from the Black Forest up to the 1980s The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. Due to lack of primary materials, it is not possible as of 2006 to determine which theory is the more plausible. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
History
The Solomonic dynasty
The restored Solomonic dynasty, which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from 13th century until 1974, with only a couple of usurpers. The Solomonic dynasty is the traditional royal house of Ethiopia, claiming descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The most significant usurper was Kassa of Kwara, who in 1855 took complete control over Ethiopia and was crowned Tewodros II (he developed a claim to have been descended from Solomonics in distaff side). Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Tewodros II ( Ge'ez ቴዎድሮስ also known as Theodore II) (c After his defeat and demise, another non-Solomonic, Dejazmatch Kassai took over as Yohannes IV - however, his distaff descent from Solomonics was a well-attested fact. Emperor Yohannes IV ( Ge'ez ዮሓንስ Yōḥānnis, Amharic Yōhānnis, also known as "John" c Menelik of Shewa, who descended from Solomonic Emperors, in the direct male line (junior only to the Gondar line), ascended the imperial throne following Yohannis IV's death, thus purporting to restore the male-line Solomonic tradition.
The most famous post-Theodorean Emperors were Yohannes IV, Menelik II and Haile Selassie. Emperor Yohannes IV ( Ge'ez ዮሓንስ Yōḥānnis, Amharic Yōhānnis, also known as "John" c Emperor Menelik II GCB, GCMG, ( Ge'ez ምኒልክ baptized as Sahle Maryam ( August 17, 1844 &ndash December 12 Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was Emperor Menelik II achieved a major military victory against Italian invaders in March of 1896 at the Battle of Adwa, the first major victory of an African nation against a colonial power. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Battle of Adwa (also known as Adowa or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) was fought on 1 March, 1896 between Ethiopia After Menelik, all monarchs were of distaff descent from Solomonics. The male line, through the descendants of Menelik's cousin Dejazmatch Taye Gulilat, still existed, but had been pushed aside largely because of Menelik's personal distaste for this branch of his family. Menelik's Solomonic successors ruled the country until the military coup in 1974. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar.
Victor Emmanuel III, Italian Emperor of Ethiopia
During the years 1936 - 1941, when the country was under fascist Italian occupation, king Victor Emmanuel III assumed the additional title of Imperatore d' Etiopia (Emperor of Ethiopia, 9 May 1936 - 3 September 1943). Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele III 11 November, 1869 – 28 December, 1947) was a member of the House of Savoy and
This claim was disputed by some members of the international community and undone by the Ethiopian restoration.
The term of the last acting Italian Viceroy of East Africa, including Eritrea and Somalia, ended 27 November 1941 upon surrender to the allies. A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the Monarch. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. King Victor Emmanuel III renounced his claimed titles of Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania in 1943, recognizing the previous holders of those titles as legitimate.
Return of Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie returned to power with the British conquest of the Italian East Africa during WWII. Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was Italian East Africa ( Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI was a short-lived (1936-1941 Italian Colony in Africa consisting of In January 1942 he was officially reinstated to power in Ethiopia by the British government.
The position of the Emperor and the Line of succession were strictly defined in both of the constitutions adopted during the reign of Haile Selassie: the one adopted on July 16, 1931; and the revised one of November, 1955. Line of succession According to the 1955 rules the current order of succession among the living male descendants of HM Haile Selassie I is as follows HIH Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar)
The last Solomonic monarch to rule Ethiopia was Amha Selassie, who was offered the throne by the Derg after his father Haile Selassie's deposition September 12, 1974. Amha Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, ( July 27, 1916 &ndash February 17, 1997) was the last The Derg or Dergue was a communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. When Amha Selassie, understandably mistrustful of the Derg, refused to return to Ethiopia to rule, the Derg announced that the monarchy had come to an end in March, 1975. In 1993 a group called the "Crown Council of Ethiopia", which includes several descendants of Haile Selassie, claimed that the nəgusä nägäst was still in existence, and was the legal head of Ethiopia. The Crown Council of Ethiopia was the Constitutional body which advised the reigning Emperors of Ethiopia and acted on behalf of the Crown The Ethiopian constitution of 1995 confirmed the abolition of the Emperorship. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995
Notes
- ^ Nathaniel T. Kenney, "Ethiopian Adventure", National Geographic, 127 (1965), p. 555.
- ^ Yuri M. Kobishchanov, Axum, translated by Lorraine T. Kapitanoff, and edited by Joseph W. Michels (University Park: University of Pennsylvania State Press, 1979), p. 195. ISBN 0-271-00531-9.
- ^ Francisco Álvares, The Prester John of the Indies, translated by Lord Stanley of Alderley, revised and edited with additional material by C. This is about the Portuguese missionary and explorer for the Argentine actor see Francisco Álvarez. F. Beckingham and G. W. B. Huntingford, (Cambridge: The Hakluyt Society, 1961), p. The Hakluyt Society is a Registered charity based in London England, dedicated to the advancement of the understanding of world history 237ff.
- ^ Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia (1270 - 1527) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 275, n. 3. ISBN 0-19-821671-8.
- ^ Thomas Pakenham, The Mountains of Rasselas (New York: Reynal & Co. Thomas Francis Dermot Pakenham 8th Earl of Longford, born 14 August 1933 known simply as Thomas Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish historian and Arborist who , 1959), p. 84. ISBN 0-297-82369-8.
References
- Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia, p. 275n. 3, citing Hiob Ludolf, A New History of Ethiopia. Hiob Ludolf (or Job Leutholf) ( June 15, 1624 - April 8, 1704) was a German Orientalist, and born at Erfurt
See also
External links
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, with one of the longest recorded histories in the world The Fetha Negest ( Ge'ez: ፍትሐ ነገሥት fitḥa nagaśt, "Law of the Kings" is a Legal code compiled around 1240 by the Coptic The following is a list of rulers and heads of state of Ethiopia since the Zagwe dynasty.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic