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Dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class. The Mekwanint ( , modern , singular መኰንን , modern or , "officer") were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the aristocracy. Until the 20th century, the most powerful people at court were generally members of the ''Mekwanint'' appointed by the monarch, while regionally, the ''Mesafint'' enjoyed greater influence and power. Emperor Haile Selassie greatly curtailed the power of the ''Mesafint'' to the benefit of the ''Mekwanint'', who by then were essentially coterminous with the Ethiopian government. The ''Mekwanint'' were officials who had been granted specific offices in the Abyssinian government or court. Higher ranks from the title of ''Ras'' descending through to ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (') under Empress Zewditu between 1916 and 1930. Widely considered to be a defining figure in modern History of Ethiopia#Modern, Ethiopian history, he is accorded divine importance in Rastafari, an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that emerged in the 1930s. A few years before he began his reign over the Ethiopian Empire, Selassie defeated Ethiopian army commander Gugsa Welle, Ras Gugsa Welle Bitul, nephew of Empress Taytu Betul, at the Battle of Anchem. He belonged to the Solomonic dynasty, founded by Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270. Selassie, seeking to modernise Ethiopia, introduced political and social reforms including the 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia, 1931 constitution and the Abolition of slavery i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menen Asfaw
Menen Asfaw (baptismal name: Walatta Giyorgis; 25 March 1889 – 15 February 1962) was Empress of Ethiopia as the wife of Emperor Haile Selassie. Family Menen Asfaw was born in Ambassel, located in Wollo Province of Ethiopian Empire on 25 March 1889. She was the daughter of Asfaw, Jantirar of Ambassel and Woizero Sehin Mikael. Her mother was the daughter of the King Mikael of Wollo and her half-uncle was Lij Iyasu. According to both published and unpublished reports, the then Woizero Menen Asfaw was first given in marriage by her family to the prominent Wollo nobleman, Dejazmach Ali Mohammed of Cherecha at a very young age, as was the prevailing custom. They had two children, a daughter, Woizero Belaynesh Ali, and a son, Jantirar Asfaw Ali. This first marriage ended in divorce, and her natal family then arranged for Woizero Menen to marry Dejazmach Amede Ali Aba-Deyas, another very prominent nobleman of Wollo. She bore her second husband two children as well, a daughter, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristics associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles or simply formal functions (e.g., precedence), and vary by country and by era. Membership in the nobility, including rights and responsibilities, is typically hereditary and patrilineal. Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yohannes IV
Yohannes IV ( Tigrinya: ዮሓንስ ፬ይ ''Rabaiy Yōḥānnes''; horse name Abba Bezbiz also known as Kahśsai; born ''Lij'' Kahssai Mercha; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large-scale Egyptian invasion. In his earlier years, he rebelled against Tewodros II; having risen to power in the 1860s, he maintained the policy of Tewodros, that of continued unification and also implemented a policy of touring entire regions and meetings with governors. He assisted the British in their British expedition to Abyssinia which ended in Tewodros' suicide, from which Yohannes was rewarded in ammunition and artillery. He regarded Islam as a hindrance to the stability of the state and worked to strengthen Christian dominance in Ethiopia. Its estimated that he had converted 550,000 Oromos and Jebertis to Chri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ras Alula
Ras Alula Engida () (1845 – 15 February 1897; also known by his horse name Abba Nega and by Alula Equbi) was an Ethiopian general and politician who successfully led battles against Ottoman Egypt, the Mahdists and Italy. He was one of the most important leaders of the Abyssinian forces during the 19th century. Described by Haggai Erlich as the "greatest leader whom Ethiopia produced since the death of Emperor Tewodros II in 1868." Ras Alula was referred to by Europeans as "the Garibaldi of Ethiopia". Early years Alula was born in Mennewe, a village in Tembien, the son of Engda Eqube, a farmer of modest origins. Haggai Erlich relates a story about Alula's childhood – "well known throughout Tigray": a group of people carrying baskets of bread to a wedding ceremony were stopped by a group of children led by the future ''Ras'', who demanded to know where they were going. "To the Castle of Ras Alula Wadi Equbi," they mockingly replied. "Thereafter," concludes Erlich, "h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. Ethiopia covers a land area of . , it has around 128 million inhabitants, making it the List of countries and dependencies by population, thirteenth-most populous country in the world, the List of African countries by population, second-most populous in Africa after Nigeria, and the most populous landlocked country on Earth. The national capital and largest city, Addis Ababa, lies several kilometres west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the African Plate, African and Somali Plate, Somali tectonic plates. Early modern human, Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out for the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zewditu
Zewditu (, born Askala Maryam; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 until her death in 1930. She was officially renamed Zewditu at the beginning of her reign as Empress of Ethiopia. Once she succeeded the throne after Lij Yasu in 1916, she was described as the first modern-era female head of a nation in Africa. Her official coronation was on February 11, 1917, held in the Cathedral of St. George in Addis Ababa—a capital founded by her father. She was forty years old, and childless when she was crowned empress. The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first and only empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire, her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir '' Ras'' Tafari Makonnen (who succeeded her as Emperor Haile Selassie I), about which she was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ras Mengesha Yohannes
''Ras'' Mengesha Yohannes (; 1868 – 1906) was governor of Tigray and a son of Emperor Yohannes IV (r. 1872–89). His mother was Welette Tekle Haymanot wife of ''dejazmach'' Gugsa Mercha. ''Ras'' Araya Selassie Yohannes was his younger half brother. Prior to the Battle of Metemma, Mengesha Yohannes was considered to be a nephew of Emperor Yohannes IV. During the battle, the Emperor was mortally wounded and it was on his deathbed that Mengesha Yohannes was acknowledged as his " natural" son and designated as his heir. This created something of a succession problem. Fighting between various relatives of the slain Emperor split his camp and prevented Mengesha from making a viable bid for the Imperial throne. Instead, the throne was assumed by ''Negus'' Menelik of Shewa. ''Ras'' Mengesha refused to submit to Menelik and later even flirted with joining the new Italian colony of Eritrea. He hoped that the Italians would support his rebellion against Emperor Menelik. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taytu Betul
Taytu Betul ( ''Ṭaytu Bəṭul'' ; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in the anti-colonial resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, she, along with her husband, founded the modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 1886. Early life According to Raymond Jonas, Taytu Betul (or Taitu) was born in Semien, North Gondar, Ethiopian Empire. Scholarly consensus is that she was born at about 1851. Taytu's father, Ras Betul Haile Maryam, was part of the ruling family of Semien that claimed to be descendants of the Solomonic Dynasty through Emperor Susenyos I. Taytu's uncle was the Amhara warlord Wube Haile Maryam who governed the Semien and Tigray princedom. Education There are no records indicating that Empress Taytu attended school; however, she was taught to read and write in Amharic and Ge'ez. This is a rarity, considering ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1955 Constitution Of Ethiopia
Emperor Haile Selassie proclaimed a revised constitution in November 1955 of the Ethiopian Empire. The new constitution was intended to improve Ethiopia's international image. While it consolidated the Emperor's absolutist powers it introduced concepts such as the separation of powers and expanded the role of the Ethiopian parliament. It was abrogated in 1974 with the Ethiopian revolution of that year which resulted in the abolition of the monarchy by the Derg. Origins and implementation The 1955 constitution was Ethiopia's second written one, the first being the 1931 constitution. It was prompted, like its predecessor, by a concern with international opinion. Such opinion was particularly important at a time when some neighboring African states were rapidly advancing under European colonial influence and Ethiopia was pressing its claims internationally for the incorporation of Eritrea, where an elected parliament and more modern administration had existed since 1952. The cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Regnant
A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen ''regent'', who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules ''pro tempore'' in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it in sharing power or in ruling alone. A queen ''regnant'' is sometimes called a woman king. A princess, duchess, or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns ''suo jure'' over a principality or (Grand duchy, grand) duchy; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns ''suo jure'' over an empire. A queen regnant possesses all the powers, Constitutional monarchy, such as they may be, of the monarchy, whereas a queen consort or queen regent shares her spouse's or child's rank and titles but does not share the sovereignty of her spouse or child. The hus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally share the king's political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent. In contrast, a queen regnant is a female monarch who rules ''suo jure'' (Latin for, "in her own right") and usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch. A queen dowager is a widowed queen consort, and a queen mother is a queen dowager who is the mother of the current monarch. Titles When a title other than king is held by the sovereign, his wife can be referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as princess consort or empress consort. In monarchies where polygamy has been practised in the past (such as Morocco and Thailand), or is practised today (such as the Zulu people, Zulu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
