Emperor of Ethiopia

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Emperor of Ethiopia
ዐፄ
Imperial
Last to reign
Haile Selassie

2 April 1930 – 12 September 1974
Details
StyleHis Imperial Majesty
First monarchMenelik I
Last monarchHaile Selassie
Formation1270 AD
Abolition21 March 1975
ResidenceMenelik Palace
AppointerHereditary
Pretender(s)Zera Yacob Amha Selassie
Lebna Dengel, nəgusä nägäst (emperor) of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

The emperor of Ethiopia (

legislative power in that country. A National Geographic article from 1965 called imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy; in fact [it was] a benevolent autocracy".[1]

Title and style

Emperor Tewodros II (1855–1868)

The title "

Zagwe rulers went by negus. Its use, from at least the reign of Menelik I 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."

The consort of the emperor was referred to as the ətege. Empress Zewditu used the feminized form nəgəstä nägäst ("Queen of Kings") to show that she reigned in her own right, and did not use the title of ətege.

Succession

On the death of a monarch any male or female descendant of the various dynastic lines could claim succession to the throne. Though in many cases the practice favoured primogeniture for at least one subsequent succession to the imperial throne, it often, as in the case of Emperor Yohannes IV of Tigray's claim to the throne after the death of Emperor Tewodros II from Gondar, would leave the direct lineage of one royal family in favor of another.

The system developed two approaches to controlling the succession: the first involved the selection of emperors by a council of

Debre Damo, which was captured by the 10th-century queen Yodit or "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.[5]
Taddesse Tamrat argues that this practice began in the reign of Wedem Arad (1299–1314), following the struggle for succession that he believes lies behind the series of brief reigns of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon (reigned 1285–1294). A constructivist approach[
agnates
to also succeed to the lands of the monarchy – which however is contrary to keeping the country undivided.

The potential royal rivals were incarcerated at

Rasselas
.

Although the emperor of Ethiopia had theoretically unlimited power over his subjects, his councillors 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 (c. 1691 – 1779), who held actual power in the empire and elevated or deposed emperors at will.

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 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. 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.

However, there is no historical evidence supporting the legends or Yekuno Amlak's ancestry. There is no credible basis to the claims that the Aksumite royal house was descended from Solomon (or that any Aksumite king even claimed such an ancestry) or that Yekuno Amlak was descended from the Aksumite royal house. Solomon is dated to the 10th century BCE, hundreds of years before the founding of Aksum.[6] Historian Harold G. Marcus describes the stories of the Kebra Nagast as a "pastiche of legends" created to legitimize Yekuno Amlak's seizure of power.[7] David Northrup notes that

the Kebra Nagast's imaginative and emotive account of a line of descent from Solomon and Sheba to the kings of Aksum and the new Solomonic dynasty is highly improbable and unsupported by evidence. It is a myth.[8]

Although the story originated as a medieval political myth, it nevertheless became embedded in the Ethiopian sense of nationhood. This and the dynasty's continued propagation of the myth was reflected in the 1955 Ethiopian constitution, which declared that the emperor "descends without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of Queen of Ethiopia, the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Jerusalem".[9]

History

The Solomonic dynasty, which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from the 13th century until 1974.

Modern era

The

Gonder, in 1855 took complete control over Ethiopia and was crowned Emperor Tewodros II. Of the valley nobility, he claimed paternal descent from Emperor Fasilides, by way of one of the aforementioned emperor's daughters. After Emperor Tewodros' reign, one of the many rebels leaders that helped the British in their expedition into Abyssinia was Dejazmatch Kassa, he was rewarded with articles of war for his services and went on to assume power through his claim of Solomonic descent from his mothers Gondarian ancestry and was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV
. Menelik of Shewa, who descended from Solomonic emperors directly paternally through the Shewan Branch (junior only to the Gondar line), ascended the imperial throne following Emperor Yohannes IV's death, thus purporting to restore the male-line Solomonic tradition.

The Emperor Tewodros spent his youth fighting with invading Ottoman Egyptians (termed 'Turks' by the Ethiopians), then unifying the empire after the dark age of the '

Mahdist presence in Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II achieved a major military victory against Italian invaders in March 1896 at the Battle of Adwa
and conquered the modern borders of Ethiopia.

Italian occupation of Ethiopia

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
proclaimed himself emperor of Ethiopia, replacing Haile Selassie.

Victor Emmanuel's claim to emperorship was not entirely accepted, with the

Axis Powers in World War II, the African part of the British Empire aided Haile Selassie and anti-Italian Ethiopian forces in the East African campaign. Italy was defeated and Selassie restored to the throne, with most combat in Ethiopia ending in 1941. The Armistice of Cassibile
was signed in September 1943 with the Kingdom of Italy's surrender, and Victor Emmanuel III officially renounced his title as emperor of Ethiopia in November 1943.

Return of Haile Selassie, post-war period, and end of the monarchy

In January 1942, Haile Selassie was officially reinstated to power in Ethiopia. The position of the emperor and the line of succession were strictly defined in both of the constitutions adopted during the reign of Selassie: the one adopted on July 16, 1931; and the revised one of November 1955.

Haile Selassie was the last Solomonic monarch to rule Ethiopia. He was deposed by the Derg, the committee of lower-ranking military and police officials on September 12, 1974. The Derg offered the throne to Selassie's son Amha Selassie, who – understandably mistrustful of the Derg – refused to return to Ethiopia to rule. The Derg abolished the monarchy on 21 March 1975. In April 1989, Amha Selassie was proclaimed emperor in exile at London, with his succession backdated to the date of Haile Selassie's death in August 1975 rather than his deposition in September 1974. In 1993 a group called the "Crown Council of Ethiopia", which included several descendants of Haile Selassie, affirmed Amha as emperor and legal head of Ethiopia. However, the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia confirmed the abolition of the monarchy.

Symbols

  • The conquering Lion of Judah, a title of the Ethiopian emperor and a national symbol of Ethiopia.
    The conquering Lion of Judah, a title of the Ethiopian emperor and a national symbol of Ethiopia.
  • Coat of arms of the Emperor of Ethiopia
    Coat of arms of the Emperor of Ethiopia
  • Imperial Standard of Haile Selassie (obverse)
    Imperial Standard of Haile Selassie (obverse)
  • Imperial Standard of Haile Selassie (reverse)
    Imperial Standard of Haile Selassie (reverse)

Family tree

Family of Emperor of Ethiopia
(Note: This family tree only includes the historical figures' paternal ancestries)
Legend
EMPEROR (bold, capital letters)


Marriage
Descent


Uncertain/purported/legendary descent
HOUSE OF DAVID

SOLOMON
King of Israel

MAKEDA
Queen of Sheba

MENELIK I
Semi-legendary first emperor
KINGS OF AXUM
(mostly
legendary genealogy)
DIL NA'OD
Last King of Axum

MARA TAKLA
HAYMANOT

(1)
Masoba WarqMkhbara Widam
(Mahbere-Widam)
ZAGWE DYNASTY

TATADIM
(2)

JAN SEYUM
(3)

GERMA SEYUM
(4)
Agba Seyun
(Yakob)

GEBRE MESQEL
LALIBELA
(7)

YEMREHANA
KRESTOS
(5)
Sinfa Ar'ad

NA'AKUETO LA'AB
(8)

YETBARAK
(9)
Negus Zaré
Asfiha
Yakob
Bahr Seggad
Zagwe dynasty[10]Adam Asgad
(Widma Asgad)
Tasfa Iyasus

YEKUNO AMLAK
1270–1285
SOLOMONIC
DYNASTY

Yagbe'u Seyon
(SALOMON I)

1285–1294

WEDEM ARAD
1299–1314
Prince
Qidma Seggada

SABA ASGAD
1298–1299

AMDA SEYON I
1314–1344

NEWAYA KRESTOS
1344–1372

DAWIT I
1382–1413

NEWAYA MARYAM
1372–1382

TEWODROS I
1413–1414

YESHAQ I
1414–1429

TAKLA MARYAM
1430–1433

ZARA YAQOB
1434–1468

ANDREYAS
1429–1430

SARWE IYASUS
1433

AMDA IYASUS
1433–1434

BAEDA MARYAM I
1468–1478

ESKENDER
1478–1494

NA'OD
1494–1507

AMDA SEYON II
1494

DAWIT II
1507–1540

GELAWDEWOS
1540–1559

MENAS
1559–1563
Prince Yakob
SOLOMONIC
DYNASTY

GONDAR BRANCH
SOLOMONIC
DYNASTY

SHEWA BRANCH

SARSA DENGEL
1563–1597
Prince
Lesana Krestos
Prince FasilidasPrince
Segwa Qal

YAQOB
1597–1603
1604–1606

ZA DENGEL
1603–1604

SUSENYOS I
1606–1632
Warada Qal

FASILIDES
1632–1667
Lebsa Qal

Negasi Krestos

Ruler of Shewa
Princess Amlakawit
IYASU I
1682–1706

TEWOFLOS
1708–1711
Sebestyanos
Ruler of Shewa
Delba Iyasus
Dejazmatch of Tigray

Qedami Qal

Ruler of Shewa

YOSTOS
1711–1716

IYASU II
1730–1755

TEKLE
HAYMANOT II

1769–1770
1770–1777

TEKLE GIYORGIS I
1779–1784; 1788–1789
1794–1795; 1795–1796
1798–1799; 1800
Amha Iyasus
Ruler of Shewa
Prince AdigoPrince Atsequ
IYOAS I
1755–1769

HEZQEYAS
1789–1794

SALOMON III
1796–1797
1799

YOHANNES III
1840–1841; 1845
1850–1851
Asfa Wossen
Ruler of Shewa

SALOMON II
1777–1779

IYASU III
1784–1788

EGWALE SEYON
1801–1818

IYOAS II
1818–1821

IYASU IV
1830–1832
Unascertainable claims
of descent from Fasilides

(intermediate generations omitted)
Wossen Seged
Ruler of Shewa
(alleged sons of Iyasu II)

BAEDA MARYAM II
1795

SUSENYOS II
1770

GIGAR
1821–1826
1826–1830

YONAS
1797–1798
Gabre Masai
DEMETROS
1799–1800
1800–1801

GEBRE KRESTOS
1832

SAHLE DENGEL
1832–1840; 1841–1845
1845–1850; 1851–1855
Sahle Selassie
Ruler of Shewa
BAEDA MARYAM III (1826)
(unknown parentage)
YOHANNES
DYNASTY
TEWODROS
DYNASTY
Mirtcha Wolde Kidane
Shum of Tembien

TEWODROS II
1855–1868
Haile Melekot
Ruler of Shewa
Princess
Tenagnework
ZAGWE DYNASTY
(RESTORED)

Ras Makonnen

Governor of Harar
Araya Selassie
King of Tigray

ZEWDITU
1916–1930
Princess
Shoagarad

HAILE SELASSIE
1930–1974
LIJ IYASU
1913–1916
designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia
AMHA SELASSIE
1989–1997
Crown Prince
Titular Emperor
ZERA YACOB
1997–present
Crown Prince
Titular Emperor

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Nathaniel T. Kenney, "Ethiopian Adventure", National Geographic, 127 (1965), p. 555.
  2. .
  3. ^ Francisco Álvares, The Prester John of the Indies, translated by Lord Stanley of Alderley, revised and edited with additional material by C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, (Cambridge: The Hakluyt Society, 1961), p. 237ff.
  4. .
  5. ^ .
  6. .
  7. .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. ^ Zagwe dynasty continued to rule in Lasta for centuries; restored to imperial throne in 1868.

External links