Fetha Negest
The Fetha Negest (
Textual history
The first part of Fetha Negest deals with mostly ecclesiastic affairs, outlining the structure of the Church hierarchy, sacraments, and such matters. It was compiled from the Bible, writings of early Church fathers including St.
The second part, concerning issues pertaining to the laity, such as family law, debt, civil administration etc., also drew on these sources, but is attributed in large part to four books referred to as the Canons of the Emperors (Arabic Qawānīn al-mulūk). Various scholars have identified these books as:
- The Procheiron (also known as Procheiros Nomos), a Byzantine law code enacted by Emperor Basil the Macedonian between 870 and 878;
- The Arabic version of a work commonly known as the Syro-Roman Law Book, originally written in Greek around 480;
- The Arabic version of the Ecloga, another Byzantine law code published by Emperor Leo III the Isaurianand his son in 726;
- Precepts of the Old Testament, a collection of the Torah laws with some Christian commentary.
Ibn al-Assal's work is heavily influenced by
Later history
There are a few historical records claiming that this law code was translated into
This Ge'ez edition, ascribed to Petros Abda Sayd, is a loose translation of Ibn al-Assal's original, and even diverges significantly in a few places where Petros evidently had some difficulty with the Arabic. Scholars have stated that the first section (the Ecclesiastical law) was already in use in Ethiopia before this time as part of the Senodos, and that the title Fetha Negest, Laws of the Kings, referred to the second (lay) part, that was new to Ethiopia.
The Fetha Negest remained officially the supreme law in Ethiopia until 1931, when a
Influence
The Fetha Negest has had a great influence on Ethiopia. It has been an educational resource for centuries and is still consulted in matters of law in the present era.[3] In 1960, when the government enacted the civil code of Ethiopia, it cited the Fetha Negest as an inspiration to the codification commission.[4]
See also
References
- S2CID 133501264.
- ISBN 978-1-8625-4946-3
- ^ Strauss, Peter L. (ed.). The Fetha Nagast: The Law of the Kings (PDF). Translated by Tzadua, Abba Paulos. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The Faculty of Law, Haile Sellassie I University. p. xxix.
- ISSN 0721-3409.
- Bibliography
- 'Fetha Nagast: The Law of the Kings' (English translation from Ge'ez by Abba Paulos Tzadua, and edited by Peter L. Strauss) Addis Ababa: Faculty of Law, Haile Sellassie I University, 1968.
- Ibn al-'Assal, al-Safi Abu al-Fada'il Majid. Fetha Nagast: The Law of the Kings, 2nd edn. Translated by Paulos Tzadua; Edited by Paulos Tzadua, Peter L. Strauss, & Peter Sand. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2009.