Zemene Mesafint
Zemene Mesafint period | |
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c. 1769–1855 AC | |
The Zemene Mesafint (
The most powerful lords during the Zemene Mesafint were from the
The lords fought against each other for the expansion of their territory and to become the guardians of the kings of kings in Gondar, the capital of the empire at the time. The monarchy continued only in name because of its sacred character. This nominal but divinely ordained monarchy preserved the dynasty from actual extinction.[2]
The Zemene Mesafint period came to an end when a local outlaw, Kassa Hailu, would challenge the supremacy of the Oromo princes over the Abyssinian kingdom. Hailu gained support from the locals and defeated Oromo lords and princes and would throne himself as Tewodros II, attempting to fulfill a prophecy that a man named Tewodros would restore the Ethiopian Empire to greatness and rule for 40 years.[3][4]
History
Early history, Solomonic succession conflicts (1700s–1730)
Traditionally, the beginning of this period is set on the date Ras Mikael Sehul deposed Emperor Iyoas I (7 May 1769), and its end to Kassa's coronation as Emperor Tewodros II (11 February 1855), having defeated in battle all of his rivals. Some historians date the death of Iyasu I (Iyasu the Great) (13 October 1706), and the resultant decline in the prestige of the dynasty, as the beginning of this period. Others date it to the beginning of Iyoas's reign (26 June 1755).
During the Zemene Mesafint, various lords occasionally took advantage of their positions by making Emperors and encroaching upon the succession of the dynasty, by candidates among the nobility itself: for example, on the death of Emperor
Solomonic succession conflicts (1730–1769)
Reign of Iyasu II (1730–1755)
History of Ethiopia | |
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1314–1344 |