Emperor of Ethiopia

The Emperor (Ge'ez ንጉሠ ነገሥት, , "King of Kings") of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country. A National Geographic Magazine article called imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy; in fact was a benevolent autocracy."¹

Style

The title of the type "King of Kings", usually rendered imprecisely (not translated), e.g. in English as "Emperor", dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, but was used in Axum by king Sembrouthes (c. 250 AD). However, Yuri Kobishchanov dates this usage to the period following the Persian victory over the Romans in 296-297.² 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 Showa, received the honorific title of or nagus, originallly a word for "king". The consort of the Emperor was referred to as the , and the ruling Empress Zauditu used that title in addition to the feminized form ('queen of kings').

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. Primogeneture 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.

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.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.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. 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.

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. Rumors of these royal mountain residences were part of the inspiration for Samuel Johnson's short story, Rasselas.

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.

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. 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. 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. Due to lack of primary materials, it is not possible as of 2006 to determine which theory is the more plausible.

History

The restored Solomonid dynasty, which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from 13th century until 1974, with only a couple of usurpers. 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 Solomonids in distaff side). After his defeat and demise, another non-Solomonid, Dejazmatch Kassai took over as Yohannes IV - however, his distaff descent from Solomonids was a well-attested fact. 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 Solomonid tradition.

The most famous post-Theodorean Emperors were Yohannes IV, Menelik II and Haile Selassie. Emperor Menelik II struck a major military victory against Italian invaders in March of 1894 at the Battle of Adwa, the first major victory of an African nation against a colonial power. After Menelik, all monarchs were of distaff descent from Solomonids. 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 successors ruled the country until the military coup in 1974, apart from the years 1936 - 1941, when the country was under fascist Italian occupation and king Victor Emmanuel III assumed the additional title of Imperatore (Emperor) of Ethiopia 9 May 1936 - 3 September 1943; a claim that was disputed by the international community and undone by the Ethiopian restoration.

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.

The last Solomonid 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. 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. The Ethiopian constitution of 1995 confirmed the abolition of the Emperorship. However, in 1993 a group called the "Crown Council of Ethiopia", which includes several descendants of Haile Selassie, claimed that the was still in existence, and was the legal head of Ethiopia.

References

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 0271005319.
Francisco Alvarez, 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.
Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia (1270 - 1527) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 275, n. 3. ISBN 0198216718.
Thomas Pakenham, The Mountains of Rasselas (New York: Reynal & Co., 1959), p. 84. ISBN 0297823698.
Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia, p. 275n.3, citing Hiob Ludolf, A New History of Ethiopia.

Sources and external links

Emperors of Ethiopia