Zemene Mesafint

The Zemene Mesafint ( Ethiopian : ዘመነ መሳፍንት zamana masāfint , modern zemene mesāfint , variously translated as: "era of judges", "era of princes" or "time of princes" etc .; and named after the book of judges ) designates a section in Ethiopian history, when the country was divided by conflicts between different warlords .

The emperor of Ethiopia was reduced to a figurehead and limited to the capital Gondar . The social and cultural development stagnated at this time and the powerful often used religious conflicts within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church or with the Ethiopian Muslims as a pretext for war.

The beginning of this period is usually equated with the date of the deposition of Emperor Joas I by Ras Mikael Sehul (May 7, 1769). Kassa's victory over his opponents and the subsequent coronation as Emperor Theodor II on February 11, 1855 ended this period. Some historians consider the assassination of Iyasus I (October 13, 1706) and the subsequent decline in the dynasty's reputation to be the beginning of the era. Still others date this point in time to Joash taking office on June 26, 1755.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the nobility gradually began to take advantage of their position and intervene in the succession of the dynasty by raising candidates from among their own ranks to become emperors. After the death of Emperor Theophilus, the Ethiopian nobility feared that the eternal campaigns of revenge of the reigns of Theophilus and Tekle Haymanot would continue if a member of the Solomonids dynasty came to the throne. So they chose one of their own, Yostos , as negusa nagast . His term of office was short-lived, however, and the throne again fell into the hands of the Solomonic House.

Ethiopian warriors from the early phase of the Zemene Mesafint (ca.1770).

The rule of Iyasus II brought the empire into disaster once more. As a child he ascended the throne, whereby his mother, Empress Mentewab , should play an essential role as regent. Mentewab had himself crowned second ruler, becoming the first woman in Ethiopian history to be crowned in this way. Outside the capital Gondar, the empire suffered from regional conflicts between peoples who had been part of the empire for centuries: the Agau , Amharen , Shoah , Tigray and the newly arrived Oromo . Mentewab tried to strengthen the connection between the monarchy and the Oromo by marrying her son to the daughter of an Oromo chief from Yejju . In the end, however, this step backfired.

When, after the death of her son in 1755, during the reign of her grandson Joas , she wanted to keep the role of regent, she came into conflict with Iyasu's widow, Wubit (Welete Bersabe), who in turn registered claims to this role. When Joash ascended the throne after the sudden death of his father, the hereditary nobility of Gonder was amazed, as he preferred to speak Oromo instead of Amharic . They therefore preferred his mother's relatives from Yejju to his grandmother's qwaran. As an adult, Jehoash increased these privileges of the Oromo. After the death of Ras of Amhara, he tried to make his uncle governor of that province. The outcry that followed caused his advisor Walda Nul to change his mind.

The conflict between the two queens had Mentewab bring her relatives and armed allies from Qwara to Gonder for support . Wubit, for her part, called her Oromo relatives and forces. For fear of a military conflict, the nobles appointed the powerful Ras Mikael Sehul as mediator between the two camps. He skillfully succeeded in sidelining the two forces and making claims to power himself. Mikael soon became leader of the Christian Amharen and Tigray camp.

The term of office of Joas was marked by the struggle between the powerful Ras Mikael Sehul and the Oromo from the Joas family. He had inherited an empty imperial treasury and was therefore very dependent on his relations with the Oromo. The closer he got to Oromo leaders like Fasil , the worse his relationship with Mikael Sehul deteriorated. Finally, Mikael Sehul dethroned Emperor Joas on May 7, 1769. A week later he had him murdered. The exact circumstances of his death are controversial, but the outcome is not: For the first time in Ethiopia's history, an emperor had not lost his throne through natural death, death in battle, or voluntary renunciation. From then on, the empire fell more and more into the hands of the high nobility and military generals. Because of its repercussions, the assassination of Joash is usually considered the beginning of the era of the princes.

An aging and weak great-uncle was installed as Emperor Yohannes II . Soon afterwards Ras Mikael had this murdered and the underage Tekle Haymanot II came to the throne. Mikael Sehul was defeated in the battle of Sarbakusa to the triumvirate consisting of Fasil, Goshu of Amhara and Wand Bewossen of Begemder , who placed his own emperor on the throne. Due to constant shifts in the power structure of that time, other emperors followed in constant succession. Tekle Giyorgis I of Amhara is known to have ascended the throne six times and to have been deposed six times. Another member of the dynasty, Demetrius , was dragged against his will into the imperial palace to serve as a figurehead.

In the meantime, Amha Iyasus of Shoah (1744–1775) was busy consolidating his kingdom. He founded Ankober and wisely stayed out of the endless battles. His successors followed suit until the end of the kingdom.

The first years of the 19th century were disrupted by fierce fighting between Ras Gugsa from Begemder and Ras Wolde Selassie from Tigray, who fought for control of the puppet emperor Egwale Seyon . Wolde Selassie finally emerged victorious and effectively ruled the entire country until his death in 1816 at the age of 80. Dejazmach Sabagadis from Agame succeeded Wolde Selassie in office in 1817 and became ruler in Tigre.

The ongoing civil war completely isolated Ethiopia, and very few European travelers entered the area. Among them was the French doctor CJ Poncet , who came into the country in 1698 via Sannar and the Blue Nile . After him, James Bruce came to the country in 1769 to discover the sources of the Nile, which he believed to be in Ethiopia. Accordingly, he left Massawa in September 1769 and traveled via Axum to Gonder, where he was warmly received by the Emperor Tekle Haymanot II. Bruce left Ethiopia in 1772 via Sennar and the Nile .

The end of the Zemene Mesafint began with the rise of Kassa Hailus, who later became Emperor Theodor II . At first he was little more than a bandit. However, Kassa managed to gain control of one of the Ethiopian provinces, Dembiya . After a number of other battles, beginning with the Battle of Gur Amba (September 27, 1852) up to the Battle of Derasge (1855), he gained power over the entire country. The return of control over all of Ethiopia to the hands of an emperor ended the Zemene Mesafint and marks the beginning of the history of modern Ethiopia.

Zemene Mesafint

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