Zemene Mesafint

The Zemene Mesafint (Ge'ez: ዘመነ መሳፍንት zamana masāfint, modern zemene mesāfint, variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; named after the Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiopian history when the country was divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority. It was a period in which the Emperors were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.

Traditionally, the beginning of this period is set on the date Ras Mikael Sehul deposed Emperor Iyoas (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 murder of 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).

The Zemene Mesafint can be summarized as follows:

Crummey, Rubenson, Abir and Shiferaw Bekele agree that in all the disintegration, chaos, and anarchy, the Yejju lords ruled the country in the name of the Solomonic dynasty. That being said, the term that perhaps needs to be precisely defined has to do with the appellation of the Yejju. Very often it is called the Yejju Dynasty. There is no problem with this name except that at times it created confusion with the Yejju province. It is preferable to call them by the name that they themselves preferred and by what others called them: Wara Seh. This appellation clearly refers to the family rather than to the province. Scholars now agree that of the Wara Seh rulers, Ras Gugsa's reign (1800–1825) was characterized more by peace than by war. The power of the Wara Seh rulers was much more than predominance. They exercised actual authority over the other lords. The latter were their tributary lords and the Wara Seh were suzerains or overlords. To be sure, the Wara Seh did not exercise absolute authority outside of the provinces directly under their rule. These provinces extended from Begemeder across Chachaho Pass to the Amhara provinces of Maqet, Wadla, Dalanta, and Dawent. Their authority over the lords of the rest of the regions – Gojjam, Wollo, Semien, Tigray up to Hamasien, Wag and the like – was rather restricted to the power of making them pay regular tributes, be in attendance in their court for a given period of the year, participate in their wars and exercise right of appeal in matters of justice. They also had the right of confirmation in their offices when new lords came to power in one way or another. At times, they even went to the extent of chaining some of their recalcitrant lords.

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