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Suggest pagesSolomonic dynasty
| Country | Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Ancestral house | House of David |
| Titles | Emperor of Ethiopia |
| Founder | Yekuno Amlak |
| Final sovereign | Haile Selassie I |
| Current head | Zera Yacob Amha Selassie |
| Founding | 1270 |
| Deposition | 1974 |
| Imperial Family of Ethiopia |
|---|
.svg) |
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HIH The Crown Prince of Ethiopia
HIH Princess Maryam Senna Extended family
HIH The Dowager Duchess of Harrar
HIH Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam
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The Solomonic dynasty is the Imperial House of Abyssinia. Its members claim lineal descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the latter of whom tradition asserts gave birth to the first King Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:1–10).
[edit] Overview
The dynasty, a bastion of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, came to rule Ethiopia on 10 Nehasé 1262 EC[1] (August 10, AD 1270) when Yekuno Amlak overthrew the last ruler of the Zagwe dynasty. Yekuno Amlak claimed direct male line descent from the old Axumite royal house that the Zagwes had replaced on the throne. Menelik II, and later his daughter Zewditu, would be the last Ethiopian monarch who could claim uninterrupted direct male descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (both Lij Iyasu and Emperor Haile Selassie I were in the female line, Iyasu through his mother Shewarega Menelik, and Haile Selassie through his paternal grandmother, Tenagnework Sahle Selassie). 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. The Solomonics continued to rule Ethiopia with few interruptions until 1974, when the last emperor, Haile Selassie I, was deposed. The royal family is currently non-regnant. Members of the family in Ethiopia at the time of the 1974 revolution were imprisoned, and others were exiled. The women of the dynasty were released by the Derg regime from prison in 1989, and the men were released in 1990. Several members were then allowed to leave the country in mid 1990, and the rest were allowed to leave in 1991 upon the fall of the Derg regime in 1991. Many members of the Imperial family have since returned to live in Ethiopia in recent years.
The Imperial Coat of Arms was adopted by Emperor Haile Selassie, and is currently held by his direct heirs in the male line. The arms are composed of an Imperial Throne flanked by two angels, one holding a sword and a pair of scales, the other holding the Imperial scepter. The throne is often shown with a Christian cross, a Star of David, and a crescent moon on it (representing the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions). It is surmounted by a red mantle and an Imperial crown, and before the throne is the Lion of Judah symbol. The Lion of Judah by itself was at the center of the Ethiopian tri-color flag during the monarchy, and is thus the chief symbol of the Ethiopian monarchist movement. The phrase "Moa Ambassa ze imnegede Yehuda", (Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah) appeared on the arms, and always preceded the Emperor's official style and titles signaling the Emperor's submission to Christ to whom the title belonged. It was an often repeated mistake that the title of "Lion of Judah" referred to the Emperor himself. The official Imperial Dynastic motto was "Ityopia tabetsih edewiha habe Igziabiher" (Ethiopia stretches her hands unto the Lord) from the book of Psalms.
When including the old Axumite rulers descended from Menelik I, and the Yuktanite ancestors of the Queen of Sheba, the Ethiopian Royal House is the oldest in the world, along with the Imperial House of Japan.
During much of the dynasty's existence, its effective realm was the northwestern quadrant of present-day Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Highlands. The Empire expanded and contracted over the centuries, sometimes incorporating parts of modern day Sudan and South Sudan, and coastal areas of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Southern and eastern regions were permanently incorporated during the last two centuries, some by Shewan kings and some by Emperors Menelek II and Haile Selassie; though much of the central, and southern regions were previously incorporated into the empire under the Emperors Amda Seyon I and Zar'a Ya'iqob but peripheral areas were lost after the invasion of Ahmad Gragn.[2]
In the modern era, the Imperial dynasty has several cadet branches, some of which had specific territorial fiefs. The elder Gondarine line which actually started with Emperor Susenyos in 1606 (although often credited to his son Fasilides who established his capital at Gondar) ended its rule with the fall of the largely powerless Yohannes III in 1855 and the coming to power of Tewodros II who's later claims of Solomonic descent were never widely accepted. The Tigrean line came to power briefly with the enthronement of Yohannes IV in 1872, and although this line did not persist on the Imperial throne after the Emperor was killed in battle with the Mahdists in 1889, the heirs of this cadet branch ruled Tigre up until the revolution of 1974 toppled the Ethiopian monarchy. The Tigrean Cadet branch and its sub-branches, traces its lineage to the main Solomonic line of Emperors through at least two female links. The more recent link was through Woizero Aster Iyasu (wife of Ras Mikael Sehul, daughter of Empress Mentewab and her lover, Melmal Iyasu, a Solomonic prince and nephew of Mentewabs late husband Emperor Bekafa). The Shewan line was next on the Imperial throne with the coronation of Emperor Menelik II, previously Menelik King of Shewa, in 1889. The Shewan Branch of the Imperial Solomonic dynasty, like the Gondarine line, could trace uninteruppted male line descent from King Yekonu Amlak, though Abeto Negassi Yisaq, the grandson of Emperor Dawit II by his youngest son Abeto Yaqob. Although the direct male line ended with Menelik II, who was succeeded first briefly by his grandson by a daughter Lij Iyasu1913-1916, and then by another daughter Empress Zewditu 1916-1930, and eventually by the son of a first cousin in the female line, Emperor Haile Selassie who reigned from 1930 till the monarchy ended in 1974. Emperor Haile Selassie's grandson, Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie is currently the head of the Imperial Dynasty as the legal heir to the last Emperor. The Shewan branch has several sub-branches, most notably the Selalle line established by Menelik II's uncle Ras Darge. The oldest junior cadet branch of the dynasty is the Gojjam branch which traces its ancestry to Woizero Romanework, daughter of Emperor Na'od and sister of Emperor Dawit II. Its most prominent members recent members include King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, his son Leul Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, and his grandson Ras Hailu Belew.
[edit] See also
- History of Ethiopia
- List of Emperors of Ethiopia
- Line of succession to the Ethiopian throne
- List of royal houses
- Girma Yohannis Iyasu
- Walashma dynasty
- Mudaito Dynasty
- Gobroon Dynasty
[edit] Notes
- ^ A. K. Irvine, "Review: The Different Collections of Nägś Hymns in Ethiopic Literature and Their Contributions." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, 1985.
- ^ Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia (1270–1527) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p 275.
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