From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 |
Ethnicity | Amhara, Oromo (Shewa,Yejju & Tulama)Tigray, Gurage |
The Solomonic dynasty is the traditional Imperial House of Ethiopia, claiming descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said to have given birth to the traditional first king Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. 1 Kings 10:1-10.
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 oldAxumite royal house that the Zagwe's 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 Eyasu and Emperor Haile Selassie 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, 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, and since the word Christ translates to 'annointed one' this gives credibility to the millions of individuals who claim that Emperor Haile Selassie I, was the Christ. 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 that 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 coastal areas of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and extending south toward modern day Kenya as well. 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 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]
Line of succession to the Ethiopian throne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Imperial Family of Ethiopia |
---|
|
The line of succession to the Ethiopian throne is described in the first section of the 1955 Revised Constitution of Ethiopia.
In brief, the title of Emperor may pass only through male descendants of HIM Haile Selassie I, through the oldest male line before the younger. Other qualifications are that they be born in lawful wedlock, be an Orthodox Christian, and not be married to a foreigner or against consent of the Imperial Family.
In the event that there were no qualifying male descendants of Haile Selassie, the nearest male relative who is descended from Sahle Selassie, King of Shewa, would then be heir.
In March 1975, the monarchy was abolished by the Derg, the military junta that had forcibly taken over during a Communist revolution. The Derg by its own authority abolished all royal and noble titles by proclamation at that time. The current Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia makes no provisions for a monarchy.
The Crown Council of Ethiopia considers Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie to be Head of the Imperial House. Although the current Ethiopian government regards members of the Imperial family as private citizens, they do recognize their royal and noble titles as a matter of courtesy, effectively rescinding the abolishment of those titles by Derg regime. Foreign royal courts have continued to accorded members of the Ethiopian Imperial family their titles throughout the period following the fall of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974.
[edit]Line of succession
According to the 1955 orders of succession and with the assent of the Imperial Crown Council, the current order of succession among the living male descendants of HIM Haile Selassie I is as follows:
HIH Crown Prince Zera Yacob b. 1953 (son of Amha Selassie I, grandson of Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Paul Wossen Seged Makonnen, Duke of Harrar b. 1947 (grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Mikael Amde Yesus Makonnen b. 1950 (grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Yokshan Dawit Makonnen b. 1978 (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen b. 1982 (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Philip Tafari Makonnen b. 1954 (grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince David Tafari Makonnen b.1992 son of Prince Philip Makonnen (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Isaiah Tafari Makonnen b.1998 son of Prince Philip Makonnen (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Baeda Maryam Makonnen b. 1957 (grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie b. 1960 (grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Christian Sahle Selassie Ermias b. 1992 (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
- HIH Prince Rufael Fiseha Tsieon Ermias b. 1992 (great-grandson of HIM Haile Selassie I)
[edit]See also
- Solomonic dynasty
- Rulers and heads of state of Ethiopia
- Emperor of Ethiopia
- Girma Yohannis Iyasu - Grandson of Emperor-Designate (uncrowned and deposed) Lij Iyasu
- Mangasha Seyum - Great grandson of Emperor Yohannes IV
[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.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) |
2 comments:
I liked this post very much as it has helped me a lot in my research and is quite interesting as well. Thank you for sharing this information with us.
buy essays on patriotism
Universal Precaution is the only solution for thevlatestvlethal inter-human strain of coViD -29 Pandemics! Take Action Now!
Post a Comment