Negusa Nagast of the
Solomonic dynasty Although several kings of Aksum as far back as
Ezana of Axum (320's–360 CE/AD) used this style, rulers of Ethiopia generally used the style of
Negus, until the accession of the
Solomonic dynasty under
Yekuno Amlak. The full title of the Emperor of Ethiopia was
Negusa Nagast and
Seyoume Igziabeher (; 'Elect of God'). The title
Moa Anbessa Ze Imnegede Yehuda ("Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah") always preceded the titles of the Emperor. It was not a personal title but rather referred to the title of
Jesus and placed the office of Christ ahead of the Emperor's name in an act of Imperial submission. Until the reign of
Yohannes IV, the Emperor was also
Neguse Tsion (, , "King of Zion"), whose seat was at
Axum, and which conferred
Hegemony over much of the north of the Empire. The Emperor was referred to by the dignities of the formal
Girmawi (, , "His Imperial Majesty"), in common speech as
Janhoy ( , "Your [Imperial] Majesty", or lit. "sire"), in his own household and family as
Getochu (our Master in the
plural), and when referred to by name in the third person with the suffix of
Atse (effectively "Emperor", i.e.
Atse Menelik). All formal speech concerning the Emperor was in the plural, as was his own speech;
Haile Selassie, for instance, referred to himself in the first-person plural at all times, even in casual conversation and when speaking in
French (however this was not the case when he spoke in English, in which he was not fully fluent).
Negesta Nagastat The
Negesta Nagastat (
Ge’ez: ንግሥተ ነገሥታት ) was
Empress Regnant in her own right, literally "Queen of Kings", or "Queen of Queens", or "female ruler of an empire."
Zewditu (reigned 1917–1930) was the only woman to be crowned in Ethiopia in her own right since ancient times. Rather than take the title
itege, which was reserved for
empress consorts, Zewditu was given the feminine version of
nigusa nigist to indicate that she reigned in her own right. She was accorded the dignity of
Girmawit ("[Her] Imperial Majesty") and the title of ''Siyimta Igzi'abher
(Ge’ez: ሥይምተ እግዚአብሔር , "Elect of God"). She was commonly referred to as nigist'', translated as "Queen". The
1955 Constitution of Ethiopia excluded women from the succession to the throne so this title was effectively abolished.
Itege An
Itege (
Amharic: እቴጌ ) was an
Empress Consort. This refers to the wives of reigning emperors. Empresses were generally crowned as consorts by the emperor at the Imperial Palace. However,
Taytu Betul, consort of Menelik II, became the first Itege to be crowned by the Emperor at church rather than at the Palace. Her
coronation took place on the second day of the emperor's coronation holiday.
Menen Asfaw became the first Itege to be crowned by the
archbishop on the same day and during the same ceremony as her husband,
Haile Selassie. The Itege was entitled to the dignity of
Girmawit ("Her/Your Imperial Majesty").
Negus A
Negus ( , "king") was a hereditary ruler of one of Ethiopia's larger
provinces, over whom collectively the monarch ruled, thus justifying his imperial title. The title of
Negus was awarded at the discretion of the Emperor to those who ruled important provinces, although it was often used hereditarily during and after the
Zemene Mesafint. The rulers of
Begemder,
Shewa,
Gojjam,
Wollo, all held the title of Negus at some point, as the "
Negus of Shewa", "
Negus of Gojjam", and so forth. During and after the reign of
Menelik II virtually all of the titles either lapsed into the Imperial crown or were dissolved. In 1914, after having been appointed "
Negus of Zion" by his son
Lij Iyasu,
Mikael of Wollo, in consideration of the hostile feelings this provoked among much of the nobility in northern Ethiopia (particularly ''Le'ul Ras
Seyoum Mengesha, whose family had resented being denied the title by Menelik), who were now technically made subordinate to him, instead elected to use the title of Negus
of Wollo. Tafari Makonnen, who later became Emperor Haile Selassie, was bestowed the title of Negus'' in 1928; he would be the last person to bear the title. Despite this, European sources referred to the Ethiopian monarch as the
Negus well into the 20th century, switching to Emperor only after the
Second World War – around the same time the name
Abyssinia fell out of use in favour of
Ethiopia in the west.
Leul or Leoul Leul or
Leoul ( , "Prince") was a
princely style used by sons and grandson of Ethiopia's dynastic monarchs. It is equivalent to that of
Your Highness and was formerly only used as a form of address. The term was introduced as an official title in 1916 by the former foreign minister
Blatten Geta Heruy Wolde-Selassie; it was first applied to Dejazmatch Tafari and his wife Princess Menen, who were respectively designated Leul-Ras and Le'elt Woizero.
''Le'elt'' '''Le'elt'
( , "Princess"). This title came into use in 1916 upon the enthronement of Zewditu. Reserved at birth for daughters of the monarch and patrilineal granddaughters. Usually bestowed on the wives of Leul Ras'', as well as the monarch's granddaughters in the female line upon their marriages. The notable exception to the rule was
Leult Yeshashework Yilma, Emperor Haile Selassie's niece by his elder brother, who received the title with the dignity of "Highness" from Zewditu upon the princess' marriage to
Leul Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie in 1918, and then again from her uncle upon his
coronation in 1930 with the enhanced dignity of "Imperial Highness".
Abeto Abetohun ( ) or
Abeto ( , "Prince") Title reserved for males of imperial ancestry. The title fell into disuse by the late 19th century.
Lij Iyasu attempted to revive the title as
Abeto-hoy (, "Great Prince"), and this form is still used by the current Iyasuist claimant
Girma Yohannes Iyasu. Lij Tedla Melaku, an influential Ethiopian philosopher, monarchist, and a member of the Gondar-Lasta branch of the Solomonic-Zagwe Imperial House and the Shewan nobility was also invested with the title of Abeto by the Crown Council of Ethiopia in 2019.
Ras Ras (, compare with
Arabic Rais)One of the powerful non-imperial titles; historian
Harold G. Marcus equates this to a
duke. The combined title of
Leul Ras (
Amharic: ልዑል ራስ) was given to the heads of the cadet branches of the imperial dynasty, such as the Princes of Gojjam,
Tigray and the
Selalle sub-branch of the last reigning Shewan Branch.
Emebet An
Emebet Hoy (እመቤት ሆይ , "Great Royal Lady") was a title reserved for the wives of those bearing the title of
Leul Dejazmach and other high ranking women of royal blood. Alternatively, an
Emebet (እመቤት , "Royal Lady") was a title reserved for the unmarried granddaughters of the
monarch in the female line (they were generally granted the title of
leult upon marriage), and to the daughters of the
Leul Ras.
Bitwoded Bitwoded ()An office thought to have been created by
Zara Yaqob who appointed two of these, one of the Left and one of the Right. These were later merged into one office, which became the supreme grade of
Ras, "Ras Betwadad". Marcus equates the style to an
earl.
Lij Lij ()Title issued at birth to sons of members of the Mesafint, the hereditary royal nobility. ==Men's military titles==