page_title: Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
section_title: Negusa Nagast
hierarchical_section_title: Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles / Imperial and royal titles / Negusa Nagast
caption_attribution_description: English: Tewodros II, around 1860
context_page_description: Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia. The Mesafint, the hereditary nobility, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class. The Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the aristocracy. Until the 20th century, the most powerful people at court were generally members of the Mekwanint appointed by the monarch, while regionally, the Mesafint enjoyed greater influence and power. Emperor Haile Selassie greatly curtailed the power of the Mesafint to the benefit of the Mekwanint, who by then were essentially coterminous with the Ethiopian government.
  The Mekwanint were officials who had been granted specific offices in the Abyssinian government or court. Higher ranks from the title of Ras through to Balambaras were also bestowed upon members of the Mekwanint. A member of the Mesafint, however, would traditionally be given precedence over a member of the Mekwanint of the same rank.
context_section_description: The Negusa Nagast (Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings") was the Emperor of Ethiopia. Although several kings of Aksum used this style, until the restoration of the Solomonic dynasty under Yekuno Amlak, rulers of Ethiopia generally used the style of Negus, although "King of Kings" was used as far back as Ezana.
  The full title of the Emperor of Ethiopia was Negusa Nagast and Seyoume Igziabeher (Ge'ez: ሥዩመ እግዚአብሔር; "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 (Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ጽዮን, nəgusä tsiyon), "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 (Ge'ez: ግርማዊ, gärimawi, "His Imperial Majesty"), in common speech as Janhoy (Ge'ez: ጃንሆይ janihoy, "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).
caption: Emperor Tewodros II of the Ethiopian Empire.
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