Nobility Ranks
The 21st Century has had no functioning monarchy in our beloved Ethiopian Empire… yet. Arguably, no functioning government at all. 20th century Ethiopia had a functioning monarchy for three quarters of a century. Though, I would quibble with the constitutions of the ‘30s and ‘50s, and the attempted one in the ‘70s prior to the fall.
During the monarchy we had our own indigenous titles of military aristocracy. Over time, we began adopting terms from the West, which had strayed more and more away from monarchy. My godfather’s father was known to us simply as General. The head of state during Ethiopia’s communist period was Colonel (pronounced co-low-nel, as it is spelled, rather than our aberration in American English mediated by the French, cer-null) mengistu. Thankfully, in my lifetime, I had an uncle who was ባልአምባራስ (abbreviated ባላምባራስ) bal’amba’ras - head of a hill, hill-commander.
According to Britannica, these are the titles in the U.K.:duke, marquess, earl (count on the continent), viscount, and baron. Let’s look at these five ranks (which remind me of the five books of moses which represent the five fingers of the lord god, which can slap you or massage you) and go over their Amharic equivalents.
1)
duke - below the king, and above everyone else; more than likely inherited this title
ራስ (ras) - head of a dukedom; famously used to name a religion Rastafarianism (after ras teferee mekwenin later Emperor hayle’silasé first of his name); sometimes modified to ልዑል ራስ (li3l/liul ras), highborn head or archduke
ንጉሥ (nigus) - king; some who have achieved the territory of a dukedom have asserted themselves (nigus tekle’haymanot of gojam, nigus sahle silasé of shewa), or been asserted by the emperor (nigus meekaél of welo, father of lij eeyasu) to be the rank of a king; this has also happened with a crown prince (ras teferee became nigus teferee)
nigus sahle’silasé of shewa, looking like orochimaru impersonating the fourth kazekage
2)
marquess - below the king and the duke, and above everyone else; responsible over borderlands
ደጅአዝማች (abbreviated ደጃዝማች) dej’azmach - gate-campaigner; campaigner of the gate; gatecommander; commander of the gate; marquess; sometimes a ras and a dej’azmach have the same size territory, but the ras title is seen to be more prestigious
መርዕድአዝማች mer3d/merid’azmach - fearsome-campaigner; campaigner who puts fear in the hearts of his enemies; commander who causes terror and trembling; a unique title of shewa equivalent to dej’azmach and ras in territory
3)
earl/count - midway point of the ranks beneath king
ቀኝአዝማች (abbreviated ቀኛዝማች) qeñ’azmach - right-campaigner; campaigner of the right flank; right-commander; commander of the right flank; will lead battles literally on the right, and be a vassal to a dej’azmach or ras
4)
viscount - serves at the leisure of the count/earl
ግራአዝማች (abbreviated ግራዝማች) gira’azmach - left-campaigner; campaigner of the left flank; left-commander; commander of the left flank; will lead battles literally on the left, and be a vassal to a dej’azmach or ras (or qeñ’azmach?)
5)
baron - lowest of the five ranks of nobility; still a feudal lord / landlord
ፊትአውራሪ (abbreviated ፊታውራሪ) feet’awraree - front raider; commander of commandos on the frontlines; lead ranger; lead vanguard; I have a direct ancestor (reta kinfu of welqayt) who held this title and the voice of the people said may he be elevated to ras, but he humbly declined
Because the Ethiopian system is a spice-blend of blood and merit, any resident of the empire could become through appointment any of the above titles, although many were first born into one of these or a lesser title. For better or for worse, the 20th Century saw more lowborn people rising to highborn status than any before it. There is a balance to be struck.
May we again be found worthy to hold these ranks and titles, and “find practically carried out the most advantageous policy of a social community that one of the wisest of sages could conceive – that of arbitrary power placed in the hands of a really good man.” (Charles Johnston)
P.S.
And there are also many other Ethiopian ranks and titles, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. But let me tell you about three more.
ንጉሠ:ነገሥት niguse negest; king of kings of ethiopia; head of all nobles (hereditary and appointed)
አፄ atsé (sometimes አጤ aTé) (originally ሐፄ hatsé); he who hugs the entire kingdom in his bosom; emperor; etymologically related, through its consonantal root, to the words for tax collector and abbot of debre leebanos monastery in shewa, betrothed, womb, and suckling
አቤቶ abéto (abbreviated አቶ ato, which during Communism came to mean mister/Mr.) - lord (interchangeable with lij prince); 9-15 generations ago I had direct ancestors named: lord tesfu, lord eeraklees (heracles/hercules), lord keereelos (cyril), lord faseel (basil), and lord yaiqob (jacob/james).