Mesfin, also Mesafint (Prince / Princes), was the title for the princes of the imperial family in the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

and the highest dignitaries outside the imperial family. Particularly in the time from about 1750 until after 1850 the Mesafint had great political importance. This period in the history of Ethiopia, which was characterized by the collapse of the imperial central power, is also called the

Zemene Mesafint The Zemene Mesafint ( gez, ዘመነ መሳፍንት ''zamana masāfint'', modern: ''zemene mesāfint'', variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; named after the Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiop ...

(Ge'ez: ዘመነ መሳፍንት? zamana masāfint, modern zemene mesāfint, variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," or "Age of Princes"). The Mesafint played a major political and economic role as major landowners and secular dignitaries. Formally subordinate to the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, they ruled the territories subordinated to them practically independently, and played a decisive role in the establishment of the powerless Marionette Emperors, who placed them on the throne according to their own interests, and were often assassinated by the Mesafint. With the restoration of imperial central power in the second half of the 19th century, the influence of Mesafint declined. The title of Mesfin was reserved for the members of the ruling imperial family

References

* {{cite web, title=Imperial and Traditional Ranks and Titles Recognized by the Crown, url=http://www.ethiopiancrown.org/traditional.htm, website=Crown Council of Ethiopia, publisher=Crown Council of Ethiopia, accessdate=27 July 2017 Titles Ethiopian nobility