1.1 From multiple wives (polygyny) to a single wife (monogamy)

2According to Herman’s articles published in 2016 and 2020, one main difference between the medieval and the post-medieval kings is their matrimonial practices. The first had five wives (bǝʾǝsitat), all queens (nǝgǝśt) with a regnal name and they had concubines (ǝqubat) as well, while the latter group tried to respect the principle of monogamy.

3Starting with King Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl (1508–1540), matrimonial practice changed. Only one wife was recognised as queen (nǝgǝśt) and given a regnal name, thereafter based on the King’s name.

4Kings began to marry by following the religious ceremony of marriage (or taklil), tried to restrict themselves to monogamy and rejected concubines (except King Śarṣ́a Dǝngǝl and King Iyasu I). This practice would be followed till the 18th and 19th centuries, though it was adapted slightly.

1.2 16th century, the century of regencies

5In 2015, Herman shows that while the principle of regency was introduced in the previous century, it began to become a regular system during the 16th century.

1.3 The creation of the title of Itege* or Etege*

6The influence of Queen Ǝleni during the reign of Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl (1508–1540) and of Queen Säblä Wangel in the 16th century, caused legislators to create a new title. According to Herman, it is during the reign of Minās (1559–1563), the title of Itege* was made official. Säblä Wangel became the highest queen at court, surpassing the king’s wife and was designated regent. The Itege was considered “Mother of the kingdom,” a distinction that gave her more influence than any other queen, becoming the second highest ranking personage after the king, and she kept her title until she died; previously this had been a king’s privilege. All Etege (or Itege) were then held in great respect.

2.1 Advisers to kings

7Queens often advised kings in making political decisions. Mäsqäl Kǝbra, the wife of King Lalibäla (12th century) is said to have persuaded the king to abdicate in favour of his nephew. But, when she discovered that he had mistreated a farmer, she told her husband to take the throne back.

8Queen Ǝleni, the wife of King Zär’a Ya‘ǝqob, advised four kings from Bä’ǝdä Maryam (1468–1478) till the regency of her great grandson Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl (1508–1540). Her longevity helped her become one of the main characters of the court, till she died in 1524 (Herman 2020).

9Between 1730 and 1769, Ǝtege* Mǝntǝwwab, exercised power for, and with, her son and grandson. She became the most influential character of the 18th century. She governed the kingdom with her son, King Iyasu II (1730–55), as the official chronicle of their reign describes. Mǝntǝwwab, with her family the Q^waräññočč, followed a policy of conciliation by appointing her close relatives to the central government. She also used her daughters to organise dynastic alliances with powerful regional lords to maintain peace. However, the distant provinces were left alone and acquired greater independence. James Bruce testified to her great achievements.

Figure 9. The seal of Ṭaytu

Figure 10. A depiction of royal government. Portraits of lyasu and Walatta Giyorgis

10A century after, in 1883, Ṭaytu Bǝṭul married the King of Šäwa who became nǝguśä nägäśt (king of kings) with the reigning name of Mǝnǝlik II in 1889. In her turn, she was crowned Ǝtege, receiving the official title of “Light of Ethiopia.” Ṭaytu was a close adviser to her husband. She encouraged the king to move the capital from Ǝnṭoṭṭo to a lower altitude around the hot springs of Finfine. She also managed her vast estates with expertise. She directed the huge organisation required to feed and provide drink for thousands of soldiers and officers at the banquets. When Mǝnǝlik’s health began to decline around 1906, Ṭaytu began to make decisions on his behalf, angering her rivals for power by her appointment of favourites and relatives to most of the positions of power and influence. For the doctor Mérab, Ṭaytu almost became the ruler of Ethiopia. Then, excluded from power, she retired in a monastery.

2.2 Diplomats

11In the 16th century, Ǝleni foresaw the Christian state’s growing difficulties with its Muslim coastal neighbours. She sought an alliance with Portugal, then a major power in the Indian Ocean. Thus, she sent a letter with an Armenian trader, Mateus, who, after many vicissitudes, delivered the letter to the Portuguese king. Mateus left Portugal in 1517 with the Rodrigo da Lima Embassy to offer Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl some assistance against the incursions of the Adäl warriors. However, the young king, ignoring Ǝleni’s advice, had gone into battle and been victorious, defeating Māḥfūz, Aḥmad’s chief minister. Continuing to ignore Ǝleni, at first Ləbnä Dəngəl showed little interest in obtaining Portuguese help. Later, he would however call them back for help.

12At the end of the 19th century, Ṭaytu provided a counterbalance to Mǝnǝlik who, she considered, was too trusting of the foreigners plotting at his court. In 1890, there was a dispute between Italy and Ethiopia over the Treaty of Wuchale. Article 17 had two different meanings in the Amharic and Italian versions. The Amharic version recognised the sovereignty of Ethiopia and its relationship with Italy as a diplomatic partnership, while the Italian version made Ethiopia Italy’s protectorate. Ṭaytu was the first to encourage the hesitant king to stand up against this. To the Italian envoy, Count Antoneli, Ṭaytu said: “We also have our dignity to preserve. You wish Ethiopia to be represented before other powers as your protectorate, but this shall never be.” Finally, in 1896, Mǝnǝlik decided to confront the Italians. Ṭaytu took part in the war and brought 3,000 of her own troops to Adwa. The ensuing victory brought about the downfall of the Italian Government.

2.3 A religious role

13The references to queens in the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica show that they have always had an influence on the affairs of the church. In the 12th century, Mäsqäl Kəbra succeeded in persuading the head of the Ethiopian Church to ordain her brother, Hirun, as bishop. She is counted among the Ethiopian saints. In the 17th century, Wäld Sa’ala, the wife of King Susneyos, fought strongly against the Jesuits and helped the kingdom to return to orthodoxy. In the 18th century, Mǝntǝwwab, a partisan of the Qebat movement, reconciled the two major monastic orders, who had for centuries engaged in bitter disputes over church doctrine.

14Queens also built major churches in Ethiopia. Mäsqäl Kǝbra built the church of Abba Libanos in Lalibäla. In the 16th century, Queen Ǝleni, a former Muslim, built a main church in Goğğam, Märṭulä Maryam. It was built using stone and wood, with two tabotat (altar stones) of gold.

150FIn the 18th century, as shown by Bosc-Tiessé, Mǝntǝwwab was a great patron of the arts and literature, financing the building of many fine churches and stimulating the production of richly illuminated manuscripts and paintings. She built several significant edifices in Gondär, like the complex called Däbrä Sahāy Qwǝsqwam which included a palace and a church and she protected the Greek and Syrian artisans employed on palace building. She endowed the library of the church with 68 volumes, three of which were illuminated. In 1747, she then built a church on Lake Ṭana, called Narga Sǝllase, becoming the first queen to build a royal foundation on the Lake.

Figure 11. Margaux Herman, Q^wǝsq^wam Palace in Gondär

16In the 19th century, Ṭaytu was educated, could read and write Amharic and gǝ‘ǝz. She composed religious poetry and played the begena, a royal lyre. She sponsored the copying of religious books and ordered her own copy of the Miracle of Mary. She cared a lot for Jerusalem as she was in charge of “the department of Jerusalem affairs.” She founded the church of Ǝnṭoṭṭo Maryam.