Negus[a]is the word for "king" in theEthiopian Semitic languagesand atitle[2]which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by theNegusa Nagast,or "king of kings,"[3]in pre-1974Ethiopia.
History
editNegusis a noun derived from theGe'ezSemitic rootngś,meaning "to reign". The title Negus literally translated toBasileus(Greek:βασιλεύς) inAncient Greek,which was seen many times onAksumite currency.The title has subsequently been used to translate the word "king" or "emperor" inBiblicaland other literature. In more recent times, it was used as an honorific title bestowed on governors of the most important provinces (kingdoms):Gojjam,Begemder,Wello,Tigrayand the seaward kingdom, (where the variationBahri Negasi(Sea King), was the title of the ruler of present-day central Eritrea). The military title "Meridazmatch" was initially used by therulers of Shewauntil the reign ofSahle Selassie,when he and his successors adopted the royal title as well.[4][5]
Etymology
editSometime during the development of theEthio-Semiticlanguage family"m-l-k,"the originaltriconsonantal rootfor king, was elevated to the generic word for "god" in the form of thebroken plural"ʾämlak/ʔamlāk." During this time period the semitic term for a ruler or lord, n-g-s, began to mean "king." In an ancientAramaicinscription mentioning the godʿAṯtarhis name is followed by the title𐡍𐡂𐡔(ngš), corresponding toAncient North Arabian𐪌𐪔𐪆(ngś), meaning "the ruler."[6]
See also
editFootnotes
editReferences
edit- ^"negus".Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved16 November2024.
- ^Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia.Cambria Press.ISBN9781621969143.
- ^Negus. Amharic nəgus, from Geez nĕgūša nagašt king of kings. First Known Use: 1594Merriam Webster dictionary
- ^Mussie Tesfagiorgis G. Ph.D. (29 October 2010).Eritrea.ABC-CLIO. pp.34–35.ISBN978-1-59884-232-6.
- ^Alemseged Abbay (1998).Identity Jilted, Or, Re-imagining Identity?: The Divergent Paths of the Eritrean and Tigrayan Nationalist Struggles.The Red Sea Press. p. 202.ISBN978-1-56902-072-2.
- ^Lipiński, Edward(2000).The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion.Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Vol. 100.Leuven,Belgium:Peeters Publishers.ISBN978-9-042-90859-8.