Horse name

A horse name is a secondary noble title or a popular name for members of Ethiopian royalty; in some cases the "horse names" are the only name known for a ruler. They take the form of "father of X", where "X" is the name of the person's warhorse.

Some known horse names of Ethiopian nobility include:

List of Horse names
Name Title Horse Name Literal/Synonymous meaning Note Sources
Alula Engida Ras Abba Nega Father of dawn Alula Aba Nega Airport is named after him and his horsename.
Balcha Safo Dejazmach Abba Nefso Father of the Soul [1]
Bashah Aboye Dejazmach Abba Däffar Father of audacity [2]
Belay Zeleke Dejazmach Abba Koster Father of Sharpshooter [3]
Darge Sahle Selassie Ras Abba Gersa[note 1] Father of Recurring Impediment (i.e. impeding the enemy). [4][1]
Garmame Dejazmach Abba Mala [5]
Habte Giyorgis Dinagde Fitawrari Abba Mechal Father of Tolerance [1]
Haile Maryam Gebre Dejazmach Abba Dammana Father of the Cloud [6]
Lul Seged Ras Abba Balay
Menelik II Emperor of Ethiopia Abba Dagnew Father of Justice [1]
Sabagadis Woldu Dejazmach Abba Garay [7]
Tekle Haymanot Negus of Gojjam Abba Tanna [8]
Tessema Nadew Ras Bitwoded Abba Qamaw [9]
Tewodros II Emperor of Ethiopia Abba Tatek Father of readiness (of arms)
Welde Giyorgis Aboye Negus of Gondar Abba Saggad[note 2] Father of Commandeering [10][1]
Yohannes IV Emperor of Ethiopia Abba Bezibiz Father of Plunder [1]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Berhane-Selassie, Tsehai (2018). "6 - Military Training in Sports, Horsemanship and Hunting". Ethiopian Warriorhood: Defence, Land and Society 1800-1941 (PDF). Boydell & Brewer. p. 154-160. ISBN 9781787443419.
  2. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert; Bausi, Alessandro; Yimam, Baye; Crummey, Donald; Goldenberg, Gideon, eds. (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 492–493. ISBN 9783447047463. OCLC 722894586.
  3. ^ Getie Gelaye. 2005. Amharic Praise Poems of Däğğazmaó Bälay Zälläqä and the Patriots of Goğğam during the Italian Occupation of Ethiopia, 1936–1941. In Sigmund Uhlig, (ed.). Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Hamburg, p. 587-597. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
  4. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert; Bausi, Alessandro; Yimam, Baye, eds. (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9783447052382.
  5. ^ TAFLA, BAIRU (1969). "Four Ethiopian Biographies: Däjjazmač Gärmamé, Däjjazmač Gäbrä-Egzi'abehér Moroda, Däjjazmač Balča and Käntiba Gäbru Dästa". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 7 (2). Institute of Ethiopian Studies: 1–10. JSTOR 41965786.
  6. ^ Pearce, Nathaniel (2014). "XVII". The Life and Adventures of Nathaniel Pearce: Written by Himself, during a Residence in Abyssinia from the Years 1810–1819; Together with Mr Coffin's Account of his First Visit to Gondar. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 193. ISBN 9781107450585.
  7. ^ Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 2010. pp. 430–431. ISBN 978-3-447-06246-6.
  8. ^ TAFLA, BAIRU (1973). "Two of the Last Provincial Kings of Ethiopia". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 11 (1). Institute of Ethiopian Studies: 29–49. JSTOR 41988566.
  9. ^ Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Henry Louis (2012). Dictionary of African biography vol 1-6. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 3-4. ISBN 9780195382075.
  10. ^ TAFLA, BAIRU (1973). "Two of the Last Provincial Kings of Ethiopia". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 11 (1). Institute of Ethiopian Studies: 50–55. JSTOR 41988566.


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