The Zemene Mesafint (Ge'ez: zamana masāfint, modern zemene mesāfint, variously translated "Era of Judges," "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; named after the Book of Judges) is a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, when the country is de facto divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority.

It is a period in which the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty ire reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.

The most powerful lords during the Zemene Mesafint are of the Yejju tribe of the Oromo people and are Ras Ali I, Ras Aligaz, Ras Wolde Selassie, Ras Gugsa and Ras Ali II.

These are collectively called the Wara Seh rulers.

Other warlords include Ras Hailu Yosedeq, Dejazmach Wube Hailemariam and King Sahle Selassie of Shewa.

However, the Yejju lords do have predominance or hegemony over the other lords of Ethiopia.

The lords constantly fight against each other for aggrandizement of their territory and to become the guardians of the kings of kings in Gonder, the capital of the empire at this time.

The monarchy continues only in name because of its sacred character.

This nominal but divinely ordained monarchy preserves the dynasty from actual extinction.