The
Zemene Mesafint (
Ge'ez: 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
Ethiopian history when the country was divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority. It was a period in which the
Emperors were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of
Gondar.