Balabat (Amharic: ባላባት, romanized: balabat or balebat, lit: 'with father'[1] compare with EnglishPatrician) was a largely traditional Ethiopiansocial class of wealthy land owners who lived on rent collected from their tenant framers (gebbars).[2] Balabats were below the Mesafint (hereditary nobility "princes") and equal to the Mekwanint (appointed nobility "officers") in the class hierarchy.[3] They were closely related to, commonly married to, and had the same economic base on land as the Mesafints and Mekwanints.[4] Balabats officially ceased to exist when feudalism was abolished in 1975.[5]
Politics
Balabats were a powerful figure in Ethiopian society and, had substantial influence on its politics. They were heavily represented in the imperial parliament that was established in 1931. Emperor Haile Selassie I had reduced their importance to centralize authority around the end of his reign as the last emperor.[6]
Revolution
After the February 1974 popular revolution the Derg overthrew the government of Emperor Haile Selassie. In 1975 the Derg abolished the monarchy and feudalism to establish Ethiopia as a Marxist–Leninist state. This ended the Ethiopian empire and aristocracy.
