According to an article about the Ethiopia Military Tradition in National Life at the Library of Congress web site[search = military ranks], Since the time of its establishment in the thirteenth century, the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia was fundamentally a warrior society. Military values had influenced the political, economic, and social organization of the this Christian kingdom, while senior state officials often bore military titles. Additionally, military symbolism and themes occur frequently in art, literature, and folklore of the period.
In early times, the army's command structure, like the nation's social structure, resembled a pyramid with the emperor at its apex as supreme military leader. In the field, a hierarchy of warlords led the army. Each of subordinate to a warlord of a higher rank and commanded others at a lower rank according to a system of vertical personal loyalties that bound them all to the emperor.
The titles of rank in the traditional military system indicated position in society at large. Soldiers won promotions--and therefore enhancement of their social status --by demonstrating military ability. Titles were not inherited, and distinctions had to be earned. Even those starting at the bottom of the social scale could attain wealth and position if they could draw attention to themselves by displays of loyalty, valor, and ruthlessness. The traditional system's strength and weakness lay in the fact that every warrior strove to become great and as such saw himself the potential equal of the greatest warrior or noble.
There were many kinds of military rank in Ethiopia those days. One of it was Dejazmach, also known as Dejach, which is the highest ranking subordinate in the Ethiopian royal army. Besides, it is also called as a general of the door who is in charge of the center of the battle information.
