Part 1: The Throne, Pages 37 - 49 Summary and Analysis

After the Hour of Assignments came the Hour of the Cashbox when the Emperor would hand out money to needs he deemed worthy. The Emperor was often very free, even prodigal, with money. On his birthday he would shower crowds of the poor with money. Inevitably, however, these happy occasions would quickly turn sour as riots would break out over contested coins and bills. Despite his liberality, the government did not really possess as much money as people generally believed. The Emperor would sometimes be unable, or at least unwilling, to pay people he owed money and it fell to his ministers to cover it up without scandal.

One cause for the country's financial difficulties was the Emperor's frequent visits to the provinces. Most of Ethiopia was wretchedly poor but the governors were...