Balabat (Amharic: ባላባት, romanized: balabat or balebat, lit: 'with father'[1] compare with English Patrician) was a largely traditional Ethiopian social class of wealthy land owners who lived on rent collected from their tenant framers (gebbars).
[3] They were closely related to, commonly married to, and had the same economic base on land as the Mesafints and Mekwanints.
[5] Balabats were a powerful figure in Ethiopian society and, had substantial influence on its politics.
[6] 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.