Tilahun Gizaw
112-558: Haile Selassie The Ethiopian Student Movement ( Amharic : የኢትዮጵያ ተማሪዎች ንቅንቄ, ESM ) was a period of radical Marxist–Leninist student activism and movement in Ethiopia from the mid-1960s to the 1974 revolution . The first demonstration occurred in 1965 by university student, led by Marxist–Leninist motivation chanting "Land to the Tiller" and "Is poverty a crime?". The student uprisings continued in 1966 until 1969. The movement also called for
224-611: A charter member of the United Nations. In 1948, the Ogaden , a region disputed with both Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland , was granted to Ethiopia. On 2 December 1950, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 390 (V), establishing the federation of Eritrea (the former Italian colony) into Ethiopia. Eritrea was to have its own constitution, which would provide for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural balance, while Ethiopia
336-622: A defining figure in modern Ethiopian history , he is accorded divine importance in Rastafari , a relatively new Abrahamic religion that emerged in the Colony of Jamaica in the 1930s. A few years before he began his reign over the Ethiopian Empire , Selassie defeated Ethiopian army commander Ras Gugsa Welle Bitul , who was the nephew of Empress Taytu Betul , during the Battle of Anchem . He belonged to
448-768: A key role at the Battle of Adwa ; Haile Selassie was thus able to ascend to the imperial throne through his paternal grandmother, Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II and daughter of the Solomonic Amhara King of Shewa, Negus Sahle Selassie. As such, Haile Selassie claimed direct descent from Makeda , the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel. Ras Makonnen arranged for Tafari as well as his first cousin, Imru Haile Selassie , to receive instruction in Harar from Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin , an Ethiopian Capuchin friar, and from Dr. Vitalien,
560-567: A noble family from Shewa and was the governor of the districts of Menz and Doba , which are located in Semien Shewa . Tafari's mother was the daughter of a ruling chief from Were Ilu in Wollo province, Dejazmach Ali Abba Jifar. Ras Makonnen was the grandson of King Sahle Selassie who was once the ruler of Shewa . He served as a general in the First Italo–Ethiopian War , playing
672-456: A political match designed to create peace between Ethiopian nobles, the couple's family had said they married with mutual consent. Selassie described his spouse as a "woman without any malice whatsoever". The extent to which Tafari Makonnen contributed to the movement that would come to depose Lij Iyasu has been discussed extensively, particularly in Haile Selassie's own detailed account of
784-605: A single location simultaneously in Ethiopian history . Conservatives agitated to redress this perceived insult to the crown's dignity, leading to the Ras Gugsa Welle's rebellion . Gugsa Welle was the husband of the Empress and the Shum of Begemder Province. In early 1930, he raised an army and marched it from his governorate at Gondar towards Addis Ababa . On 31 March 1930, Gugsa Welle
896-428: A surgeon from Guadeloupe . Tafari was named Dejazmach (literally "commander of the gate", roughly equivalent to " count ") at the age of 13, on 1 November 1905. Shortly thereafter, his father Makonnen died at Kulibi , in 1906. Tafari assumed the titular governorship of Selale in 1906, a realm of marginal importance, but one that enabled him to continue his studies. In 1907, he was appointed governor over part of
1008-657: A tour have inspired so many anecdotes". In return for two lions, the United Kingdom presented Tafari with the imperial crown of Emperor Tewodros II for its safe return to Empress Zewditu. The crown had been taken by General Sir Robert Napier during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia . In this period, the Crown Prince visited the Armenian monastery of Jerusalem . There, he adopted 40 Armenian orphans (አርባ ልጆች Arba Lijoch , "forty children"), who had lost their parents during
1120-463: A word for "king." The consort of the emperor was referred to as the ətege . Empress Zewditu used the feminized form nəgəstä nägäst ("Queen of Kings") to show that she reigned in her own right, and did not use the title of ətege . On the death of a monarch any male or female descendant of the various dynastic lines could claim succession to the throne. Though in many cases the practice favoured primogeniture for at least one subsequent succession to
1232-619: A young man. The "Oriental Dignity" of the Ethiopians and their "rich, picturesque court dress" were sensationalised in the media; among his entourage he even included a pride of lions, which he distributed as gifts to President Alexandre Millerand and Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré of France , to King George V of the United Kingdom , and to the Zoological Garden ( Jardin Zoologique ) of Paris, France. As one historian noted, "Rarely can
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#17328475922791344-548: Is at once a benefit and a misfortune." Throughout Tafari's travels in Europe, the Levant , and Egypt, he and his entourage were greeted with enthusiasm and fascination. Seyum Mangasha accompanied him and Hailu Tekle Haymanot who, like Tafari, were sons of generals who contributed to the victorious war against Italy a quarter-century earlier at the Battle of Adwa . Another member of his entourage, Mulugeta Yeggazu, actually fought at Adwa as
1456-477: Is no historical evidence supporting the legends or Yekuno Amlak's ancestry. There is no credible basis to the claims that the Aksumite royal house was descended from Solomon (or that any Aksumite king even claimed such an ancestry) or that Yekuno Amlak was descended from the Aksumite royal house. Solomon is dated to the 10th century BCE, hundreds of years before the founding of Aksum. Historian Harold G. Marcus describes
1568-424: Is translated as "child" and serves to indicate that a youth is of noble blood. His given name Tafari means "one who is respected or feared". Like most Ethiopians, his personal name "Tafari" is followed by that of his father Makonnen and that of his grandfather Woldemikael. His name Haile Selassie was given to him at his infant baptism and adopted again as part of his regnal name in 1930. On 1 November 1905, at
1680-507: The Armenian Genocide . Tafari arranged for the musical education of the youths, and they came to form the imperial brass band. Tafari's authority was challenged in 1928 when Dejazmach Balcha Safo went to Addis Ababa with a sizeable armed force. When Tafari consolidated his hold over the provinces, many of Menelik's appointees refused to abide by the new regulations. Balcha Safo, the governor ( Shum ) of coffee-rich Sidamo Province ,
1792-481: The Atse ( Amharic : ዐፄ , "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire , from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor was the head of state and head of government , with ultimate executive , judicial and legislative power in that country. A National Geographic article from 1965 called Imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy ; in fact it
1904-460: The Battle of Shire , Haile Selassie took the field with the last Ethiopian army on the northern front. On 31 March 1936, he launched a counterattack against the Italians himself at the Battle of Maychew in southern Tigray . The Emperor's army was defeated and retreated in disarray. As Haile Selassie's army withdrew, the Italians attacked from the air along with rebellious Raya and Azebo tribesmen on
2016-620: The Derg government during the Ethiopian Civil War , especially the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the inspired the EPRDF 's notion of "multi-nation, multi-ethnic, and multilingual nature of Ethiopia". As such, ESM is critical for the 21st-century Ethiopian ethnic conflict . The first demonstration occurred in 1965 driven by Marxist–Leninist university students with the slogan " Land to
2128-461: The Ethiopian government issued law to Ministry of Interior that restrict the protest. Two days prior, about 1,500 and 1,700 people demonstrated in Arat Kilo campus but were deterred by police force, utilizing tear gas and began attacking the demonstrator. The 1973 nationwide famine also agitated the student activism and protest. Elleni Zeleke wrote: The Ethiopian Student Movement was crucial for
2240-762: The Harari people were persecuted and many left the Harari Region . His administration was also criticised by human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch , as autocratic and illiberal. According to some sources, late into Haile Selassie's administration, the Oromo language was banned from education, public speaking and use in administration, though there was never an official law or government policy that criminalised any language. His government also relocated many Amhara people into southern Ethiopia, where they served in government administration, courts, and church. Following
2352-750: The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Addis Ababa . Among some adherents of Rastafari , Haile Selassie is referred to as the returned Jesus —that is, the Messiah and God incarnate . This distinction notwithstanding, he was a Christian and adhered to the tenets and liturgy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church . He has been criticised by some historians for his suppression of rebellions among the landed aristocracy ( Mesafint ), which consistently opposed his changes. Some have also criticised Ethiopia's failure to modernise rapidly enough. During his reign,
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#17328475922792464-587: The League of Nations , but aid from the League was not forthcoming. Italy added Ethiopia to its already existing colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somalia, creating the new dependent state of Italian East Africa and was the first to associate Ethiopia as part of the Horn of Africa . On 9 May 1936, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy proclaimed himself emperor of Ethiopia, replacing Haile Selassie. Victor Emmanuel's claim to emperorship
2576-482: The Ogaden Desert and his father, Negus Mikael of Wollo , had time to come to his aid. On 27 October, Negus Mikael and his army met an army under Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis loyal to Zewditu and Tafari. During the Battle of Segale , Mikael was defeated and captured. Any chance that Iyasu would regain the throne was ended, and he went into hiding. On 11 January 1921, after avoiding capture for about five years, Iyasu
2688-599: The Solomonic dynasty , which was founded by Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270; Amlak's successors claimed that he was a lineal descendant of Menelik I , the legendary Emperor of Ethiopia who was supposedly born to King Solomon and Queen Makeda of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Sheba , respectively. Modern historians regard the Solomonic lineage claim as an unfounded myth created by Yekuno Amlak to justify wresting power from
2800-570: The United Nations as a charter member. In 1963, he presided over the formation of the Organisation of African Unity , the precursor of the African Union , and served as the institution's first chairman. By the early 1960s, many prominent African socialists , such as Kwame Nkrumah , Ahmed Sékou Touré , and Ahmed Ben Bella , envisioned the creation of a " United States of Africa " to rival
2912-510: The Welwel Incident of 5 December 1934, Haile Selassie joined his northern armies and set up headquarters at Desse in Wollo province. He issued a generalized mobilization order on 3 October 1935. On 19 October 1935, he gave more precise orders for his army to his Commander-in-Chief, Ras Kassa , instructing the men to choose hidden positions, to conserve ammunition, and to avoid wearing conspicuous clothing for fear of air attack. Compared to
3024-660: The Zagwe Dynasty . Haile Selassie, seeking to modernise Ethiopia, introduced a series of political and social reforms, including the 1931 constitution and the abolition of slavery . He led the empire during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and after its defeat was exiled to the United Kingdom . After the beginning of the Italian occupation of East Africa , he traveled to Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to assist in coordinating
3136-707: The autocephaly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by the Abuna , a bishop who answered to the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria . In 1942 and 1945, Haile Selassie applied to the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church to establish the independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with
3248-546: The " Gideon Force " of Colonel Orde Wingate , coordinated the military effort to liberate Ethiopia. Haile Selassie issued several imperial proclamations in this period, demonstrating that British military might and the Emperor's popular appeal could be joined in the concerted effort to liberate Ethiopia. On 18 January 1941, during the East African Campaign , Haile Selassie crossed the border between Sudan and Ethiopia, near
3360-484: The 13th century until 1974. The Amhara warrior turned emperor, Kassa of Qwara , Gonder , in 1855 took complete control over Ethiopia and was crowned Emperor Tewodros II . Of the valley nobility, he claimed paternal descent from Emperor Fasilides, by way of one of the aforementioned emperor's daughters. After Emperor Tewodros' reign, one of the many rebels leaders that helped the British in their expedition into Abyssinia
3472-815: The Coptic Church of Alexandria. Finally, in 1959, Pope Kyrillos VI elevated the Abuna to Patriarch-Catholicos. The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church. In addition to these efforts, Haile Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting the legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses. Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( Ge'ez : ንጉሠ ነገሥት , romanized: nəgusä nägäst , " King of Kings "), also known as
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3584-622: The Derg – refused to return to Ethiopia to rule. The Derg abolished the monarchy on 21 March 1975. In April 1989, Amha Selassie was proclaimed emperor in exile at London, with his succession backdated to the date of Haile Selassie's death in August 1975 rather than his deposition in September 1974. In 1993 a group called the " Crown Council of Ethiopia ", which included several descendants of Haile Selassie, affirmed Amha as emperor and legal head of Ethiopia. However,
3696-444: The Ethiopian people, exactly five years after the fascist forces entered Addis Ababa. He urged them not to reciprocate the atrocities they had been subjected to. On 27 August 1942, Haile Selassie confirmed the legal basis for the abolition of slavery that had been illegally enacted by Italian occupying forces throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including death, for slave trading. After World War II, Ethiopia became
3808-414: The Ethiopian sense of nationhood. This and the dynasty's continued propagation of the myth was reflected in the 1955 Ethiopian constitution , which declared that the emperor "descends without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of Queen of Ethiopia, the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Jerusalem". The Solomonic dynasty , which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from
3920-619: The Ethiopian struggle against Fascist Italy , and was able to return home following the East African campaign of World War II . He later dissolved the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea , which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950, and annexed Eritrea as one of Ethiopia's provinces , while also fighting to prevent Eritrean secession . As an internationalist , Selassie led Ethiopia's accession to
4032-458: The Ethiopians, the Italians had an advanced, modern military that included a large air force. The Italians also came to employ chemical weapons throughout the conflict, even targeting Red Cross field hospitals. Starting in early October 1935, the Italians invaded Ethiopia . But, by November, the pace of invasion had slowed appreciably, and Haile Selassie's northern armies were able to launch what
4144-615: The German side in June 1940. Haile Selassie's pleas for international support took root in the United States, particularly among African-American organisations sympathetic to the Ethiopian cause. In 1937, Haile Selassie was to give a Christmas Day radio address to the American people to thank his supporters when his taxi was involved in a traffic accident, leaving him with a fractured knee. He delivered
4256-662: The League of Nations afforded Haile Selassie the opportunity to address the assembly. In response, Italy withdrew its League delegation. Haile Selassie was introduced by the president of the Assembly as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" ( Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Éthiopie ). The introduction caused many Italian journalists in the galleries to erupt into jeering, heckling, and whistling. They had earlier been issued whistles by Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano . The Romanian delegate and former League president, Nicolae Titulescu , jumped to his feet and cried "To
4368-953: The League of Nations effectively collapsed was due to its failure to condemn Italy's invasion of Abyssinia. Haile Selassie spent his exile years (1936–1941) in Bath , England, in Fairfield House , which he bought. The Emperor and Kassa Haile Darge took morning walks together behind the 14-room Victorian house's high walls. Haile Selassie's favorite reading was "diplomatic history". It was during his exile in England that he began writing his 90,000-word autobiography. Prior to Fairfield House, he briefly stayed at Warne's Hotel in Worthing and in Parkside, Wimbledon . A bust of Haile Selassie by Hilda Seligman stood in nearby Cannizaro Park to commemorate his stay, and
4480-493: The Orthodox clergy imposed strict rules concerning her diet during Lent, against her physicians' orders. Upon Zewditu's death, Tafari himself rose to emperor and was proclaimed Neguse Negest ze-'Ityopp'ya , "King of Kings of Ethiopia". He was crowned on 2 November 1930, at Addis Ababa's Cathedral of St. George . The coronation was by all accounts "a most splendid affair", and it was attended by royals and dignitaries from all over
4592-579: The Shewan Amhara Solomonic king, Sahle Selassie . He was born on 23 July 1892, in the village of Ejersa Goro , in the Hararghe province of Ethiopia. Tafari's mother, Woizero ("Lady") Yeshimebet Ali Abba Jifar, was paternally of Oromo descent and maternally of Silte heritage, while his father, Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael , was maternally of Amhara descent but his paternal lineage remains disputed. Tafari's paternal grandfather belonged to
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4704-543: The Tiller ". It was followed by the 1966, 1967 and 1968 uprising with "the powers that be on a variety of social and political issues". In May 1966, the student confronted the police, chanting the slogan "Is poverty a crime?". A faction within the movement supported the armed uprisings occurring against Selassie in Eritrea province and the Ogaden region. In April 1967, the third successive year of protest occurred near Arat Kilo campus rather than Siddest Kilo campus. In response,
4816-617: The Trinity". Haile Selassie's full title in office was "By the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah , His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Lord of Lords, Elect of God". This title reflects Ethiopian dynastic traditions, which hold that all monarchs must trace their lineage to Menelik I , who is described by the Kebra Nagast (a 14th-century CE national epic) as
4928-474: The Zagwe dynasty (which ruled from c. 900 AD ), and was first practiced on Debre Damo , which was captured by the 10th-century queen Yodit or " Gudit ", who then isolated 200 princes there to death; however, Pakenham also notes that when questioned, the abbot of the monastery on Debre Damo knew of no such tale. Taddesse Tamrat argues that this practice began in the reign of Wedem Arad (1299–1314), following
5040-597: The abolition of monarchy under Emperor Haile Selassie and feudalism in Ethiopia. Following the 1974 revolution, the ESM members in Ethiopia and aboard superintended many political organizations like the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON), that involved in insurgency against the Derg regime. Scholars agreed that the ESM has laid foundation of many opposition forces behind
5152-487: The address despite his injury, in which he linked Christianity and goodwill with the Covenant of the League of Nations , and asserted that war can be resolved diplomatically. During this period, Haile Selassie suffered several personal tragedies. His two sons-in-law, Ras Desta Damtew and Dejazmach Beyene Merid , were both executed by the Italians. The Emperor's daughter, Princess Romanework , wife of Dejazmach Beyene Merid,
5264-451: The age of 13, Tafari was appointed by his father as the Dejazmatch of Gara Mulatta (a region some twenty miles southwest of Harar). The literal translation of Dejazmatch is "keeper of the door"; it is a title of nobility equivalent to a count . On 27 September 1916, he was proclaimed Crown Prince and heir apparent to the throne ( Alga Worrach ), and appointed Regent Plenipotentiary ( Balemulu Silt'an Enderase ). On 11 February 1917, he
5376-457: The cause of fascism and embolden its empire's rhetoric. Ethiopia would also provide a bridge between Italy's Eritrean and Italian Somaliland possessions. Ethiopia's position in the League of Nations did not dissuade the Italians from invading in 1935; the " collective security " envisaged by the League proved useless, and a scandal erupted when the Hoare–Laval Pact revealed that Ethiopia's League allies were scheming to appease Italy. Following
5488-415: The claims of competing factions. In other words, she had the last word. But unlike other monarchs Tafari carried the burden of daily administration, but, initially because his position was relatively weak, this was often an exercise in futility. His personal army was poorly equipped, his finances were limited, and he had little leverage to withstand the combined influence of the Empress, the Minister of War, or
5600-410: The constitutions adopted during the reign of Selassie: the one adopted on July 16, 1931 ; and the revised one of November 1955 . Haile Selassie was the last Solomonic monarch to rule Ethiopia. He was deposed by the Derg , the committee of lower-ranking military and police officials on September 12, 1974. The Derg offered the throne to Selassie's son Amha Selassie , who – understandably mistrustful of
5712-409: The coronation, but who had dedicated a prayer for the Emperor on the day of the coronation. Haile Selassie introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution on 16 July 1931, providing for a bicameral legislature . The constitution kept power in the hands of the nobility, but it did establish democratic standards among the nobility, envisaging a transition to democratic rule: it would prevail "until
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#17328475922795824-451: The country who supported their claim to the Imperial throne; the combined military and religious strength would use their influence to contain and put down any competing claims. The second involved interning all of the emperor's possible rivals in a secure location, which drastically limited their ability to disrupt the empire with revolts or to dispute the succession of an heir apparent . Ethiopian traditions do not all agree as to exactly when
5936-415: The creation of peasant association. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) whose formation traced back after the 1974 revolution, also inspired the main ESM ideologues of debate of "multi-nation, multi-ethnic, and multilingual nature of Ethiopia". Hannah Borenstein , who backed Bahru Zewde opinion, wrote that the 1969 student activism
6048-483: The custom started of imprisoning rivals to the throne on a "Mountain of the Princes". One tradition credits this practice to the Zagwe king Yemrehana Krestos (fl. 11th century), who allegedly received the idea in a dream; Taddesse Tamrat discredits this tradition, arguing that the records of the Zagwe dynasty betray too many disputed successions for this to have been the case. Another tradition, recorded by historian Thomas Pakenham , states that this practice predates
6160-412: The death of Ethiopian civil rights activist Hachalu Hundessa in 2020, the Bust of Haile Selassie in the United Kingdom was destroyed by Oromo-speaking protesters, and an equestrian monument depicting his father Makonnen Wolde Mikael was also removed from Harar . Haile Selassie was known as a child as Lij Tafari Makonnen (Ge'ez: ልጅ ተፈሪ መኮንን , romanized: Ləj Täfäri Mäkonnən ). Lij
6272-436: The death of Sultan Abba Jifar II of Jimma . Ethiopia became the target of renewed Italian imperialist designs in the 1930s. Benito Mussolini 's Fascist regime was keen to avenge the military defeats Italy had suffered to Ethiopia in the First Italo-Abyssinian War , and to efface the failed attempt by "liberal" Italy to conquer the country, as epitomised by the defeat at Adwa . A conquest of Ethiopia could also empower
6384-437: The door with the savages!", and the offending journalists were removed from the hall. After the hall was cleared, Haile Selassie responded "majestically" with a speech considered by some among the most stirring of the 20th century, and a possible warning for future generations. Although fluent in French, the League's working language, Haile Selassie chose to deliver his speech in his native Amharic . He asserted that Italy
6496-492: The early 1930s. In 1924, Ras Tafari toured Europe and the Middle East visiting Jerusalem , Alexandria , Paris, Luxembourg, Brussels, Amsterdam , Stockholm, London, Geneva , Gibraltar and Athens . With him on his tour was a group that included Ras Seyum Mangasha of western Tigray Province ; Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam province; Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu of Illubabor Province ; Ras Makonnen Endelkachew ; and Blattengeta Heruy Welde Selassie . The primary goal of
6608-514: The emperor of Ethiopia had theoretically unlimited power over his subjects, his councillors came to play an increasing role in governing Ethiopia, because many emperors were succeeded either by a child, or one of the incarcerated princes, who could only successfully leave their prisons with help from the outside. As a result, by the mid-18th century the power of the emperor had been largely transferred to his deputies, like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray ( c. 1691 – 1779), who held actual power in
6720-458: The empire and elevated or deposed emperors at will. The emperors of Ethiopia derived their right to rule based on two dynastic claims: their descent from the kings of Axum , and their descent from Menelik I , the legendary son of Solomon and Makeda, Queen of Sheba . The claim to their relationship to the Kings of Axum derives from Yakuno Amlak's claim that he was the descendant of Dil Na'od , through his father, although he defeated and killed
6832-638: The equivalent of a royal duke . In 1928, Empress Zewditu planned on granting him the throne of Shewa; however, at the last moment opposition from certain provincial rulers caused a change and his title Negus or "King" was conferred without geographical qualification or definition. On 2 November 1930, after the death of Empress Zewditu, Tafari was crowned Negusa Nagast , literally "King of Kings", rendered in English as "Emperor". Upon his ascension, he took as his regnal name Haile Selassie I. Haile means in Ge'ez "Power of" and Selassie means trinity —therefore Haile Selassie roughly translates to "Power of
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#17328475922796944-505: The fall of Emperor Haile Selassie regime, the 1974 revolution and the seizure of Derg military junta. Many political parties during the Derg era emerged from ESM, mostly the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) which was formed by students that exiled to the United States, Europe and Algiers while the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON) came out from the Ethiopian Student Union in Europe (ESUE). The Derg also proposed prerequisites for ESM student demands, such as land reform and
7056-406: The ground, who were armed and paid by the Italians. Many of the Ethiopian military were obsolete compared to the invading Italian forces, possessing mostly untrained and non-modern rifles and weaponry. Haile Selassie made a solitary pilgrimage to the churches at Lalibela , at considerable risk of capture, before returning to his capital. After a stormy session of the council of state, it
7168-421: The illness as someone fairly "prone to" the effects of disease throughout his life. He secured Ethiopia's admission to the League of Nations in 1923 by promising to eradicate slavery; each emperor since Tewodros II had issued proclamations to halt slavery , but without effect: the internationally scorned practice persisted well into Haile Selassie's reign with an estimated 2 million slaves in Ethiopia in
7280-431: The imperial throne, it often, as in the case of Emperor Yohannes IV of Tigray's claim to the throne after the death of Emperor Tewodros II from Gondar , would leave the direct lineage of one royal family in favor of another. The system developed two approaches to controlling the succession: the first involved the selection of emperors by a council of vassal regional royals and powerful clergy members from throughout
7392-441: The lands of the monarchy – which however is contrary to keeping the country undivided. The potential royal rivals were incarcerated at Amba Geshen until the site was destroyed in 1540 during the Ethiopian-Adal war ; then, from the reign of Fasilides (1632–1667) until the mid-18th century, at Wehni . Rumors of these royal mountain residences were part of the inspiration for Samuel Johnson 's short story, Rasselas . Although
7504-415: The last Zagwe king in battle. His claim to the throne was also helped by his marriage to that king's daughter, even though Ethiopians commonly do not acknowledge claims from the distaff side. The claim of descent from Menelik I is based on the assertion that the kings of Axum were also the descendants of Menelik I; its definitive and best-known formulation is set forth in the Kebra Nagast . However, there
7616-410: The male-line Solomonic tradition, for which he adopted the throne name of Menelik II. The Emperor Tewodros spent his youth fighting with invading Ottoman Egyptians (termed 'Turks' by the Ethiopians), then unifying the empire after the dark age of the ' Zemene Mesafint ' (Era of the Princes). Emperor Yohannes IV defeated an invading Egyptian army in modern day Eritrea and died while working to address
7728-401: The matter. Iyasu was the designated but uncrowned emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. Iyasu's reputation for scandalous behavior and a disrespectful attitude towards the nobles at the court of his grandfather, Menelik II, damaged his reputation. Iyasu's flirtation with Islam was considered treasonous among the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian leadership of the empire. On 27 September 1916, Iyasu
7840-431: The most death-dealing weapons", he contended that the aggression threatened all small states, and that all small states were in effect reduced to vassal states in the absence of collective action. He admonished the League that "God and history will remember your judgment." At the beginning of 1936, Time named Haile Selassie "Man of the Year" for 1935, and his June 1936 speech made him an icon for anti-fascists around
7952-418: The people are in a position to elect themselves." The constitution limited succession to the throne to descendants of Haile Selassie, which had the effect of placing other dynastic princes at the time (including the princes of Tigrai , and even the Emperor's loyal cousin Ras Kassa Haile Darge ) outside of the line for the throne. In 1932, the Sultanate of Jimma was formally absorbed into Ethiopia following
8064-409: The province of Sidamo . It is alleged that during his late teens, Haile Selassie was married to Woizero Altayech, and that from this union, his daughter Princess Romanework was born. Following the death of his brother Yelma in 1907, the governorate of Harar was left vacant, and its administration was left to Menelik's loyal general, Dejazmach Balcha Safo . Balcha Safo's administration of Harar
8176-441: The provincial governors. Nonetheless, her authority weakened while Tafari's power increased, she focused on praying and fasting and much less in her official duties which allowed Tafari to later have greater influence than even the Empress. During his Regency, the new Crown Prince developed the policy of cautious modernisation initiated by Menelik II. Also, during this time, he survived the 1918 flu pandemic , having come down with
8288-539: The similar concept of a federal Europe . The rhetoric of this faction, especially in light of the then-ongoing Cold War , was overwhelmingly anti-Western , and Haile Selassie saw this as a threat to the alliance he had so calculably constructed. Therefore, he took it upon himself to attempt to influence a more moderate posture within the group. Amidst popular uprisings by the country's students, peasants, urban dwellers, merchants, political activists, and marginalised religious and ethnic groups, Haile Selassie
8400-579: The situation regarding the Mahdist presence in Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II achieved a major military victory against Italian invaders in March 1896 at the Battle of Adwa and conquered the modern borders of Ethiopia. Italy under Benito Mussolini attacked Ethiopia in 1935, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . Italian successes in the war caused the emperor Haile Selassie to be voted into exile by his nobles in 1936; he pled Ethiopia's case against Italy before
8512-546: The son of the tenth-century BCE King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba . To Ethiopians, Haile Selassie has been known by many names, including Janhoy ("His Majesty") Talaqu Meri ("Great Leader") and Abba Tekel ("Father of Tekel", his horse name ). The Rastafari movement employs many of these appellations, also referring to him as Jah , Jah Jah , Jah Rastafari, and HIM (the abbreviation of "His Imperial Majesty"). Tafari's royal line (through his paternal grandmother) descended from
8624-458: The stories of the Kebra Nagast as a "pastiche of legends" created to legitimize Yekuno Amlak's seizure of power. David Northrup notes that the Kebra Nagast's imaginative and emotive account of a line of descent from Solomon and Sheba to the kings of Aksum and the new Solomonic dynasty is highly improbable and unsupported by evidence. It is a myth. Although the story originated as a medieval political myth, it nevertheless became embedded in
8736-444: The struggle for succession that he believes lies behind the series of brief reigns of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon (reigned 1285–1294). A constructivist approach states that the tradition was used on occasion, weakened or lapsed sometimes, and was sometimes revived to full effect after some unfortunate disputes – and that the custom started in time immemorial as Ethiopian common inheritance patterns allowed all agnates to also succeed to
8848-432: The support of the police, remained with Tafari. Ultimately, the Empress relented, and, on 7 October 1928, she crowned Tafari as Negus ( Amharic : "King"). The crowning of Tafari as King was controversial. He occupied the same territory as the Empress rather than going off to a regional kingdom of the empire. Two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the emperor (in this case empress), had never ruled from
8960-402: The theft of a 1,600-year-old imperial obelisk, and condemned the atrocities suffered by the Ethiopian civilian population. He continued to plead for League intervention and to voice his certainty that "God's judgment will eventually visit the weak and the mighty alike", though his attempts to gain support for the struggle against Italy were largely unsuccessful until Italy entered World War II on
9072-520: The throne, with most combat in Ethiopia ending in 1941. The Armistice of Cassibile was signed in September 1943 with the Kingdom of Italy's surrender, and Victor Emmanuel III officially renounced his title as emperor of Ethiopia in November 1943. In January 1942, Haile Selassie was officially reinstated to power in Ethiopia. The position of the emperor and the line of succession were strictly defined in both of
9184-681: The trip to Europe was for Ethiopia to gain access to the sea. In Paris, Tafari was to find out from the French Foreign Ministry ( Quai d'Orsay ) that this goal would not be realised. However, failing this, he and his retinue inspected schools, hospitals, factories, and churches. Although patterning many reforms after European models, Tafari remained wary of European pressure. To guard against economic imperialism , Tafari required that all enterprises have at least partial local ownership. Of his modernisation campaign, he remarked, "We need European progress only because we are surrounded by it. That
9296-542: The village of Um Iddla. The standard of the Lion of Judah was raised again. Two days later, he and a force of Ethiopian patriots joined with Gideon Force , which was already in Ethiopia and preparing the way. Italy was defeated by combined forces of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations , Free France , Free Belgium , and Ethiopian partisans . On 5 May 1941, Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa and personally addressed
9408-546: The world. Among those in attendance were the Duke of Gloucester (King George V's son), Marshal Louis Franchet d'Espèrey of France, and the Prince of Udine representing King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy . Special Ambassador Herman Murray Jacoby attended the coronation as the personal representative of U.S. president Herbert Hoover . Emissaries from Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan were there. British author Evelyn Waugh
9520-516: The world. He failed, however, to get the diplomatic and matériel support he needed. The League agreed to only partial, ineffective sanctions on Italy, and Selassie was left without much-needed military equipment. Only six nations in 1937 did not recognise Italy's occupation: China, New Zealand, the Soviet Union, the Republic of Spain, Mexico and the United States. It is often said one of the many reasons
9632-562: Was Dejazmatch Kassa, he was rewarded with articles of war for his services and went on to assume power through his claim of Solomonic descent from his mothers Gondarian ancestry and was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV . Sahle Maryam of Shewa, who descended from Solomonic emperors directly paternally through the Shewan Branch (junior only to the Gondar line), ascended the imperial throne following Emperor Yohannes IV's death and thus, purporting to restore
9744-607: Was a benevolent autocracy ". The title " King of Kings ", often rendered imprecisely in English as " emperor ", dates back to ancient Mesopotamia , but was used in Axum by King Sembrouthes ( c. 250 AD ). However, Yuri Kobishchanov dates this usage to the period following the Persian victory over the Romans in 296–297. The most notable pre-Solomonic usage of the title "Negusa Nagast"
9856-708: Was a popular place of pilgrimage for London's Rastafari community, until it was destroyed by protestors on 30 June 2020. Haile Selassie stayed at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern in the 1930s, and his granddaughters and daughters of court officials were educated at Clarendon School for Girls in North Malvern . During his time in Malvern, he attended services at Holy Trinity Church, in Link Top . A blue plaque commemorating his stay in Malvern
9968-443: Was agreed that because Addis Ababa could not be defended, the government would relocate to the southern town of Gore , and that in the interest of preserving the imperial house, Empress Menen Asfaw and the rest of the imperial family should immediately depart for French Somaliland , and from there continue on to Jerusalem . After further debate as to whether Haile Selassie should go to Gore or accompany his family into exile, it
10080-708: Was agreed that he should leave Ethiopia with his family and present the case of Ethiopia to the League of Nations at Geneva . The decision was not unanimous and several participants, including the nobleman Blatta Tekle Wolde Hawariat , strenuously objected to the idea of an Ethiopian monarch fleeing before an invading force. Haile Selassie appointed his cousin Ras Imru Haile Selassie as Prince Regent in his absence, departing with his family for French Somaliland on 2 May 1936. On 5 May, Marshal Pietro Badoglio led Italian troops into Addis Ababa, and Mussolini declared Ethiopia an Italian province. Victor Emanuel III
10192-430: Was also present, penning a contemporary report on the event, and American travel lecturer Burton Holmes shot the only known film footage of the event. One American newspaper report suggested that the celebration had incurred a cost in excess of $ 3,000,000. Many of those in attendance received lavish gifts; in one instance the Emperor, a Christian, even sent a gold-encased Bible to an American bishop who had not attended
10304-621: Was both good and bad, and bequeathed to the contemporary ethnic conflict in Ethiopia . Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez : ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ Qädamawi Ḫäylä Śəllase , lit. ' Power of the Trinity ' ; born Tafari Makonnen ; 23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ( Enderase ) under Empress Zewditu between 1916 and 1930. Widely considered to be
10416-475: Was by Ezana of Axum; despite this, prior to the beginning of the Solomonic Dynasty , most Axumite and Zagwe rulers went by negus . Its use meant that both subordinate officials and tributary rulers, notably the gubernatorial vassals of Gojjam (who ranked 12th in the states non-dynastic protocol as per 1690), Welega , the seaward provinces and later Shewa , received the honorific title of nəgus ,
10528-427: Was crowned Le'ul-Ras and became known as Ras Tafari Makonnen listen . Ras is translated as "head" and is a rank of nobility equivalent to a duke , though it is often rendered in translation as "prince". Originally the title Le'ul , which means "Your Highness", was only ever used as a form of address; however, in 1916 the title Le'ul-Ras replaced the senior office of Ras Bitwoded and so became
10640-413: Was deposed. Contributing to the movement that deposed Iyasu were conservatives such as Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis , Menelik II's longtime Minister of War. The movement to depose Iyasu preferred Tafari, as he attracted support from both progressive and conservative factions. Ultimately, Iyasu was deposed on the grounds of conversion to Islam. In his place, the daughter of Menelik II (the aunt of Iyasu)
10752-458: Was employing chemical weapons on military and civilian targets alike. He pointed out that the same European states that found in Ethiopia's favor at the League of Nations were refusing Ethiopia credit and matériel while aiding Italy. Noting that his own "small people of 12 million inhabitants, without arms, without resources" could never withstand an attack by a large power such as Italy, with its 42 million people and "unlimited quantities of
10864-631: Was highly symbolic, since the Solomonic Dynasty claimed descent from the House of David . Leaving the Holy Land , Haile Selassie and his entourage sailed aboard the British cruiser HMS Capetown for Gibraltar , where he stayed at the Rock Hotel . From Gibraltar, the exiles were transferred to an ordinary liner. By doing this, the United Kingdom government was spared the expense of a state reception. On 12 May 1936,
10976-523: Was ineffective, and so during the last illness of Menelik II, and the brief reign of Empress Taytu Betul , Tafari was made governor of Harar in 1910 or 1911. On 3 August 1911, Tafari married Menen Asfaw of Ambassel , niece of the heir to the throne Lij Iyasu . Menen Asfaw was 22 years old while Tafari was 19 years of age. Menen had already married two previous noblemen, while Tafari had one previous wife and one child. The marriage between Menen Asfaw and Haile Selassie lasted for 50 years. Although possibly
11088-528: Was known as the " Christmas Offensive ". During this offensive, the Italians were forced back in places and put on the defensive. In early 1936, the First Battle of Tembien stopped the progress of the Ethiopian offensive and the Italians were ready to continue their offensive. Following the defeat and destruction of the northern Ethiopian armies at the Battle of Amba Aradam , the Second Battle of Tembien , and
11200-554: Was met by forces loyal to Negus Tafari and was defeated at the Battle of Anchem . Gugsa Welle was killed in action . News of Gugsa Welle's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the Empress died suddenly on 2 April 1930. Although it was long rumored that the Empress was poisoned upon her husband's defeat, or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband, it has since been documented that Zewditu succumbed to paratyphoid fever and complications from diabetes after
11312-469: Was named Empress Zewditu , while Tafari was elevated to the rank of Ras and was made heir apparent and Crown Prince . In the power arrangement that followed, Tafari accepted the role of Regent Plenipotentiary ( Balemulu 'Inderase ) and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire ( Mangista Ityop'p'ya ). Zewditu would govern while Tafari would administer. While Iyasu had been deposed on 27 September 1916, on 8 October he managed to escape into
11424-750: Was not entirely accepted, with the Soviet Union never considering the Italian conquest legitimate, and Haile Selassie continuing to contest the occupation from exile in the United Kingdom. With Italy's entry on the side of the Axis Powers in World War II , the African part of the British Empire aided Haile Selassie and anti-Italian Ethiopian forces in the East African campaign . Italy was defeated and Selassie restored to
11536-540: Was overthrown by the Derg in the 1974 Ethiopian coup d'état . With support from the Soviet Union , the Derg began governing Ethiopia as a Marxist–Leninist state . In 1994, three years after the fall of the Derg military junta , it was revealed to the public that the Derg had assassinated Haile Selassie at the Jubilee Palace in Addis Ababa on 27 August 1975. On 5 November 2000, his excavated remains were buried at
11648-601: Was particularly troublesome. The revenues he remitted to the central government did not reflect the accrued profits and Tafari recalled him to Addis Ababa. The old man came in high dudgeon and, insultingly, with a large army. The Dejazmatch paid homage to Empress Zewditu, but snubbed Tafari. On 18 February, while Balcha Safo and his personal bodyguard were in Addis Ababa, Tafari had Ras Kassa Haile Darge buy off Balcha Safo's army, and arranged to have him replaced as Shum of Sidamo Province by Birru Wolde Gabriel – who himself
11760-523: Was proclaimed as the new Emperor of Ethiopia . On the previous day, the Ethiopian exiles had left French Somaliland aboard the British cruiser HMS Enterprise . They were bound for Jerusalem in the British Mandate of Palestine , where the Ethiopian imperial family maintained a residence. The family disembarked at Haifa and then went on to Jerusalem. Once there, Haile Selassie and his retinue prepared to make their case at Geneva. The choice of Jerusalem
11872-434: Was replaced by Desta Damtew . Even so, the gesture of Balcha Safo empowered Empress Zewditu politically and she attempted to have Tafari tried for treason . He was tried for his benevolent dealings with Italy including a 20-year peace accord that was signed on 2 August. In September, a group of palace reactionaries including some courtiers of the Empress made a final bid to get rid of Tafari . The attempted coup d'état
11984-446: Was still "semi-feudal", and the Emperor's attempts to alter its social and economic form by reforming its modes of taxation met with resistance from the nobility and clergy, which were eager to resume their privileges in the post-war era. Where Haile Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes, the burdens were often still passed by the landowners onto the peasants. Between 1941 and 1959, Haile Selassie worked to establish
12096-583: Was taken into captivity with her children, and she died in Italy in 1941. His daughter Tsehai died during childbirth shortly after the restoration in 1942. After his return to Ethiopia, Haile Selassie donated Fairfield House to the city of Bath as a residence for the aged. In 2019, two blue plaques commemorating his residence at Fairfield and his visits to nearby Weston-super-Mare were unveiled by his grandson. British forces, which consisted primarily of Ethiopian-backed African and South African colonial troops under
12208-427: Was taken into custody by Gugsa Araya Selassie . On 11 February 1917, the coronation for Zewditu took place. She pledged to rule justly through her regent, Tafari. While Tafari was the more visible of the two, Zewditu was not simply an honorary ruler, but she did have some political restraints due to the complicated nature of her position compared to other Ethiopian monarchs, one was that it required that she arbitrate
12320-418: Was to manage its finances, defense, and foreign policy. Despite his centralisation policies that had been made before World War II, Haile Selassie still found himself unable to push for all the programmes he wanted. In 1942, he attempted to institute a progressive tax scheme, but this failed due to opposition from the nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well. Ethiopia
12432-478: Was tragic in its origins and comic in its end. When confronted by Tafari and a company of his troops, the ringleaders of the coup took refuge on the palace grounds in Menelik's mausoleum. Tafari and his men surrounded them, only to be surrounded themselves by the personal guard of Zewditu. More of Tafari's khaki clad soldiers arrived and decided the outcome in his favor with superiority of arms. Popular support, as well as
12544-451: Was unveiled on Saturday, 25 June 2011. As part of the ceremony, a delegation from the Rastafari movement gave a short address and a drum recital. Haile Selassie's activity in this period was focused on countering Italian propaganda as to the Ethiopian resistance and the legality of the occupation. He spoke out against the desecration of houses of worship and historical artifacts, including
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