Haile Selassie

Haile Selassie was emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until his overthrow in 1974. He led resistance to Italian occupation and became a messianic figure in Rastafari.

Ras Tafari: The title used by Tafari Makonnen before his 1930 coronation as Haile Selassie. His pre-imperial career began under this name and title.
Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italy’s 1935–1937 invasion and occupation of Ethiopia, opposed by Ethiopian forces. The war forced Selassie into exile and became the defining crisis of his reign.
Mekonnen Endelkachew: An Ethiopian statesman who served as prime minister under Haile Selassie from 1957 to 1961. He led the government during a period of imperial administration and modernization.
Rastafari: A Jamaican religious movement that emerged in the 1930s and regards Haile Selassie as divine or messianic. The movement transformed Selassie from an emperor into a sacred figure.
Menelik II: Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913, associated with modernization and victory at Adwa. Menelik’s reign shaped the empire Selassie inherited.
League of Nations: An intergovernmental organization founded in 1920 to promote peace and collective security. Selassie appealed to it in 1936, exposing the limits of collective security.
Abebe Aregai: An Ethiopian resistance leader who later served as prime minister from 1957 to 1960. His career linked armed resistance to service in Selassie’s government.
Coronation of Haile Selassie: The November 1930 ceremony that crowned Tafari Makonnen emperor of Ethiopia as Haile Selassie I. Its titles and imagery helped inspire Rastafari interpretations of his status.
Zewditu: Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930, with Tafari Makonnen as regent and heir apparent. Her reign made Tafari regent and positioned him to succeed her.
Italian East Africa: An Italian colonial possession formed in 1936 by combining Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland. The occupation placed Ethiopia under this colonial administration.

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