Haile Selassie was revered as a pan-African statesman and worshipped as divine by the Rastafari movement, yet he was overthrown by a military junta, killed, and buried in secret beneath a palace floor. This deep dive traces his rise as Tafari Makonnen, a governor at 13 who claimed Solomonic descent and outmaneuvered rival nobles, including buying off Balcha Safo’s army.

We cover his coronation in 1930, his constitution and abolition of slavery, his adoption of 40 Armenian orphans, the Italian invasion and his exile in Bath, his famous League of Nations speech, and his return in 1941. We also examine his role in founding the Organization of African Unity, his annexation of Eritrea and forced assimilation policies, the famine that collapsed his rule, and the Derg’s takeover.

• How the Battle of Adwa and Solomonic lineage shaped Tafari’s rise
• The clever tactic he used to dismantle a rebel governor’s army
• Why his exile and diplomacy helped him reclaim Ethiopia
• The domestic costs of centralization, Eritrea’s annexation, and the famine
• How he reacted to being worshipped by the Rastafari movement