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Haile Selassie became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. Many Jamaicans and followers of Marcus Garvey viewed his rise to power as prophetic.

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1892 – He was born on the 23rd day of July this year in Ejersa Goro, Harar. He inherited his imperial blood through his paternal grandmother, Princess Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II, and as such, claimed to be a direct descendant of Makeda, the queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel.

1907 – Tafari was given the titular governorship of Sellale, although he did not administer the district directly. In this year, he was appointed governor over part of the province of Sidamo. Following the death of his brother Dejazmach Yilma, Harar was granted to Menelik’s loyal general, Dejazmach Balcha Saffo.

1916 – Regent to the Empress Zauditu from this year, Ras (Prince) Tafari Makonnen succeeded her to the throne of Ethiopia in 1930, proclaiming himself Haile Selassie (“Might of the Trinity”).

1930 – His reign began from this year and ends a year before his death.

1935 – An autocratic ruler, he modernized Ethiopia and led the resistance against Italian invasion in this year.

1936 – Selassie was exiled in this year, but he restored his power in 1941 with the assistance of the Allies in World War II. By the 1970s the region’s droughts and famines had taken their toll and Selassie began to lose popular support.

1974 – He was deposed in a military coup in this year.

1975 – He passed away while under arrest on the 27th day of August this year. His remains were found in 1992 beneath a toilet in the Imperial Palace, and in 2000, he was interred in the Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

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