[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I was born as Lij Tafari Makonnen on July 23, 1892, in the town of Ejarsa Gora in the Harage Province, some 18 miles outside the city of Harar, Ethiopia. Lij Tafari was given the religious name, Haile Selassie. He was the son of Ras Makonnen, Governor of Harar under his kinsman, Emperor Menelik II. Ras Makonnen, a Shoa Amharan noble, was married to an Oromo, Yashimabet, who died two years after Lij Tafari’s birth.1

 

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, wearing the sash of the Order of Solomon's Seal. The top star on his tunic is also the Order of Solomon's Seal, beneath which are stars of the US Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (left), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Trinity (centre right), and the Order of Emperor Menelik II (below).
Click on the image for an enlargement.

In a significant break with precedence, Lij Tafari Makonnen was raised with an understanding of world affairs, and with an exposure to the outside world. He was to become the first Emperor of Ethiopia to have traveled extensively abroad.
Ras Makonnen, and therefore Lij Tafari Makonnen, were directly of the Solomonic Line, as was Emperor Menelik himself and Tafari Makonnen’s great-great grandfather, Negus Sahela Selassie, of Shoa. King Sahela (Sahle) Selassie had already made treaties with foreign states, including Queen Victoria’s Britain.
Lij Tafari Makonnen was, unusually for the period, brought up with both a strong education in Shoan Amharic traditions and in Western history, languages and statecraft. He was named Dejazmatch — literally “keeper of the door”; the equivalent of the title of Count in Western terms — for part of Harage province at the age of 13, in 1904, only about a year before his father’s death.
The governorship of Harar, and the army which went with it, went to another — Tafari’s half-brother, Yelma — when Ras Makonnen died, and Lij Tafari Makonnen was named to the lesser governorship of Selale. But, because of palace politics, he was forced even to administer this governorship from the confines of Emperor Menelik’s palace in Addis Ababa, where he learned first hand the art of political manoeuvre. Emperor Menelik, one of Lij Tafari’s supporters, suffered a severe stroke in 1908, and Tafari was “exiled” to the southern frontier area where he served as governor of Sidamo province. There, however, he had an army of 3,000.
Emperor Menelik had, the year before, designated his 12-year-old grandson, Lij Iyasu, as his heir. Emperor Menelik’s wife, Empress Taitu, promoted the interests of Zauditu, her daughter. At this point, however, Yelma died and the governorship of Harar again became vacant. So in 1910, with the loyalty of the various armies (including Harar) and princes, Tafari, with the Shoa Amharan nobility, was able to insist that Empress Taitu devote her energies to nursing the ailing Emperor, with day-to-day management of the Empire handled by Ras Tasamma as Regent. Ras Tasamma was one of the most powerful rases, commanding an extensive army of his own; he had been the traditional advisor-guardian to Lij Iyasu.
But Tasamma died in 1911, and Lij Iyasu began a determined bid for the throne. Emperor Menelik died in 1913, but Iyasu still could not be crowned: his apparent conversion to Islam, the religion into which his father was born, discredited him in the eyes of the monophysite Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Shoan nobles. In 1916, they confirmed Zauditu as Empress and the 25-year-old Ras Tafari as “Supreme Regent and Heir Apparent (Crown Prince)”. He was to remain Regent for the next 13 years, a period during which — as de facto ruler of Ethiopia — he began the transformation of Ethiopia into a modern state, in the international sense.
Lij Iyasu attempted during this period to press his claim to the Throne and was arrested in 1921, and died 12 years later.
Empress Zauditu had, in response to the growing power and popularity of the Regent and Crown Prince, crowned Ras Tafari as Negus (king) on September 7, 1928 (Meskarem 27, 1921, in the Ethiopian calendar). It was the first occasion that an Emperor (or ruling Empress) had granted the title of Negus in the Ethiopian context; previously the title Negus had been used only by the kings of the constituent states of Ethiopia (such as the Negus of Shoa, etc.).
Empress Zauditu, herself resentful of the growing popularity of the Regent, in 1930 “sent her husband’s sizable army against Tafari’s forces, but the army was immediately crushed and her husband killed”. 2But on April 2, two days after Negus Tafari’s victory against her husband, Empress Zauditu died.
As Regent and Negus, Ras Tafari had undertaken the modernization of Ethiopia on a significant scale, bringing the country into the League of Nations in 1923 (the application had been lodged in 1919), abolishing slavery (in 1923, the trigger to admission into the League of Nations), creating schools and universities, and generally began the development of a modern national infrastructure.
The sudden death of Empress Zauditu led to the coronation of Negus Tafari as Emperor on November 2, 1930 (Tekent 23, 1922, in the Ethiopian calendar), and his elevation to the highest Throne — for which he adopted the Throne name Haile Selassie I — was the cause for a further consolidation of his programme of reforms.
He founded the Bank of Ethiopia in 1931, and encouraged the creation of newspapers.
Throughout this period, however, there were mounting tensions with Italy, which had occupied Eritrea from the 1890s. This flared into open conflict in September 1935, although the League of Nations exonerated both states. This gave confidence to Italian leader Benito Mussolini, who ordered a full invasion of Ethiopia. This time, still conscious of their defeat at the hands of Menelik’s army in the 1896 Battle of Adwa, only 40 years before, the Italians pushed forward with massive resources and an extensive use of chemical weapons. By May 2, 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie was forced into exile and in June he went before the League of Nations in Geneva to call international attention to the plight of Ethiopia.
It was this speech which both drew Ethiopia to the center-stage of world politics for the first time and at the same time highlighted the impotence of the League of Nations. But World War II was to prove Italy’s undoing in Ethiopia and elsewhere. When Italy joined the Axis powers in June 1940, Britain began working with Haile Selassie to remove the Italian forces from Ethiopia. The Emperor moved to the Sudan, with his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen (later Emperor Amha Selassie I), to coordinate action between his own troops and those of the British. And with an Army of British, South African, Ethiopian and other African forces, Emperor Haile Selassie re-entered Addis Ababa on May 5, 1941. Fighting, however, continued on Ethiopian soil until January 1942.
With the end of World War II, the Emperor brought Ethiopia into the United Nations as a founding member, and greatly expanded the country’s diplomatic relations. Domestically, he established a new, central judiciary, and ensured that the new, post-war Government was filled with educated ministers with more specific powers. The new judiciary had the task of appointing its own judges, removing them from the hint of political preference.
By 1955, Haile Selassie was ready to introduce the new national Constitution. It was created through a consensus of input from an Ethiopian educated class which had never before been seen in the country and which was, to a great extent, created by the international exposure many Ethiopians had received because of the war.

[jon boy]

nice threads.

[demonrail666]

Gabba Gabba Hey

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

One of the many legacies of Emperor Haile Selassie’s 50-year reign was the Haile Selassie I Welfare Foundation (HSIWF). The HSIWF was founded on August 4, 1958 and served the poor and underprivileged members of the Ethiopian society until the Emperor’s deposition in 1974. The Foundation provided invaluable services for the underprivileged, such as the blind, the deaf, the disabled and orphans.

 

These fringe members of the Ethiopian society were afforded education, healthcare and even retirement care. Part of the funds for these efforts were raised by the cottage industries created for and run by the schools established for the underprivileged. The majority of funds, however, came from the profits of major industries, such as the Anbesa Transportation Company, the Makanisa Beverage Factory, the Birihan and Selam Printing Press, all of which were established for the solepurpose of financing the Foundation’s work. St. Paulos Hospital and Ghandi Children’s Hospital were also established to provide medical services for the poor and under privileged. In addition, the Foundation established the Haile Selassie I Fellowship, a medal and cash prize for those individuals who achieved the highest standards in the arts and sciences. The cash portion of the prize was enough to allow the scholars to continue their graduate level education abroad.
A devout member of the Christian Orthodox Church, Emperor Haile Selassie used the Foundation also to build churches, monasteries and parochial schools throughout Ethiopia as well as providing funds for scholarships for theological training abroad. Some of the monasteries were not just places of worship and theological study, but were also used as retirement homes with funds provided by the Foundation for the very old who had no access to social security.
The charitable activities of Haile Selassie I Foundation were diverse and effective, however, due to the regime change in 1974, the Foundation’s properties were nationalized and it’s much needed welfare activities dissolved. Hence, it is the primary mission of the Haile Selassie I International Development Foundation to revive the previous Foundation’s charitable contributions and further stimulate economical and social development of Ethiopians and others in need of aid around the world
A few of His Majesty’s contributions are highlighted below:

- Emperor Haile Selassie was the founding father of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the Organization of African Union;

 

- Established the Haile Selassie I University, now Addis Abeba University, by donating one of the imperial palaces. The AAU is where most of Ethiopia’s scholars received their undergraduate and advanced degrees enabling them to make invaluable contributions to the national and international community in various disciplines such as science & technology;

 

- Established St. Paul Hospital with modern medical equipment and valuable medical training for healthcare providers;

- Supported Women and Children’s Charity Organizations in Addis Abeba and remote areas of Ethiopia;

 

- Established Schools for the blind and the disabled;

- Created an Cash Award Organization to promote Ethiopian and other African scholars who demonstrated accomplishments in various disciplines such as agriculture, industry, literature, science and technology;

[greenlight]

from wiki

Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, whose adherents believe Ethiopia is Zion. The Rastafari view Emperor Haile Selassie I as Jesus, the human incarnation of God, a view apparently not shared by Haile Selassie I himself, who was staunchly Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. The concept of Zion is also prevalent among Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, though it represents a separate and complex concept, referring figuratively to St. Mary, but also to Ethiopia as a bastion of Christianity surrounded by Muslims and other religions, much like Mount Zion in the Bible. It is also used to refer to Axum, the ancient capital and religious centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, or to its primary church, called Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.[63] The Baha'i Faith has been established in Ethiopia since the 1950s, and today is concentrated primarily in Addis Ababa, but also in the suburbs of Yeka, Kirkos and Nefas Silk Lafto.[64]

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

The Emperor and the Crown Prince attending Easter Mass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfy0fhTp-c



HIM Haile Selassie Silver Jubilee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ma3yBnD3P0

HIM Haile Selassie "Lion of Judah" full one hour documentary
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...91938662300750

HIM Haile Selassie and JFK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsKcFtNzLkg

HIM Haile Selassie World Tour
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...05683106062700

[Disgruntled Youth]

Like Bob Marley I have to denounce Rastafari & denounce Selassie I as the savior. Doesn't Jah bible say "he will come like a thief in the night"?

[floatingslowly]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

 

obviously a tyrant!

just kidding Ras, don't get yr chalice in a bunch.

<3 H.I.M.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Disgruntled Youth

Like Bob Marley I have to denounce Rastafari & denounce Selassie I as the savior. Doesn't Jah bible say "he will come like a thief in the night"?

what does that have to do with celebrating the Emperor's birthday?

[floatingslowly]

Originally Posted by Disgruntled Youth

Doesn't Jah bible say "he will come like a thief in the night"?

thessalonians is new testament and not the works of Solomon, mon.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

In 1936, His Imperial Majesty prophetically warned the League of Nations of the growing threat of facism. In 1963 he returned to the UN, and gave the speech which we have all heard in Bob Marley's adaptation "War"

"I, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, am here today to claim that justice which is due to my people, and the assistance promised to it eight months ago, when fifty nations asserted that aggression had been committed in violation of international treaties. There is no precedent for a Head of State himself speaking in this assembly. But there is also no precedent for a people being victim of such injustice and being at present threatened by abandonment to its aggressor. Also, there has never before been an example of any Government proceeding to the systematic extermination of a nation by barbarous means, in violation of the most solemn promises made by the nations of the earth that there should not be used against innocent human beings the terrible poison of harmful gases. It is to defend a people struggling for its age-old independence that the head of the Ethiopian Empire has come to Geneva to fulfill this supreme duty, after having himself fought at the head of his armies.

I pray to Almighty God that He may spare nations the terrible sufferings that have just been inflicted on my people, and of which the chiefs who accompany me here have been the horrified witnesses. It is my duty to inform the Governments assembled in Geneva, responsible as they are for the lives of millions of men, women and children, of the deadly peril which threatens them, by describing to them the fate which has been suffered by Ethiopia. It is not only upon warriors that the Italian Government has made war. It has above all attacked populations far removed from hostilities, in order to terrorize and exterminate them.
At the beginning, towards the end of 1935, Italian aircraft hurled upon my armies bombs of tear-gas. Their effects were but slight. The soldiers learned to scatter, waiting until the wind had rapidly dispersed the poisonous gases. The Italian aircraft then resorted to mustard gas. Barrels of liquid were hurled upon armed groups. But this means also was not effective; the liquid affected only a few soldiers, and barrels upon the ground were themselves a warning to troops and to the population of the danger.
It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makalle were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January, 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely to poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare. Ravage and Terror The very refinement of barbarism consisted in carrying ravage and terror into the most densely populated parts of the territory, the points farthest removed from the scene of hostilities. The object was to scatter fear and death over a great part of the Ethiopian territory. These fearful tactics succeeded. Men and animals succumbed. The deadly rain that fell from the aircraft made all those whom it touched fly shrieking with pain. All those who drank the poisoned water or ate the infected food also succumbed in dreadful suffering. In tens of thousands, the victims of the Italian mustard gas fell. It is in order to denounce to the civilized world the tortures inflicted upon the Ethiopian people that I resolved to come to Geneva. None other than myself and my brave companions in arms could bring the League of Nations the undeniable proof. The appeals of my delegates addressed to the League of Nations had remained without any answer; my delegates had not been witnesses. That is why I decided to come myself to bear witness against the crime perpetrated against my people and give Europe a warning of the doom that awaits it, if it should bow before the accomplished fact. Is it necessary to remind the Assembly of the various stages of the Ethiopian drama? For 20 years past, either as Heir Apparent, Regent of the Empire, or as Emperor, I have never ceased to use all my efforts to bring my country the benefits of civilization, and in particular to establish relations of good neighbourliness with adjacent powers. In particular I succeeded in concluding with Italy the Treaty of Friendship of 1928, which absolutely prohibited the resort, under any pretext whatsoever, to force of arms, substituting for force and pressure the conciliation and arbitration on which civilized nations have based international order.

[Disgruntled Youth]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

what does that have to do with celebrating the Emperor's birthday?

Nothing, I just felt like stating that! I have friends who feel the same about H.I.M. the way that I do. I just don't believe in idolizing a human & calling him God.

[ThePits]

A shame he isnt around now, look at the pigs ear they have made of running Ethopia ever since
Hmm thinking about it, why dont all the people who think he has divine status go to their equivalent of the holy land to live like the jews did in the middle east?
Always baffled me that one......

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by ThePits

A shame he isnt around now, look at the pigs ear they have made of running Ethopia ever since
Hmm thinking about it, why dont all the people who think he has divine status go to their equivalent of the holy land to live like the jews did in the middle east?
Always baffled me that one......

we'd like to but then we'd sink the level of the Israelis and we'd be a Rastafari Occupation of Ityopya....

[ThePits]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

we'd like to but then we'd sink the level of the Israelis and we'd be a Rastafari Occupation of Ityopya....

You wouldnt have to occupy the place you could simply emigrate?
I mean if it really is the promised land who wouldnt want to go?

[ThePits]

Originally Posted by Disgruntled Youth

Like Bob Marley I have to denounce Rastafari & denounce Selassie I as the savior. Doesn't Jah bible say "he will come like a thief in the night"?

If he comes like a thief in the night he probably is a thief in the night......

[floatingslowly]

Originally Posted by ThePits

why dont all the people who think he has divine status go to their equivalent of the holy land to live like the jews did in the middle east?

although I do not believe Haile Selassie was God incarnate, I cannot discount him being some sort of avatar. he had more right things to say than just about anyone.

I believe that his demonization came at the hands of romans concerned about a true succession to the Throne of Solomon.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by ThePits

You wouldnt have to occupy the place you could simply emigrate?
I mean if it really is the promised land who wouldnt want to go?

oh emigrate? thats the plan entirely. For those of African descent the plan is called Repatriation according the Marcus Mosiah Garvey's vision, but for me it is expatriation according to the writings of Paul.

I am too be working in Addis Ababa by 2009, and I know plenty of people who have already made it across. But you said we should do it like the Israelis, and replace the terrible govt of Meles Zenawi with the one of our choice, particularly the restoration of the Imperial Monarchy under the descendents of the Emperor, according the the Emperor's last Official Proclamation (338), which to Ethiopians and Rastafari are like divine orders, but as His Majesty said, "What ever the task may be, let everyone realize and be convinced that it will be accomplished at the proper time and age and that it is impossible to have it fulfilled either by just desiring it or by hurrying it unduly." so we do not result to force but rather prayer and activism..

Originally Posted by floatingslowly

although I do not believe Haile Selassie was God incarnate, I cannot discount him being some sort of avatar. he had more right things to say than just about anyone.

I believe that his demonization came at the hands of romans concerned about a true succession to the Throne of Solomon.

thats the most insightful thing I have ever read posted on this board. Ymasagan (thanks be unto God!)

[demonrail666]

Excuse my ignorance SFaD, but I take it you've converted to Rastafarianism. How did this happen? what inspired you to convert? Just curious really.

[Everyneurotic]

god bless religious fundamentalism.