1928 Ethiopian coup attempt

Coup d'état attempt between Ras Tafari and Empress Zewditu 1928 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt Gugsa Wale's rebellion center Haile Selassie in full dress (cropped).jpg 300 Zewditu_I.jpg Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) (left) and Empress Zewditu (right), the two leaders of the coup attempt September 1928 Menelik's Mausoleum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Toppling the Crown Prince Ras Tafari Makonnen Encirclement * Coup unsuccessfulRas Tafari's soldiers overwhelmingly encircled Zewditu's guards Crown Prince Ras Tafari Empress Zewditu The 1928 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt was orchestrated by supporters of EmpressNegesta Nagastat, roughly equivalent to Queen of Kings or Empress regnant. nb Zewditu to rid her of the heir apparent and Crown Prince, RasRoughly equivalent to Duke. nb Tafari Makonnen.Inderase, equivalent to Regent. nb With Tafari gone, Zewditu would be the sole ruler of the Ethiopian Empire (Mangista Ityop'p'ya). Events In September 1928, in Addis Ababa, a group of palace reactionaries made a final bid to rid the Empress of Tafari. The group included some of Zewditu's courtiers. The attempted coup d'état was tragic in its origins and comic in its end. thumb|150px|Menelik's Mausoleum, where the coup attempt occurred.In 1928, the crypts of Menelik (center), and Taytu Betul (left) would have been in place. Zewditu's crypt (right) was added later. nb When confronted by Tafari and a company of 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 surrounded Zewditu's guard. Tafari's soldiers were equipped with newly imported rifles, machine guns, small cannon, and an obsolete but menacing tank.Marcus, pp. 127–128 The tank, a Fiat 3000, had been a gift to Empress Zewditu from the Duke of Abruzzi of Italy during a visit some years earlier.Time Magazine, Smooth ShowAccording to Time Magazine, Menen Asfaw herself commandeered the tank and came to the aid of her husband. nb In the end, the superiority of arms of the forces supporting Tafari decided the outcome in his favor.Marcus, p. 128 See also List of coups d'état and coup attempts Balcha Safo Gugsa Wale's rebellion Notes Footnotes 2 nb Citations 2 References Translated and Annotated by Edward Ullendorff Haile Selassie I My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Volume I: 1892-1937 Research Associates School Times Publications 1999 Chicago 0-948390-40-9 338 Edited by Harold G. Marcus with others and Translated by Ezekiel Gebions with others Haile Selassie I My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Volume II Research Associates School Times Publications 1999 Chicago 0-948390-40-9 190 Harold G. Marcus A History of Ethiopia https://archive.org/details/historyofethiopi00marc registration University of California Press 1994 London 0-520-22479-5 316 External links http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787952-3,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121104155000/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787952-3,00.html dead November 4, 2012 Smooth Show Time Magazine January 21, 1935 January 1, 2010 Category:1928 in Ethiopia Category:Attempted coups d'état in Ethiopia Category:1928 conflicts Category:September 1928 Category:1920s coups d'état