On 2 November 1930, after the death of Ethiopian Empress Zewditu, Ras Tafari was crowned King of Kings, often rendered imprecisely in English as “Emperor”. Upon his ascension, he took as his regnal name Haile Selassie I.

Haile means in Ge’ez “Power of” and Selassie means trinity—therefore Haile Selassie roughly translates to “Power of the Trinity”. Here is an overview of the central figure in Rastafari, His Imperial Majesty (H.I.M.) Haile Selassie.