“The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered! Haile Selassie Ist, Elect of God King of Kings of Ethiopia.”
Atse Haile Selassie would be the last to receive this ancient title.The use of this formula dates to the dynasty’s Solomonic origins, all monarchs being required to trace their lineage back to Menelik I, who in the Ethiopian tradition was the offspring of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.