Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast with me, Anushkumatanda Dowarty.

Today I'm taking you back to 1936 and to Bath, a city in the southwest of England that lies astride the River Avon in a natural arena of steep hills.

Peaceful, picturesque, known mostly for its original Roman Baths and Georgian architecture,

it was a scenic escape from the hustle and bustle of London.

That was until the Emperor came to town.

Emperor Haile Selassie, he was the 225th descendant of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba, Queen Maccada, as she was known.

That's Professor Sean Naphtali Sobers. He's a trustee of Haile Selassi's former house.

As for Solomon and Sheba, they're believed to be two mighty rulers of powerful kingdoms from around 10 BC,

who had a son, marking the beginning of the Ethiopian dynasty.

So yeah, that's quite the lineage.

When he was crowned in Ethiopia in 1930, all the countries of the world sent their heads of state to the coronation.

And the titles that the emperor was given was

kings of kings, Lord of Lords, the conquering lion of the tribe of Judah. So how does the

conquering lion end up prowling around the streets of Bath? Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in

1933. On October 2nd, Italy was called to a mammoth test mobilization,

where Il-Ducci electrified a vast throng of delirious fascists with his words.

To our soldiers in East Africa who are about to start fighting,

he sends a message, and Italy and the world knew that meant war.

Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, fired and looted by native rebels, abandoned by the emperor,

becomes an easy capture.

And the emperor fought on the front line for a time.

He didn't want to leave the country,

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