Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia died in 1975 at the age of 83. During his reign, Selassie's main ambitions included the modernization of Ethiopia, international recognition for his nation, the abolishment of slavery, expanded eduacation and the elimination of foreign intervention. In 1936, a year after Italy invaded Ethiopia, Selassie was forced to flee his country. He remained a strong symbol for many Blacks worldwide who saw the struggle of Ethiopia as one of their own. He returned to organize a resistance movement in Ethiopia which was finally liberated in May of 1941. Despite his many progresses however, Selassie's failure at class and land ownership reform eventually led to a coup thus putting a close to the 3,000 year old Makkeda-Solomonic Dynasty.