The proud Lion of Judah – symbol of Emperor Haile Selassie I and once represented on the national flag – stands atop this monument, which boasts a turbulent but triumphant history. Erected in 1930, it was carted off to Rome in 1935 by Italian occupiers, not to be returned for 30 years, when it again faced the threat of removal under the Dergue regime in 1974. The statue remains, however, as a symbol of Ethiopia’s heroism and resistance.