Crown Prince Ras Tafari Empress Zewditu The 1928 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt was orchestrated by supporters of Empress[nb 1] Zewditu to rid her of the heir apparent and Crown Prince, Ras[nb 2] Tafari Makonnen.

In September 1928, in Addis Ababa, a group of palace reactionaries made a final bid to rid the Empress of Tafari.

When confronted by Tafari and a company of troops, the ringleaders of the coup took refuge on the palace grounds in Menelik's mausoleum.

Tafari's soldiers were equipped with newly imported rifles, machine guns, small cannon, and an obsolete but menacing tank.

[1] The tank, a Fiat 3000, had been a gift to Empress Zewditu from the Duke of Abruzzi of Italy during a visit some years earlier.