He crowned himself Emperor with a twenty million dollar ceremony that bankrupted his nation, then switched religions for one day hoping for foreign money that never came. In 1977, Jean Bédel Bokassa staged one of the most extravagant and controversial coronations in modern history. Inspired by Napoleon, he declared himself Emperor of the Central African Empire and held a ceremony that cost more than twenty million dollars. His crown alone, covered in diamonds, cost five million. The entire display was funded by loans that pushed his country deeper into poverty. Only two world leaders of equal rank received invitations, the Emperor of Japan and the Shah of Iran, and neither attended. The spectacle became a symbol of extreme vanity in one of the world’s poorest nations. Bokassa’s rule grew darker. In 1979, when families could not afford the expensive school uniforms produced by a company owned by one of his wives, hundreds of children were arrested. Bokassa personally oversaw the led to the loss of life of many of them, an atrocity that shocked the world. Even before his coronation, Bokassa faced constant financial troubles. In 1976, he traveled to Libya and pleaded with Muammar Gaddafi for money. Gaddafi agreed to help, but only if Bokassa converted to Islam. Bokassa accepted instantly, took the name Salah al Din Ahmed Bokassa, and returned home expecting financial support. The money never came. Within twenty-four hours, Bokassa abandoned Islam and restored his previous faith. His brief conversion became a global symbol of desperation and political opportunism. Bokassa’s rule eventually collapsed, but the legacy of his reign remains one of the most extreme examples of excess, brutality, and personal ambition in modern African history.