Ethiopia has the distinction of having been the only modern African nation to have never been colonized, but has instead had its own ruling imperial monarchy that was only displaced after World War Two. These monarchs drew their social authority from the popular authority of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church by creating popular mythologies that linked the ruling line to divine appointment by God. This was done through the development of widespread folk histories about the genesis of the monarchy, the patronage of churches by the monarchy, and through the creation of a national identity as a people blessed by God. By drawing their authority from the Church, the Ethiopian monarchs were able to maintain power even in the face of invasion, and the Church was able to persist where all other North African Churches diminished.