Ezana of Axum

Ezana (ዔዛና ‘Ezana, unvocalized ዐዘነ ‘zn; also spelled Aezana or Aizan) was ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum, an ancient kingdom located in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia. (320s – 360 AD). He himself employed the style (official title) "king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan and of Yamnat, and of their Arabs of the Upper Country and of the Coast". Tradition states that ‘Ezana succeeded his father Ella Amida (Ousanas) as king while still a child but his mother, Sofya then served as regent until he came of age. He conquered the Kingdom of Kush around the year 350 AD. Ezana was the first monarch of the Kingdom of Aksum to embrace Christianity, after he was converted by his slave-teacher, Frumentius. He was the first monarch after Za Haqala (possibly Zoskales) to be mentioned by contemporary historians, a situation that lead Stuart Munro-Hay to comment that he was "the most famous of the Aksumite kings before Kaleb." In early life he considered himself a son of Mars, but later inscriptions show a growing attachment to Christianity. His childhood tutor, the Syrian Christian Frumentius, became head of the Ethiopian Church. A surviving letter from the Arian Roman emperor Constantius II is addressed to ‘Ezana and his brother Saizana and requests that Frumentius be sent to Alexandria to be examined for doctrinal errors and be replaced by Theophilos the Indian; Munro-Hay assumes that ‘Ezana either refused or ignored this request. Ezana also launched several military campaigns, which he recorded in his inscriptions. A pair of inscriptions on a stela in Ge'ez found at Meroë is thought of as evidence of a campaign in the fourth century, either during Ezana's reign, or by a predecessor like Ousanas. While some authorities interpret these inscriptions as proof that the Aksumites destroyed the kingdom of Meroë, others note that archaeological evidence points to an economic and political decline in Meroë around 300. Moreover, some view the stela as military aid from Axum to Meroë to quell the revolt and rebellion by the Nuba.