‘Ezana of Axum was ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum. He himself employed the style "king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan". Tradition states that ‘Ezana succeeded his father Ella Amida while still a child and his mother, Sofya served as regent.
Reign
‘Ezana was the first monarch of the Kingdom of Aksum to embrace Christianity, and the first after Za Haqala to be mentioned by contemporary historians, a situation that lead S. C. Munro-Hay to comment that he was "the most famous of the Aksumite kings before Kaleb." His childhood tutor, the Syrian ChristianFrumentius, became head of the Ethiopian Church. A surviving letter from the ArianRoman emperorConstantius 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 archeological evidence points to an economic and political decline in Meroë around 300. Moreover, some view the stela as military aid from Aksum to Meroë to quell the revolt and rebellion by the Nuba. However, conclusive evidence and proof to which view is correct is not currently available. On some of the Aksumite coins minted during ‘Ezana's reign appears the motto in GreekTOYTOAPECHTHXWPA – "May this please the people". Munro-Hay comments that this motto is "a rather attractive peculiarity of Aksumite coinage, giving a feeling of royal concern and responsibility towards the people's wishes and contentment". A number of coins minted bearing his name were found in the late 1990s at archeological sites in India, indicating trade contacts in that country. A remarkable feature of the coins is a shift from a pagan motif with disc and crescent to a design with a cross. ‘Ezana is also credited for erecting several stelae and obelisks. Ezana is unknown in the King Lists even though the coins bear this name. According to tradition, Emperors Abreha and Asbeha ruled Ethiopia when Christianity was introduced. It may be that these names were later applied to ‘Ezana and his brother or that these were their baptismal names. Along with his brother, Saizana, ‘Ezana is regarded as a saint by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, with a feast day of October 1.
