Ezana

Aksumite king (r. c. 320-350 c.e.)

• Born: c. 303
• Birthplace: Aksum (now in Ethiopia)
• Died: c. 350
• Place of death: Aksum (now in Ethiopia)

Ezana’s rule brought the kingdom of Aksum to the highest level of power, influence, and cosmopolitanism it had ever enjoyed.

Early Life

Relatively little is known about the early life of Ezana (AY-zah-nah) and about the period in Ethiopia’s history that he helped to shape. A tentative birth date is generally given as 303, although that date may be inaccurate by two or three years. For various reasons, 303 appears to be the latest year in which Ezana could have been born into the prominent and powerful family of Halen. He was the son of Ella Amida, king of Aksum, a kingdom in the highlands southwest of the Red Sea, which is now a part of northern Ethiopia, as well as several other principalities. Ezana acceded to the kingship at an early age, probably around six or seven, but in actuality did not serve actively as a full-fledged king until the early 320’s, when he would still have been quite young. During that interim period, the boy’s mother, Sofya, served as his regent. Ezana probably reached his majority around age seventeen or eighteen, at which time he would have assumed the kingship, very likely in 320 or 321.

In his youth, Ezana was tutored by Frumentius, who had served as one of Ella Amida’s most trusted counselors prior to that king’s death. Ezana’s sustained association with his tutor was one of the most influential elements in his life. Frumentius, a cultivated man and a Christian, was from Syria. Eventually, Frumentius converted Ezana to the Christian faith. This conversion probably did not occur earlier than the mid-330’s; more likely, it was not until the 340’s. The change is noted both in Ezana’s last inscription and in the symbols used in Aksumite coins issued late in Ezana’s reign.

Following the king’s conversion, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria named Frumentius, who had risen to a position of considerable power and responsibility in Aksum, bishop of the Ethiopian church, a position of considerable prestige. Much of Aksum, which by tradition had been largely Semitic, subsequently converted to Christianity, setting the stage for a desirable interrelationship between the Ethiopian church and the Egyptian Coptic church.

Life’s Work

What is known about Ezana is derived largely from monolithic stele and obelisks, tall stone structures on which a record of historical events is carved. Some of these structures reached heights of seventy-five feet, towering over everything around them. The lettering on them was in three languages: Greek, Ge’ez (the language of ancient Ethiopia), and Sabean.

The inscriptions refer to Ezana as king of Aksum and of Himyar, of Raidan, of Aithiopia (the ancient spelling of Ethiopia), of Saba, of Siyanio, of Bega, of Salhen, and of Kasu. They also refer to Ezana as the king of kings. Other artifacts refer to various kinglets contemporary with Ezana, who probably ruled over portions of Ezana’s domain. This would explain the designation, repeated in several inscriptions, of Ezana as “king of kings.” Although there were regional kings, Ezana obviously was the king who ruled over all of them.

The first inscription attributed to Ezana recorded events early in his reign. The Bega people in the north had been attacking the trading caravans that passed near their territory. Ezana dispatched his younger brothers, Shai’azana and Hadefan, to the north to bring an end to the Began attacks, which were devastating to trade. It was with the success of this mission that Ezana demonstrated his exceptional skill as a negotiator and diplomat. He might have enslaved or inhumanely suppressed the people he had conquered, but instead of taking punitive action against them, he gave generously to them and resettled them in Matlia, one of the most fertile sections of Aksum, where they enjoyed considerable prosperity. These former adversaries eventually became supporters of Ezana, and the problem of Began attacks on caravans was brought under control.

It has been difficult for archaeologists to determine the exact extent of Aksum, although the kingdom was fairly large. Archaeologists, linguists, and historians have made various transcriptions from the period of Ezana’s rule that mention places they cannot identify, partly because of an overall confusion in the terminology used.

Ezana is thought to have been an enthusiastic builder, probably the motive force behind the erection of some of the obelisks that stand to this day in Aksum. An inscription on one of the obelisks indicates that Ezana honored Ares, whom he figuratively calls his begetter, by erecting to him one statue of gold, one statue of silver, and three statues of copper. This inscription, composed after he had conquered and resettled the Bega, suggests that Ezana had not yet been converted to Christianity, inasmuch as Ares was a pagan god, a part of Ethiopia’s old religion.

Immediately after the conquest of Bega, Ezana’s brothers brought prominent people from Bega to Aksum along with their camp followers. The inscription on the obelisk indicates that these conquered people brought with them 3,112 cattle and 6,224 sheep. Ezana made a generous allocation of his spoils of war to the Bega captives, providing them as well with grain, wine, beer, and enough water to sustain them for a period of four months, which it apparently took them to journey to their resettlement area of Matlia. He also provided them with twenty-two thousand wheat cakes every day and with clothing. Ultimately, Ezana gifted the six kinglets mentioned in the inscription with 25,140 cattle, which in that part of the world at that time were the currency of the day.

The kingdom of Aksum was dependent for its survival on the brisk trade it had with Egypt and with the interior of Africa. Ezana had been instrumental in having a road erected between Aksum and the Nile to facilitate trade. He realized that the caravans on which his kingdom relied had to be protected at any cost if Aksum was to thrive. Although he shrank at the possibility of employing brutality in the achievement of his ends, he was quite capable of retaliating brutally when his kingdom’s main enterprise was threatened.

An obelisk inscribed in Ge’ez relates how Ezana and his warriors subdued the Sarane of Afan in retaliation for their killing of a merchant traveling in a caravan. To achieve this vengeance, Ezana mustered the armies of Mahaza, Dakuen, and Hara, over all of which he ruled, and had them encamp in Alaha, whence they set out to bring retribution to the Sarane.

Ezana’s men attacked four settlements of the Sarane: Sa’ne, Sawante, Gema, and Zahtan. A Serane leader, Alita, was taken as a prisoner along with his two children, after which a slaughter occurred. In Afan, 503 men and 202 women, a total of 705, were killed. Among Alita’s camp followers, 40 men and 165 children, a total of 205, were taken prisoner.

The Aksumites claimed 31,900 cattle and 827 baggage animals from the Serane as part of their spoils. For his victory, Ezana offered as tribute to Mahrem, one of the gods he acknowledged, 100 cattle and 50 prisoners. The king, according to the transcription, returned safely to his people, assuming the throne at Shado, where he committed himself to the protection of Astar, Beher, and Meder. Having established his ability to exact vengeance, Ezana vowed the he would destroy anyone who tried to overthrow or replace him as king, promising to confiscate such a miscreant’s land, punish his family, and exile him from the country. Ezana also completely crushed the aggressive Kush when they began to threaten the economy of Aksum.

Ezana may have invaded and subsequently gained a degree of control over southern Arabia. Although the hieroglyphs that have thus far been uncovered and translated offer no definitive evidence that such was the case, there is some indication that he had been to territories east of the Red Sea. Ezana was familiar, as well, with countries at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in the area now occupied by modern Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Mediterranean nations.

Significance

Ezana’s significance is found in the areas of religion, diplomacy, and commerce. By bringing Christianity to Aksum, he developed close associations with the Christian nations of the countries bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The alliances he established endured for several centuries, but eventually the rise of Islam isolated Aksum (later Christian Ethiopia) from much of the world. Its mountainous terrain made isolation easy for Aksum, although Ezana struggled to avoid being separated from the world at large. He established commercial ties with many nations and built a road to connect Aksum with the Nile River in order to promote trade.

A powerful king who did not shrink from conflict, Ezana sought to work with his adversaries in such ways as to bring them into his fold. When he was unable to do this, as with the Seranes and the Kush, his vengeance was swift and decisive. He was, however, quite willing, indeed eager, to work toward achieving accords with people such as the Begans.

Bibliography

Budge, Sir E. A. Wallis. A History of Ethiopia, Nubia, and Abyssinia. London: Methuen, 1928. This venerable work offers insights into Ezana’s rule and suggests the dates of his rule of the kingdom of Aksum drawn from the hieroglyphics on various stele. Despite its age, this book by one of Britain’s leading writers on antiquity has held up very well.

Burstein, Stanley, ed. Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum. Princeton, N.J.: Markus Wiener, 1997. Burstein reproduces inscriptions from three stele that contain information about Ezana and his accomplishments as king. His texts are simply transcriptions, but his endnotes are well worth exploring. Includes index and bibliography.

Davidson, Basil. The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times. Boston: Little, Brown, 1964. Valuable for its transcription of Ezana’s last inscription shortly before the end of his reign, this book offers a comprehensive glimpse of the ancient countries of Africa about which not a great deal has been written. Well documented; includes index.

Huntingford, George Wynn Brereton. The Historical Geography of Ethiopia from the First Century A.D. to 1740. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Touches briefly on the period during which Ezana ruled Aksum, offering some background for the period prior to Ezana’s ascent. The main emphasis of the book is on the period following the twelfth century, but the material on the earlier period is useful. Includes bibliography and index.

Oliver, Roland Anthony, ed. The Dawn of African History. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. George Wynn Brereton Huntingford’s article “The Kingdom of Axum” focuses on the territory that Ezana ruled in the fourth century c.e. In addition, the first third of this book offers an exceptionally keen overview of the area and the period. Includes bibliography and index.

Pankhurst, Sylvia E. Ethiopia: A Cultural History. Essex, England: Lalibela, 1955. This general history of Ethiopia devotes considerable attention to Ezana. A valuable resource with a useful index and an extensive bibliography. Recommended for readers not well acquainted with the period.

Ullendorff, Edward. The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. An excellent general overview of Ethiopia’s history, including its earliest stages, when Ezana ruled Aksum. The documentation is impressive, the index useful.