There is a long list of rulers who led the Aksum Empire, but only two of its leaders stand out from the lot; Ezana, and Kaleb, and all for something to do with Christianity.
The latter is widely known for coming to the rescue of Christians who were being persecuted under the reign of the Himyar Kingdom, then led by the religiously intolerant Dhu Nawas, a convert to Judaism. When King Kaleb, himself a Christian, heard news of the persecution of Christian brothers and sisters on the other side of the Red Sea, he launched a punitive expedition that landed in what is now Yemen and deposed Dhu Nawas in 525 AD.
But it can be argued that the path that led Kaleb to this moment of greatness was beaten centuries ago, by his predecessor King Ezana (ruled between 320-360CE).
King Ezana set this path when he declared Christianity the state religion, shortly after his own conversion to the monotheistic faith after dabbling in polytheistic beliefs for a while. He was guided into the faith by his childhood tutor, Frumentius. Frumentius, whom we now know as St. Frumentius of Ethiopia, was a Syrian Christian who had been captured at sea during the reign of King Ousanas, Ezana’s father. Frumentius was instrumental in the establishment of the Christian faith in Aksum, training bishops and fathers to spread the word.
Beyond this one great deed, nothing much is really known about Ezana, other than the fact that during his reign, the Aksumite Empire was thriving in trade, as it controlled the Red Sea route which brought the kingdom merchants from far; coins belonging from Aksum have been found as far away as India. During this time of prosperity, Ezana was responsible for the expansion of the kingdom to cover lands in modern day Sudan and Somalia.
It is believed that during his reign, a lot of structures came up, and one of the most easily identifiable symbols of Aksum’s grandeur are the stele that dot the landscape around the modern day town of Axum. One particularly large stele, known as Ezana’s Stele, is a 70ft. celebration of his achievements, including the conversion of the state to Christianity and his victory over Kush, a formerly powerful neighboring kingdom. Built during his reign, the stele had inscriptions in Greek, Ge’ez and Sabaean.
Ezana lives on among Ethiopians and followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a saint, whose great sacrifices to ensure the survival of the faith are celebrated on the 4th day of Tekemt (Ethiopian calendar); on the Gregorian calendar that is October 14th.
By Matengo Chwanya
Sources: Dacb.org, The malankaraorthodoxchurch, Catholic online
Video credit: Insight Ethiopia
Africa Global News Publication
