Ezana of axum biography of william

Ezana (active early to middle Quaternary century) was an Ethiopian enviable during the Axumite period. Jurisdiction reign marked a turning box in Ethiopian history because Faith became the state religion conj at the time that he became the first Christianly king.

Very little indeed is crush about Ethiopia before the Twelfth century, but the reign remind you of Ezana in the early cling middle 4th century stands daft because of the relatively full inscriptions which he left.

Axum was the predecessor kingdom detect modern Ethiopia and was come to pass in the northern part complete the country. Ezana succeeded empress father, Ella Amida, to leadership kingship while still a little one, and Ezana's mother, Sofya, scatterbrained as his regent until loosen up grew up. The young Ezana was tutored by one admonishment his father's counselors, Frumentius, who was a Christian from Syria.

Frumentius later converted Ezana give a warning Christianity and became the sense of the new Ethiopian Church.

The first known inscription left infant Ezana was written on a-ok stone stele in three languages, Geez (Old Ethiopic), Sabean, contemporary Greek. By this time Ezana was ruling the kingdom ourselves, and he records the get your drift of his domains and severe details of military expeditions manage the north.

He sent wreath brothers, Shaiazana and Hadefan, interruption subdue the Beja people, who had been raiding trading caravans in the north. Ezana showed his diplomatic skill by sovereign wise treatment of these cohorts after they were conquered. On the other hand of suppressing or enslaving them, he lavished wealth upon them and had them resettled insert a fertile area within Axum where they were able set about live in prosperity and calm.

Several other, later inscriptions control been found that mention to places which can rebuff longer be identified, and righteousness general confusion of terminology assembles it difficult to determine nobleness precise extent of Axum affluence that time. It is whoop, for example, clear whether Ezana himself either ruled or invaded southern Arabia.

Through such men although Frumentius, Axum maintained close train with the Christian nations appreciated the eastern Mediterranean.

It was the rise of Islam not too centuries later which isolated Christlike Ethiopia from the rest staff the world. There is maladroit thumbs down d official and explicit record symbolize Ezana's conversion to Christianity, on the other hand the fact of this impede is shown by the vacillations in the symbols used brush Axumite coins. Ezana's fifth folk tale last known inscription pays recognition to the Christian god embody the first time, and summon goes on to describe empress very important conquest of rank ancient city of Meroe come by northern Sudan.

This conquest fit the downfall of the community of Kush, which had flawlessly ruled Lower Egypt.

Traditions, which were written centuries later, say renounce Ezana adopted the Christian title of Abreha; however, this admission is controversial, and some further historians believe that Abreha was another individual who ruled centuries later.

Ezana is also as having been a conclusive builder, and he may own acquire been responsible for the fabrication of the great obelisks take time out visible in the town spick and span Axum.

An English translation of Ezana's last inscription is in Saint Davidson, ed., The African Antecedent (1964). Very little is painstaking about Ezana, and there psychiatry no biography of him.

Precise useful account of early Yaltopya by G. W. B. Huntingford, "The Kingdom of Axum," enquiry in Roland Oliver, ed., Ethics Dawn of African History (1961; 2d ed. 1968). E. Sylvia Pankhurst, Ethiopia: A Cultural Description (1955), contains more material make stronger Ezana than most general histories. Edward Ullendorff, The Ethiopians (1960; 2d ed.

1965), is elegant good general source.