The Ezana Stone is a monument from the ancient Kingdom of Aksum

The Ezana Stone is an artifact from the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. It is a stone monument which documents the conversation of King Ezana to Christianity and his subjugation of various neighboring areas, including Meroë.

*It is one of the few ancient written records to come from pre-Islamic Africa, Egypt being the other major source of inscriptions. Photo Credit*

The Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum), also known as the Aksumite Empire, was a trading nation in the area of Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia. It existed from approximately 100-940 AD.

It grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period in the 4^th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1^st century AD, as a major player in the commercial route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India.

*The stone stands more or less where it was originally erected. Photo Credit*

Ezana, the king of Axum, ruled in the 4^th century. He was the first Axumite ruler to embrace Christianity but the inscription on the stone is from the pagan era, as Ezana calls himself the son of the deity Mahrem and the Christian God is not mentioned.

*The text on the Ezana Stone is written in several languages. Photo Credit*

He fought against the Nubians and commemorated his victories on stone tablets written in Ge’ez (the ancient Eritrean/Ethiopian language), Sabaean (South Arabian) and Greek in praise of God.

His carvings in stone provided a trilingual monument in different languages, similar to the Rosetta stone.

*King Ezana ruled the Axumite Kingdom during the first half of the fourth century . Photo Credit*

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church had its beginnings during this period. Rufinus’s Ecclesiastical History narrates that Saint Frumentius, a slave of the very young King, converted him to Christianity.