Aksum
The capital of a kingdom in the northern Ethiopian highlands whose rulers also claimed lands across the Red Sea. Its king Ezana adopted Christianity in the fourth century, and Athanasius ordained Frumentius as its bishop.
Aksum lies in the highlands of northern Ethiopia. In the fourth century its kings claimed rule over neighbouring peoples on both sides of the Red Sea: Ezana styles himself king of the Aksumites and of the Himyarites and Sabaeans of southern Arabia (Inscription of Ezana, RIÉ 270 Greek text, lines 1–6). Inscriptions set up in the city in Greek and Ge’ez record his wars, and one of them opens with a Christian invocation (Inscription of Ezana, RIÉ 271 opening lines, in the translation quoted by A. M. Butts (2025), p. 9). Athanasius calls the place Auxumis and names Frumentius as its bishop (Athanasius, Defence before Constantius 29, 31). See King Ezana of Aksum Becomes Christian.
What happened here
- c. AD 330–356, estimated dateKing Ezana of Aksum Becomes Christian
Ezana, king of Aksum in the Ethiopian highlands, sets up an inscription that opens in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A letter of the emperor Constantius II names Frumentius, ordained by Athanasius of Alexandria, as bishop of Aksum.
- AD 523 (or 518), estimated dateThe Martyrs of Najran
Yusuf, the Jewish king of Himyar in south Arabia, makes war on the Christian town of Najran. Syriac writers report that he put its leading men, with their chief Harith (Arethas), and many women to death. Kaleb, king of Aksum, then crosses the sea and overthrows him.
Primary sources
Inscription of Ezana in Greek, Sabaean script and Ge’ez (RIÉ 185 and 270)
- Inscription of Ezana, RIÉ 270 Greek text, lines 1–6betamasaheft.eu