Ezana's rule (about 320 to about 360 A.D., some say to 380) started as a child, with his mother in charge until he was older. He chose the name Ethiopia for his nation, with Axum as its capital. He was coached in the Christian faith by Frumentius (from Tyre) and eventually adopted that faith. Shortly thereafter, he declared his country to be Christian (the second such country in history, after Armenia), though it took awhile for the general population to change from animistic ways. Frumentius became the first head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

We visited a round theater building with an important stele (inscribed stone) at its center. It is from the time of Ezana describing his new Christian faith, his military victories, and is written in 3 languages, Greek, Sabean, and Ge'ez.

These two small copper coins (4x enlargement. These are two of three such coins in my personal collection.) were minted towards the end of King Ezana's reign. It was after he declared his country as Christian. That is indicated by the circled cross on the back side. The words there mean "May this please the country."

The split word on the front side with the portrait simply means "King". Before this design change, all coins, gold, silver, and copper, contained King Ezana's name on at least one side. Perhaps the lack of his name on latter coins could be interpreted as a sign of humility.

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