S2E7: The Great King Ezana

 

A coin minted by Ezana early in his reign

In this week's episode, we explore the reign of Ezana, the greatest king in Aksumite history. We begin the episode at the start of Ezana's life. He was tutored by Frumentius, a Syrian Christian who was sold as a slave to the Aksumite court, and was later elevated to the position of advisor after he demonstrated great confidence and charisma. 

Frumentius, Ezana's childhood tutor and close friend (depicted here as an old man)

Frumentius's tutoring had a strong impact on the young boy. In addition to strengthening Ezana's linguistic and literacy skills, he also instilled in the boy a philosophy that was derived from the Nicaean church. By the time Ezana came of age, Frumentius would leave the country and return to Rome to continue his ecclesiastic education.

As was the norm in the Aksumite government, many of the top positions within the military were reserved for members of the royal family. In the case of Ezana, military command was reserved for his brother, Saizana. In the early years of his reign, Ezana and his brother underwent a series of military incursions against the nomadic Beja people to their North. The Beja were a Cushitic people who lived in small, nomadic clans. Like nomadic people throughout the world, the Beja proved to be both a welcome partner and a troublesome adversary for the settled people around them. They often raided Aksumite and Roman caravans that crossed through their land, resulting in lost profits for the merchants of both states. In order to stop this banditry, Ezana sent his brother in command of an army to relocate a portion of the Beja people into Eastern Nubia to make the remaining tribes easier to control.

A modern Beja bedouin.

This plan was a success, and several Beja tribes were successfully relocated into Nubian lands. This decision took advantage of the weakness of the Nubian kingdom of Meroe, an ancient empire approaching the end of its life. The details of this collapse will be elaborated on next episode when Ezana continues to take advantage of Meroe's decline.

This week's Patreon exclusive episode focuses on the modern history of Ethiopia's Jewish population. We will certainly be hearing more about this fascinating people in future episodes, and if you'd like to learn about the modern history of the Ethiopian Jewish population and their mass-exodus out of the country, you can listen by becoming a patron of the show at our patreon. Thank you for listening, and I hope you continue to enjoy the show.