Ezana Stone

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Greek inscription of Ezana recording his defeat of various neighboring peoples.

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

From 330 to 356 AD King Ezana ruled the ancient Aksumite kingdom that is now known today as Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Yemen on the northeast corner of Africa. Ezana fought against the Nubians and recorded his victories on stone written in Ge'ez (the ancient Ethiopian language), Sabaean (South Arabian) and Greek praising God for his victories. His carvings in stone provided a trilingual monument in different languages, similar to the Rosetta stone.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church had its beginnings at this time. Rufinus's Ecclesiastical History narrates that (Saint) Frumentius, a slave and tutor for the very young King, converted him to Christianity. Towards the end of his reign, King Ezana launched a campaign against the Cushites around 350 AD which brought down the Kingdom of Kush (Nubians); various stone inscriptions written in Ge'ez (using the Ge'ez script) have been found at Meroe the central city of the Cushites.