r. 325-360

Aksumite King

During the Middle Ages, Europe was not the only stronghold of Christianity: far to the south, separated from Rome and Constantinople by hostile Muslim forces, was a Christian stronghold in Africa. The influence of Christianity in Ethiopia, where the religion remains a powerful force today, can be traced to a single man, King Ezana of Aksum. Under his leadership, Aksum grew to become an enormously influential regional power, and extended its influence to neighboring lands through conquest, trade, and exploration.

Ezana of Aksum (sometimes spelled Axum), in what is now Eritrea, grew up around the Red Sea port of Adulis after about 500 B.C. As a seafaring power, it enjoyed contact with the Greek culture of Ptolemaic Egypt, and by the first century A.D. was engaged in trade with regions as far away as China and India.

During the reign of Ezana's father...