How Did Ezana Influence Ancient Africa

Aksum, located on the horn of Africa, was under the rule of Ezana from 325 - 360 AD. Ezana inherited the throne of the Aksumite Empire after his father, Ella Amida, died in 325 AD. As a young child, Ezana received extensive education from a man named, Frumentius, who eventually persuaded Ezana to adopt Christian beliefs during his rule. Ezana also was the first emperor to replace the pagan symbols on the coins he minted with a cross. Ezana was a groundbreaking ruler that brought influence to the horn of Africa, through his diplomatic leadership, emphasis on trade, and religious conversion. Ezana’s leadership style demonstrated his preference for diplomatic leadership. Soon after rising to the throne, Ezana was faced with the challenge of

Adulis, Aksum’s main sea port, was an essential part of the trade network due to its advantageous location on the Red Sea, which granted Aksum access to major trade routes in north Africa, Europe and Asia. Aksum traded with empires in Egypt, Rome, China, Arabia, Greece, Persia, and India. This diverse set of empires led to cultural diffusion within Aksum, leading to a stronger empire. Aksum was one of the earliest empires to invent and use a coin system, emphasizing how dedicated and impactful Ezana was on the trade network. Aksumite coins with Ezana’s name on them were found in several of these empires, proving Aksum was very advanced and its creations were able to spread to distant places. The coins were made of gold, silver and copper, and the writing on them was in Greek and Ge’ez. If you knew Greek during this time period, you were considered educated. Aksum is considered an educated empire not only because they knew Greek, but because they had their own language as well, Ge’ez. This advancement helped Aksum thrive and illustrates how advanced and prosperous, the Aksumite economy was. These coins, along with spices, gum, tortoise shell and ivory, were used in trade in exchange for Egyptian cloth, linen, articles of flint, brass, sheets of soft copper, iron ingots, wine, olive oil, and gold and silver. By trading for these resources from neighboring empires, Aksum was able to change