Ezana's Conversion and Christianization of Aksum
c. 325-350 CE · Classical Antiquity
Around 325-350 CE, King Ezana of Aksum converted to Christianity after being tutored by Frumentius, a Syrian Christian who became the first Bishop of Aksum. Ezana declared Christianity the state religion and built churches. His royal inscriptions changed from invoking pagan deities to the Christian God. He minted coins featuring the Christian cross. This made Aksum the first sub-Saharan African state to officially adopt Christianity, establishing the religion's dominance in the Horn of Africa that continues in Ethiopia and Eritrea today.
Key Figures
King EzanaFrumentius
Locations
Aksum
Topics
africachristianityethiopiaconversionaksum
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Aksumite coins later adopted the Christian cross under Ezana, directly reflecting this religious transformation Aksumite Kingdom Introduces Indigenous Coinage
The Lalibela churches are the culmination of the Ethiopian Christian tradition that began with Ezana's conversion of Aksum roughly 880 years earlier Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela Completed in Ethiopia
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