| Ousanas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Aksum | |
| Reign | early 320s to late 320s |
| Predecessor | Wazeba |
| Successor | Ezana |
| Spouse | Sofya |
| Issue | Ezana Saizana Hadefa |
Ousanas (fl. 320) was a King of Axum. Stuart Munro-Hay believes that it is "very likely" that Ousanas is the king to whom Aedesius and Frumentius were brought. In Eritrean and Ethiopian tradition, this king is called Ella Allada or Ella Amida.[1] Ella Amida would then be his throne name, although Ousanas is the name that appears on his coins. If this identification is correct, then it was during his reign that Christianity was introduced to Axum and the surrounding territories.
Ousanas may have had a "relatively long reign" and campaigned in Nubia.[2] It is also possible that he was briefly ousted by Wazeba, a usurper.[2]
W.R.O. Hahn, in a study published in 1983, identifies Sembrouthes, who is known only from an inscription found in Daqqi Mahari in modern Eritrea, with Ousanas. If correct, this would give Ousanas a reign of at least 27 years.[3]
- ^ Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity (Edinburgh: University Press, 1991), p. 77. (Online text.)
- ^ a b Hahn, Wolfgang; West, Vincent (2016). Sylloge of Aksumite Coins in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Oxford: Ashmolean. p. 11.
- ^ As cited in Munro-Hay, Excavations at Axum (London: British Institute in Eastern Africa, 1989), p. 22.