Wazeba (early 4th century), vocalized by historians as Wazeba, or WZB was a

Negus ''Negus'' is the word for "king" in the Ethiopian Semitic languages and a Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, title which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by the Ethiopian Emperor, Negusa Nagast, or "king of kings," in pre-1974 Et ...

of the

Kingdom of Aksum The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging ...

, centered in the highlands of modern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. He succeeded

Aphilas Aphilas beni Dimel (early 4th century) was a King of the Kingdom of Aksum. He is known only from the coins he minted, which are characterized by a number of experiments in imagery on the obverse, and being issued in fractions of weight that none of ...

. Wazeba is known only from the

coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

that he minted during his reign. He was the first Aksumite ruler to engrave the legends of his coins in Ge'ez, and the only King of Aksum to use that language on his

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

currency.

Stuart Munro-Hay Stuart Christopher Munro-Hay (21 April 1947 – 14 October 2004) was a British archaeologist, numismatist and Ethiopianist. He studied the culture and history of ancient Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa region and South Arabia, particularly their his ...

suggests that the scarcity of Wazeba's coins may hint at a short reign.Munro-Hay, ''Aksum'', p. 76 The Geta Lion near

Kombolcha Kombolcha () is a town and district in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1842 and 1915 meters above sea level. Some guide books describe K ...

is a stone statue with a very eroded short inscription surrounding a cross. French archaeologist Francis Anfray states Wazeba's coinage has a similar monogram. However it was

Ezana Ezana (, ''‘Ezana'', unvocalized ዐዘነ ''‘zn''), (, ''Aezana'') was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum (320s – ). One of the best-documented rulers of Aksum, Ezana is important as he first adopted for his country the religion of Christ ...

who is known for converting to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, not Wazeba. None of Wazeba's coins feature a Christian cross like this inscription.

Coinage

Wazeba's coins were the first Aksumite coins to use the script and language ( Ge'ez), with some variations on the regalia on gold coins. The standard design was restored by

Ousanas Ousanas (fl. 320), known as Ella Allada or Ella Amida in Eritrean and Ethiopian tradition, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 320s AD. Some historians believe that Christianity was introduced into Aksum during his reign. Little is known a ...

. There is one coin issue that combines a die from Wazeba on the obverse and a die from Ousanas on the reverse. Munro-Hay suggests that these two kings may have been co-rulers. Wolfgang Hahn and Vincent West instead suggested that Wazeba was an usurper who interrupted the reign of Ousanas.

Notes

{{Ethiopia-royal-stub Kings of Axum 4th-century monarchs in Africa