ABSTRACT
One of the most frequently-mentioned problems of the early history of Christianity in Ethiopia is that of the dating of 'Ezana of Aksum, a name well-known from pagan and Christian inscriptions and coins, and from a letter recorded by patriarch Athanasius of Alexandria. Archaeologically and typologically, the Aksumite coinage has confirmed that the pagan kings preceded the Christian kings, and study of the coinage has likewise confirmed its development alongside the basic weight standard of the Roman gold. The most interesting point about 'Ezana' gold coinage is that there is a Christian issue of the pre-reform weight; and even if we imagine that such coins might have continued to be issued at Aksum for perhaps a decade or two after the reform in the Roman world, we still have a very early date for the conversion of 'Ezana and the appearance of the cross on Aksumite coinage.
