Ousanas (fl. 320) was a King of Axum. S. C. Munro-Hay believes that it is "very likely" that Ousanas is the king to whom

Aedesius Aedesius ( grc-gre, Αἰδέσιος, died 355 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic born of a noble Cappadocian family. Career Aedesius was born into a wealthy Cappadocian family, but he moved to Syria, where he was apprenticed to Iamb ...

and

Frumentius Frumentius ( gez, ፍሬምናጦስ; died c. 383) was a Phoenician Christian missionary and the first bishop of Axum who brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum. He is sometimes known by other names, such as Abuna ("Our Father") an ...

were brought. In Ethiopian tradition, this king is called Ella Allada or Ella Amida. ''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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

was introduced to Axum and the surrounding territories. Ousanas may have had a "relatively long reign" and campaigned in

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

. It is also possible that he was briefly ousted by

Wazeba Wazeba (early 4th century), vocalized by historians as Wazeba, or WZB was a Negus of the Kingdom of Aksum, centered in the highlands of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea. He succeeded Aphilas. Wazeba is known only from the coins that he minted during ...

, a usurper. W.R.O. Hahn, in a study published in 1983, identifies

Sembrouthes Sembrouthes was a King of the Kingdom of Aksum. He is known only from a single inscription in Ancient Greek that was found at Dekemhare (ደቀምሓረ ድንበዛን), Hamasien in modern-day Eritrea, which is dated to his 24th regnal year. Sem ...

, who is known only from an inscription found in Daqqi Mahari in modern

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, with Ousanas. If correct, this would give Ousanas a reign of at least 27 years.

Coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic 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 ...

with the name of this ruler were found in the late 1990s at

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

s in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.Details in Paul B. Henze, ''Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 31 n.18. The coins of Ousanas were lighter than those of his predecessors, likely due to Roman emperor

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

transferring lighter gold coins to the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Notes

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