Ousanas: A Ruler at the Crossroads of Aksum’s History (RIÉ 186 = DAE 8)

A fresh reading of the inscription RIÉ 186 = DAE 8, attributed to Ousanas bisi gisene, King of Aksum, elder brother and predecessor of the renowned ‘Ezana— allows for the proposal of a new hypothesis regarding the emergence of Christianity in the Ethiopian royal court. Contrary to the simplistic explanation of a ruler converting from polytheism to Christianity, one may observe how the monotheistic sensitivity of the Aksumite dynasty instead affirmed itself progressively, as the result of an internal debate, first manifesting itself in the henotheistic claim of Maḥrəm’s primacy among the gods of the Ethiopian pantheon. Furthermore, an analysis of the personal and place names found in the same inscription leads to some innovative conclusions about the distribution of languages and cultures in the Kingdom of Aksum.