Ezana of Axum

Ethiopian historiography includes the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern disciplines of recording the history of Ethiopia, including both native and foreign sources. The roots of Ethiopian historical writing can be traced back to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum (c. AD 100 – c. 940). These early texts were written in either the Ethiopian Ge'ez script or the Greek alphabet, and included a variety of mediums such as manuscripts and epigraphic inscriptions on monumental stelae and obelisks documenting contemporary events. The writing of history became an established genre in Ethiopian literature during the early Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974). In this period, written histories were usually in the form of royal biographies and dynastic chronicles, supplemented by hagiographic literature and universal histories in the form of annals. Christian mythology became a linchpin of medieval Ethiopian historiography due to works such as the Orthodox Kebra Nagast. This reinforced the genealogical traditions of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty rulers, which asserted that they were descendants of Solomon, the legendary King of Israel.

Ethiopian historiographic literature has been traditionally dominated by Christian theology and the chronology of the Bible. There was also considerable influence from Muslim, pagan and foreign elements from within the Horn of Africa and beyond. Diplomatic ties with Christendom were established in the Roman era under Ethiopia's first Christian king, Ezana of Axum, in the 4th century AD, and were renewed in the Late Middle Ages with embassies traveling to and from medieval Europe. Building on the legacy of ancient Greek and Roman historical writings about Ethiopia, medieval European chroniclers made attempts to describe Ethiopia, its people, and religious faith in connection to the mythical Prester John, who was viewed as a potential ally against Islamic powers. Ethiopian history and its peoples were also mentioned in works of medieval Islamic historiography and even Chinese encyclopedias, travel literature, and official histories.

The Ezana Stone is an ancient stele still standing in modern-day Axum in Ethiopia, the centre of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. This stone monument, that probably dates from the 4th century of the Christian era, documents the conversion of King Ezana to Christianity and his conquest of various neighbouring areas, including Meroë.

From AD 330 to 356, King Ezana ruled the ancient Kingdom of Aksum centred in the Horn of Africa. He fought against the Nubians, and commemorated his victories on stone tablets in praise of God. These liturgical epigraphs were written in various ancient languages, including the Ethiopian Semitic Geʽez, the South Arabian Sabaic, and Greek. The king's engravings in stone provided a trilingual monument in different languages, similar to the Rosetta Stone.

Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of the Horn of Africa.

The first documented use of the name "Ethiopia" from Greek name Αἰθίοψ, Aithíops was in the 4th century during the reign of Aksumite king Ezana. There were three ethnolinguistic groups in the Kingdom of Aksum: Semitic, Cushitic, and Nilo-Saharan (ancestors of the modern-day Kunama and Nara). The Kingdom of Aksum remained a geopolitically influential entity until the decline of its capital — also named Axum — beginning in the 7th century. Nevertheless, the core Aksumite civilization was preserved and continued into the successive Zagwe dynasty. By this time, new ethnic groups emerged – the Tigrayans and Amharas. During the Solomonic period, the latter established major political and cultural influence in the Horn of Africa.In the Late Middle Ages, Muslim states were established, including the Sultanate of Ifat, and its successor the Adal Sultanate. Discontent with territory and religious dominance led to intense war between the Ethiopian Empire, the Christian state (consisting of the Amhara, Tigrayan, Soddo Gurage, and Agaw ethnic groups) and the Muslim state Adal Sultanate (consisting of Semitic-speaking Harari formally known as the Harla people, and the Argobba). During the 1600s, there were large-scale migrations of the Oromo from the south into the highlands and also alongside the Somali into Adal or what was known as "Hararghe" (land of the Hararis).

The history of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages roughly spans the period from the decline of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 7th century to the Gondarine period beginning in the 17th century. Aksum had been a powerful empire during late antiquity, appearing in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and mentioned by Iranian prophet Mani as one of the "four great kingdoms on earth", along with the Sasanian Empire of Persia, the Roman Empire, and China's Three Kingdoms. The kingdom was an integral part of the trade route between Rome and the Indian subcontinent, had substantial cultural ties to the Greco-Roman world, and was a very early adopter of Christianity under Ezana of Aksum in the mid-4th century. The use of "Ethiopia" to refer to the region dates back to the 4th century. At its height, the kingdom spanned what is now Eritrea, northern Ethiopia, eastern Sudan, Yemen and the southern part of what is now Saudi Arabia. However, by the 7th century, the kingdom had begun a slow decline, for which several possible political, economic, and ecological reasons have been proposed. This decline, which has been termed the "Post-Aksumite Period", saw extreme loss of territory and lasted until the ascension of the Zagwe dynasty.

In the late 10th century, the Kingdom of Aksum fell to a queen known as Gudit. Historians are unsure of her ethnicity and religion, but she is theorized to have been Agaw and likely non-Christian, as she targeted churches in her attacks. Confusion surrounds the period directly following her reign, but the dynasty proper is considered to have been founded by Mara Takla Haymanot in 1137. The capital moved southward from Aksum to Lalibela, where many rock-hewn churches were built. Despite the anti-Christian nature of Gudit's takeover, Christianity flourished under Zagwe rule but its territorial extent was markedly smaller than that of the Aksumites, controlling the area between Lasta and the Red Sea.

Zara Yaqob (Ge'ez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ, Zarʾa Yāʿǝqob; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Constantine I (Ge’ez: ቈስጠንጢኖስ, Ḳʷasṭanṭinos; Amharic: ቆስጠንጢኖስ, Ḳosṭänṭinos). He is known for the Geʽez literature that flourished during his reign, the handling of both internal Christian affairs and external wars with Muslims, and the founding of Debre Birhan as his capital. He reigned for 34 years and 2 months (r. 1434-1468).

The British historian Edward Ullendorff stated that Zara Yaqob "was unquestionably the greatest ruler Ethiopia had seen since Ezana, during the heyday of Aksumite power, and none of his successors on the throne – excepted only the emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie – can be compared to him."

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 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 currency. Stuart Munro-Hay suggests that the scarcity of Wazeba's coins may hint at a short reign.

The Geta Lion near Kombolcha 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 who is known for converting to Christianity, not Wazeba. None of Wazeba's coins feature a Christian cross like this inscription.