Detail: This is a close-up photo of the text on one side of the famous Ezana Stone. I am going to guess this is the Greek side of the tablet, since I think I can make out a few sigmas, pis, and deltas and maybe even a theta or two.

This monument would be a both an epigrapher's nightmare and a delight. To my untrained eye, it looks like many of the letters are damaged. However, one of my faithful viewers assures me the text is in pretty good condition.

Imagine the time, skill and effort that went into creating these inscriptions in the first place.

====================================================

This tablet, situated in a field and well below today's ground surface, is believed to have been erected some time during the first half of the fourth century of the current era by King Ezana of Axum in what is now called Ethiopia.

The monument is interesting for several reasons. First, it is one of the few ancient written records to come from pre-Islamic Africa, Egypt being the other major source of inscriptions.

Second, the text on the Ezana Stone is written in several languages. If you Google this monument, you'll be told the text is in Greek, which at the time was the lingua franca in many parts of the ancient world; Ge'ez, an ancient Ethiopian language that is still a liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and others, and Sabaean, an Old South Arabian language used in what is now Yemen and in parts of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.

However, the facts are much more interesting than this. According to fellow flickerite YomArkegzi,

"It's not actually trilingual, but bilingual. The Sabaean inscription is actually a "pseudo-Sabaean" - the language is Ge'ez but the script is South Arabian. The Ge'ez also has a few pseudo-Sabaean features such as "M" affixed to many words (a grammatical marker used in Sabaean but not in Ge'ez) and the use of Sabaean versions of words where cognates exist (e.g. BN or "bin" for son, instead of the more common Ge'ez term - WLD - "wald")." Thank you, YomArkegzi!

Third, unless I'm mistaken, the stone stands more or less where it was originally erected (or at least where it came to rest in antiquity), instead of gracing a hushed and elegant museum gallery in, say, Rome, Berlin or London, or, god forbid, a billionaire's private collection.

====================================================

King Ezana ruled the Axumite Kingdom during the first half of the fourth century of the current era.

Ezana is known principally for having converted to Christianity, paving the way for the eventual Christianization of Ethiopia.

King Ezana also left his mark in the annals of history by invading the Kingdom of Kush in what is now southern Sudan. Sources differ on whether King Ezana conquered and put an end to the Kingdom of Kush, or merely inflicted damage that, along with other factors, led to the Kingdom of Kush's decline.

====================================================

What does the tablet say, you ask? Well, I wasn't able to find a clear answer to that question. It appears King Ezana erected several "Ezana Stones" during his reign, including one in what is now southern Sudan.

My default answer would have been that the monument records King Ezana's conversion to Christianity and/or his victories over the Kushites, because that seems to be the consensus on the Internets.