Ousas

Ousas, Emperor (perhaps fl. c. 5th century A.D.), was a Christian ruler of the Aksumite Empire of the fifth or sixth century, known only from his coins. These were struck in gold, bear his effigy and the Cross of Christ, and are inscribed in Greek, bearing the legend “By the Grace of God.” Kammerer is of the opinion that they were minted in South Arabia during the Aksumite occupation of the region.

Richard K. P. Pankhurst

Bibliography

C. Conti Rossini, “Monete aksumite”, Africa Italiana, Vol. I (1927), 200.

A. Kammerer, *La Mer Rouge, l’Abyssinie et l’Arabie depuis l’antiquité *(Le Caire, 1929), Vol. I, 222-3.

J. Doresse, *L’ Empire du Prêtre-Jean *(Paris, 1957), Vol. I, 135.

A. Anzani, “Numismatica axumita,” Rivista di Numismatica e Scienze Affini, XXXIX (1926): 37-8, 80-81.

F. Anfray, “Les rois d’Axoum d’après la numismatique,” Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. VI, No. 2 (1968): 1-3.

This article is reproduced, with permission, from The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography, Vol. 1 ‘From Early Times to the End of the Zagwé Dynasty c. 1270 A.D.,’ copyright © 1975, edited by Belaynesh Michael, S. Chojnacki and Richard Pankhurst, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All rights reserved.