Agʿazi


Agʿazi is the name of a region of the Aksumite Empire in what consists today of Eastern Tigray and Southern Eritrea.

History

The earliest attestation of this name can be found in the determined nisba-form yg'ḏyn in three pre-Aksumite Royal inscriptions: h/mlkn/sr'n/yg'ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/web' 'RBH, the victorious king, he of YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB' ; lmn/mlkn/sr'n/yg/ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/wsb'/bn/rbb 'LMN, the victorious king he of YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB', son of RBH'. YG'Ḏ seems to be the name of the leading tribe or royal family settled in the region of Akele Guzai.
In Aksumite inscriptions this name never appears. In the Greek Monumentum Adulitanum, the author states: Γάζη έθνος έπολέμηα. This people's name has been connected with the term Ge'ez. The Sinaiticus and Laurentianus messages explain in margin: "Gaze means the Aksumites. Until now they are called Agaze". The reconstruction āzә in RIE 264 from Zafār has been proposed by Müller, but the fragment is too badly damaged to provide any help as to who could be meant by this name.
The only certain attestation is found in Abraha's Sabaen dam-inscription CIH 541 from Mārib, where he calls himself mlkn gzyn. The meaning of this title remains enigmatic, especially since Abraha is at this time not any longer the Aksumite viceroy, but the autonomous king.
A connection between agāzī and the people Agēzāt, mentioned in two of Ezana's inscriptions seems questionable.