Zoskales

Zoskales (c.100) was a king in the Horn of Africa, whose realm is thought to include Axum.

The "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea" mentions him as ruler of the port of Adulis, whose territory extended "from the Moschophagoi ['calf-eaters'] to the rest of Barbaria ... a stickler about his possessions and always holding out for getting more, but in other respects a fine person and well versed in reading and writing Greek”. ["Periplus of the Erythraean Sea", Chap.5 [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.html Online translation] ]

Some scholars have identified him with Za Haqala, who is included in the King Lists of Ethiopia. G.W.B. Huntingford points out, on the other hand, that there is not enough information to be certain of this identification, and argues instead that Zoskales was a petty king whose power was limited to only Adulis. [Quoted in Paul B. Henze, "Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia" (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 18]

Notes