St. Elesbaan

Elesbaan ruled the Axumite kingdom in the sixth century. Butler praises his desire to govern for the welfare of his people and sets his reign against the suffering of Christians in southern Arabia. The account connects his expedition across the Red Sea with the persecution in which Aretas and his companions were killed.

After the campaign, the notice describes the restoration of churches and Christian worship. It also considers when Elesbaan left royal government. Butler rejects the assumption that he immediately became a monk after returning from the war, observing that an earlier traveller still found him reigning at Axum some years later.

At length Elesbaan entrusted the kingdom to his son and withdrew into a monastery. The traditional account remembers his sending his diadem to Jerusalem and entering a life of prayer and penance with very few possessions. Among the brethren he sought no privilege on account of his former rank. Butler closes with his remembrance in the Roman Martyrology.