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Saizana

Saizana (unvocalized Ge'ez: ሠዐዘነ śʿzn) was the brother of King Ezana of Axum, who changed the official religion of the Axumite Kingdom to Christianity. That kingdom abutted the Red Sea. According to the historian Tyrannius Rufinus, he was converted to Christianity with his brother Ezana by the missionary Frumentius. With his brother, he resisted the attempts of the Christian Roman emperor Constantius II to relieve Frumentius of his post as bishop and replace him with an Arian (which was a different sect of Christianity). Saizana was sent by King Ezana with his other brother Hadefa (alternatively spelled Adiphan, Adefa) to quell an uprising by the Beja. The two brothers were victorious, and six Beja tribes (4400 people) were relocated to a province called Matlia, which is believed to have been situated similarly to the modern province of Begemder in Ethiopia. He is considered a saint by the Coptic Church, with a feast day of October 1. He is also acknowledged as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.

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Article summary

Saizana (unvocalized Ge'ez: ሠዐዘነ śʿzn) was the brother of King Ezana of Axum, who changed the official religion of the Axumite Kingdom to Christianity. That kingdom abutted the Red Sea. According to the historian Tyrannius Rufinus, he was converted to Christianity with his brother Ezana by the missionary Frumentius. With his brother, he resisted the attempts of the Christian Roman emperor Constantius II to relieve Frumentius of his post as bishop and replace him with an Arian (which was a different sect of Christianity). Saizana was sent by King Ezana with his other brother Hadefa (alternatively spelled Adiphan, Adefa) to quell an uprising by the Beja. The two brothers were victorious, and six Beja tribes (4400 people) were relocated to a province called Matlia, which is believed to have been situated similarly to the modern province of Begemder in Ethiopia. He is considered a saint by the Coptic Church, with a feast day of October 1. He is also acknowledged as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.

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  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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