Ge’ez (or Ethiopic) is one of the oldest written systems in Africa and is one of only a few ancient scripts still utilized today. Some of the earliest Ge’ez scripts can be traced back to the 5th century BCE in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Also it is derived from South Arabian scripts, it differs importantly from them by pairing consonant characters with vowels. The Ezana Stone from the Aksumite Empire in the 4th century CE displays one of the most famous early examples of Ge’ez and is considered to be the African Rosetta Stone by some because of its trilingual inscriptions (Ge’ez, South Arabian, and Greek). Ge’ez also appeared on Aksumite coins, among other places. When the Aksumite court converted to Christianity in the 4th century, Ge’ez became a key language for scripture and other religious texts in Ethiopia.

Over time, Ge’ez was no longer widely spoken but did stay in written form when modified for Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. Other languages found in Eritrea and Ethiopia, such as Tigrinya, Tigre, Harari, and several Gurage languages, also employ a modified Ge’ez script. Moreover, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses Ge’ez for its liturgical language, while the Ethiopian Jewish tradition used Ge’ez for scripture until the 20th century.

Ge’ez script, in use for over 2,000 years, debunks the myth that Africa’s population was illiterate prior to European colonization. In addition, Ge’ez manuscripts about theology, philosophy, astronomy, and law illuminate a long-lasting and powerful intellectual body of work penned by Africans.