Aksumite currency of the Axumite king Endubis, 227–35, at the British Museum. The inscriptions in Ancient Greek read "ΑΧΩΜΙΤΩ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ" ("KING OF AXUM") and "ΕΝΔΥΒΙΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ" ("KING ENDUBIS"), the Greek language was the lingua franca by that time so the Axumite kings used it in coins to simplify foreign trade.