The Kingdom of Aksum , also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was an ancient
Habesha kingdom that controlled what are now Eritrea, Northern Ethiopia, parts of Eastern
Sudan and Southern Yemen at its peak. It was centralized in Northern Ethiopia, and its
capital was Aksum or Axum. Aksumite rulers styled themselves as King of kings, king of
Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Beja and of Kush. Ruled by the Aksumites,
it existed from approximately 80 BC to AD 825. The polity was centered in the city of
Aksum and grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period around the 4th century BC to achieve
prominence by the 1st century AD. Aksum became a major player on the commercial route between
the Roman Empire and Ancient India. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their
own Aksumite currency, with the state establishing its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of
Kush. It also regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and
eventually extended its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom.
The Manichaei prophet Mani regarded Aksum as one of the four great powers of his time,
the others being Persia, Rome and China. It ruled the South Arabia of Yemen for half a
century in the 6th century.
The Aksumites erected monumental stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian
times. One of these granite columns is the largest such structure in the world, at 90
feet. Under Ezana Aksum adopted Christianity.
The kingdom's ancient capital, also called Aksum, is now a town in Tigray Region . The
Kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the 4th century. Tradition claims Aksum
as the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purported home of the
Queen of Sheba. Historical records
Aksum is mentioned in the first-century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important
market place for the trade in ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world.
It states that the ruler of Aksum in the first century was Zoskales, who, besides ruling
the kingdom, likewise controlled land near the Red Sea: Adulis and lands through the
highlands of present-day Eritrea. He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature.
4. Below Ptolemais of the Hunts, at a distance of about three thousand stadia, there is Adulis,
a port established by law, lying at the inner end of a bay that runs in toward the south.
Before the harbor lies the so-called Mountain Island, about two hundred stadia seaward from
the very head of the bay, with the shores of the mainland close to it on both sides.
Ships bound for this port now anchor here because of attacks from the land. They used
formerly to anchor at the very head of the bay, by an island called Diodorus, close to
the shore, which could be reached on foot from the land; by which means the barbarous
natives attacked the island. Opposite Mountain Island, on the mainland twenty stadia from
shore, lies Adulis, a fair-sized village, from which there is a three-days' journey
to Coloe, an inland town and the first market for ivory. From that place to the city of
the people called Auxumites there is a five days' journey more; to that place all the
ivory is brought from the country beyond the Nile through the district called Cyeneum,
and thence to Adulis. Practically the whole number of elephants and rhinoceros that are
killed live in the places inland, although at rare intervals they are hunted on the seacoast
even near Adulis. Before the harbor of that market-town, out at sea on the right hand,
there lie a great many little sandy islands called Alalaei, yielding tortoise-shell, which
is brought to market there by the Fish-Eaters.
...
6. There are imported into these places, undressed cloth made in Egypt for the Berbers; robes
from Arsinoe; cloaks of poor quality dyed in colors; double-fringed linen mantles; many
articles of flint glass, and others of murrhine, made in Diospolis; and brass, which is used
for ornament and in cut pieces instead of coin; sheets of soft copper, used for cooking-utensils
and cut up for bracelets and anklets for the women; iron, which is made into spears used
against the elephants and other wild beasts, and in their wars. Besides these, small axes
are imported, and adzes and swords; copper drinking-cups, round and large; a little coin
for those coming to the market; wine of Laodicea and Italy, not much; olive oil, not much;
for the king, gold and silver plate made after the fashion of the country, and for clothing,
military cloaks, and thin coats of skin, of no great value. Likewise from the district
of Ariaca across this sea, there are imported Indian iron, and steel, and Indian cotton
cloth; the broad cloth called monache and that called sagmatogene, and girdles, and
coats of skin and mallow-colored cloth, and a few muslins, and colored lac. There are
exported from these places ivory, and tortoiseshell and rhinoceros-horn. The most from Egypt is
brought to this market from the month of January to September, that is, from Tybi to Thoth;
but seasonably they put to sea about the month of September.
History Origins
Largely on the basis of Carlo Conti Rossini's theories and prolific work on Ethiopian history,
Aksum was previously thought to have been founded by the Sabaeans, who spoke a language
from the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Evidence suggests that Semitic-speaking
Aksumites semiticized the Agaw people, who originally spoke other Afroasiatic languages
from the family's Cushitic branch, and had already established an independent civilization
in the territory before the arrival of the Sabaeans.
Scholars like Stuart Munro-Hay thus point to the existence of an older kingdom known
as Dʿmt, which flourished in the area between the tenth and fifth centuries BC, prior to
the proposed Sabaean migration in the fourth or fifth century BC. They also cite evidence
indicating that Sabaean settlers resided in the region for little more than a few decades.
Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing
after a few decades or a century, perhaps representing a trading or military colony
in some sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the civilization of D'mt or some proto-Aksumite
state. As George Hatke put it:
The most significant and lasting impact of these colonists was the establishment of a
writing system and the introduction of Semitic speech—both of which the Ethiopians modified
considerably. . . . South Arabian culture a foreign commodity from which the Ethiopians
were able to freely pick and chose when they saw fit, rather than an entire civilization
imposed by foreign rulers.
The Ge'ez language is no longer universally thought of, as previously assumed, to be an
offshoot of Sabaean or Old South Arabian, and there is some linguistic evidence of Semitic
languages being spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia since approximately 2000 BC. However, the
Ge'ez script later replaced Epigraphic South Arabian in the Kingdom of Aksum.
Empire The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire
centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. It existed approximately 100–940 AD, growing
from the Iron Age proto-Aksumite period c. fourth century BC to achieve prominence by
the first century AD.
According to the Book of Aksum, Aksum's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son
of Cush. The capital was later moved to Aksum in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the
name "Ethiopia" as early as the fourth century.
The Empire of Aksum at times extended across most of present-day Eritrea, northern Ethiopia,
Western Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia and parts of eastern Sudan. The capital city of the
empire was Aksum, now in northern Ethiopia. Today a smaller community, the city of Aksum
was once a bustling metropolis, cultural and economic center. Two hills and two streams
lie on the east and west expanses of the city; perhaps providing the initial impetus for
settling this area. Along the hills and plain outside the city, the Aksumites had cemeteries
with elaborate grave stones called stelee or obelisks. Other important cities included
Yeha, Hawulti-Melazo, Matara, Adulis, and Qohaito, the last three of which are now in
Eritrea. By the reign of Endubis in the late third century, it had begun minting its own
currency and was named by Mani as one of the four great powers of his time along with the
Sasanian Empire, Roman Empire, and "Three Kingdoms" China. The Aksumites adopted Christianity
as its state religion in 325 or 328 AD under King Ezana, and Aksum was the first state
ever to use the image of the cross on its coins.
Around the 3rd century , the Aksumites led by Sembrouthes were victorious over the Sesea,
with Sesea becoming a tributary of the Kingdom of Aksum. Around 330, Ezana of Aksum led his
army into the Kingdom of Meroë, conquering and sacking the town itself. A large stone
monument was left there, and the conquest is also related on Ezana Stone.
King Kaleb Around 525, King Kaleb sent an expedition
to Yemen against the Jewish Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, who was persecuting the Christian
community there. For nearly half a century south Arabia would become an Ethiopian protectorate
under Abraha and his son Masruq. Dhu Nuwas was deposed and killed and Kaleb appointed
a Christian Himyarite, Esimiphaios , as his viceroy. However, around 530 this viceroy
was deposed by the Aksumite general Abraha with support of Ethiopians who had settled
in Yemen. Kaleb sent two expeditions against Abraha, but both were decisively defeated.
Kaleb did not pursue the matter further, and recognized Abraha as his new viceroy.
After Abraha's death, his son Masruq Abraha continued the Aksumite vice-royalty in Yemen,
resuming payment of tribute to Aksum. However, his half-brother Ma'd-Karib revolted. After
being denied by Justinian, Ma'd-Karib sought help from Khosrow I, the Sassanid Persian
Emperor, thus triggering the Aksumite–Persian wars. Khosrow sent a small fleet and army
under commander Vahrez to depose the current king of Yemen. The war culminated with the
Siege of Sana'a, capital of Aksumite Yemen. After its fall in 570, and Masruq death, Ma'd-Karib's
son, Saif, was put on the throne. In 575, the war resumed again, after Saif was killed
by Aksumites. The Persian general Vahrez led another army of 8000, ending Aksum rule in
Yemen and becoming hereditary governor of Yemen. According to Munro-Hay, these wars
may have been Aksum's swan-song as a great power, with an overall weakening of Aksumite
authority and over-expenditure in money and manpower.
According to Ethiopian traditions, Kaleb eventually abdicated and retired to a monastery. It is
also possible that Ethiopia was affected by the Plague of Justinian around this time.
Aksum, though weakened, remained a strong empire and trading power until the rise of
Islam in the 7th century. However, unlike the relations between the Islamic powers and
Christian Europe, Aksum , was on good terms with its Islamic neighbors and provided shelter
to Muhammad's early followers around 615. Nevertheless, as early as 640, Umar sent a
naval expedition against Adulis, the Expedition of Alqammah bin Mujazziz, but it was eventually
defeated. In the 7th century, early Muslims from Mecca sought refuge from Quraysh persecution
by travelling to the kingdom, a journey known in Islamic history as the First Hijra. However
the religion did not established until the arrival of the Ottomans in the 15th century.
Aksumite naval power also declined throughout the period, though in 702 Aksumite pirates
were able to invade the Hejaz and occupy Jeddah. In retaliation, however, Sulayman ibn Abd
al-Malik was able to take the occupied parts back and the Dahlak Archipelago from Aksum,
which became Muslim from that point on.
Decline After a second golden age in the early 6th
century the empire began to decline in the mid 6th century, eventually ceasing its production
of coins in the early 7th century. Around this same time, the Aksumite population was
forced to go farther inland to the highlands for protection, abandoning Aksum as the capital.
Arab writers of the time continued to describe Ethiopia as an extensive and powerful state,
though they had lost control of most of the coast and their tributaries. While land was
lost in the north, it was gained in the south; and, though Ethiopia was no longer an economic
power, it still attracted Arab merchants. The capital was moved to a new location, currently
unknown, though it may have been called Ku'bar or Jarmi.
Eventually, the Rashidun Caliphate took control of the Red Sea and Egypt by 646, pushing Aksum
into economic isolation. Northwest of Aksum, in modern-day Sudan, the Christian states
of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia lasted till the 13th century before being overrun by bedouin
tribes and Funj sultanate. Aksum, isolated, nonetheless still remained Christian.
Under the reign of Degna Djan, during the 10th century, the empire kept expanding south,
and sent troops into the modern-day region of Kaffa, while at the same time undertaking
missionary activity into Angot and Amhara.
Local history holds that, around 960, a Jewish Queen named Yodit or "Gudit" defeated the
empire and burned its churches and literature. While there is evidence of churches being
burned and an invasion around this time, her existence has been questioned by some western
authors. Another possibility is that the Aksumite power was ended by a southern pagan queen
named Bani al-Hamwiyah, possibly of the tribe al-Damutah or Damoti . It is clear from contemporary
sources that a female usurper did indeed rule the country at this time, and that her reign
ended some time before 1003. After a short Dark Age, the Aksumite Empire was succeeded
by the Agaw Zagwe dynasty in the 11th or 12th century , although limited in size and scope.
However, Yekuno Amlak, who killed the last Zagwe king and founded the modern Solomonic
dynasty around 1270 traced his ancestry and his right to rule from the last emperor of
Aksum, Dil Na'od. It should be mentioned that the end of the Aksumite Empire didn't mean
the end of Aksumite culture and traditions; for example, the architecture of the Zagwe
dynasty at Lalibela and Yemrehana Krestos Church shows heavy Aksumite influence.
Climate change hypothesis Climatic change and trade isolation have also
been claimed as large reasons for the decline of the culture. The local subsistence base
was substantially augmented by a climatic shift during the 1st century AD that reinforced
the spring rains, extended the rainy season from 3 1/2 to six or seven months, vastly
improved the surface and subsurface water supply, doubled the length of the growing
season, and created an environment comparable to that of modern central Ethiopia . This
appears to explain how one of the marginal agricultural environments of Ethiopia was
able to support the demographic base that made this far flung commercial empire possible.
It may also explain why no Aksumite rural settlement expansion into the moister, more
fertile, and naturally productive lands of Begemder or Lasta can be verified during the
heyday of Aksumite power. As international profits from the exchange network declined,
Aksum lost its ability to control its own raw material sources and that network collapsed.
The already persistent environmental pressure of a large population to maintain a high level
of regional food production had to be intensified. The result was a wave of soil erosion that
began on a local scale c. 650 and attained catastrophic proportions after 700. Presumably
complex socio-economic inputs compounded the problem. These are traditionally reflected
in declining maintenance, deterioration and partial abandonment of marginal crop land,
shifts to destructive pastoral exploitation, and eventual, wholesale and irreversible land
degradation. This syndrome was possibly accelerated by an apparent decline in rainfall reliability
beginning 730–760, with the presumed result that an abbreviated modern growing season
was reestablished during the 9th century.