Everything about Axumite Kingdom totally explained
The
Aksumite Empire or
Axumite Empire (sometimes called the Kingdom of Aksum or Axum), (
Ge'ez: አክሱም), was an important trading nation in northeastern
Africa, growing from the proto-Aksumite period ca.
4th century BC to achieve prominence by the
1st century AD. It is also the alleged resting place of the
Ark of the Covenant and the home of the
Queen of Sheba.
History
Located in northern
Ethiopia and
Eritrea, Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between
India and the
Mediterranean.
Aksum is mentioned in the 1st century AD
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world:
According to the Periplus, the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD was
Zoscales, who, besides ruling in Aksum also controlled two harbours on the
Red Sea:
Adulis (near
Massawa) and Avalites (
Assab). He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature:
the Roman Empire and India. This change took place around the start of the
Common Era. The older trading system involved coastal sailing and many intermediary ports. The Red Sea was of secondary importance to the
Persian Gulf and overland connections to the
Levant. Starting around 100 BC a route from Egypt to India was established, making use of the Red Sea and using monsoon winds to cross the
Arabian Sea directly to
southern India. By about 100 AD the volume of traffic being shipped on this route had eclipsed older routes. Roman demand for goods from southern India increased dramatically, resulting in greater number of large ships sailing down the Red Sea from Roman Egypt to the Arabian Sea and India.
The Kingdom of Aksum was ideally located to take advantage of the new trading situation.
Adulis soon became the main port for the export of African goods, such as ivory, incense, gold, and exotic animals. In order to supply such goods the kings of Aksum worked to develop and expand an inland trading network. A rival, and much older trading network that tapped the same interior region of Africa was that of the Kingdom of
Kush, which had long supplied Egypt with African goods via the
Nile corridor. By the 1st century AD, however, Aksum had gained control over territory previously Kushite. The
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea explicitly describes how ivory collected in Kushite territory was being exported through the port of Adulis instead of being taken to
Meroë, the capital of Kush. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries the Kingdom of Aksum continued to expand their control of the southern Red Sea basin. A caravan route to Egypt was established which bypassed the Nile corridor entirely. Aksum succeeded in becoming the principal supplier of African goods to the Roman Empire, not least as a result of the transformed Indian Ocean trading system.
In the 3rd century, Aksum began interfering in South Arabian affairs, controlling at times the western
Tihama region among other areas. By the late 3rd 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
Persia,
Rome, and
China. It converted to
Christianity in
325 or
328 under
King Ezana and was the first state ever to use the image of the cross on
its coins. At its height, Aksum controlled northern
Ethiopia,
Eritrea, northern
Sudan, southern
Egypt,
Djibouti,
Yemen, and southern
Saudi Arabia, totalling 1.25 million km².
It was a quasi-ally of
Byzantium against the
Persian Empire of the day and declined after the
7th century due to unknown reasons, but informed speculation suggests the rise of
Islam heavily impacted its ability to trade with the
Far East in the era when shipping was limited to coastal navigation as well as cut it off from its principal markets in
Alexandria,
Byzantium and
Southern Europe.
After a second
golden age in the early 6th century, the empire began to decline, eventually ceasing its production of coins in the early 7th century. It finally dissolved with the invasion of the
pagan or
Jewish queen
Gudit in the 9th or 10th century, resulting in a Dark Age about which little is known until the rise of the
Zagwe dynasty.
Origins
Aksum was previously thought to have been founded by
Semitic-speaking
Sabaeans who crossed the
Red Sea from South Arabia (modern
Yemen) on the basis of Conti Rossini's theories and prolific work on Ethiopian history, but most scholars now agree that it was an indigenous development. Scholars like Stuart Munro-Hay point to the existence of an older
D’mt or Da'amot kingdom, prior to any Sabaean migration ca. 4th or 5th c. BC, as well as to evidence of Sabaean immigrants having resided in the region for little more than a few decades. Furthermore,
Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Eritrea and Ethiopia, is now known not to have derived from
Sabaean, and there's evidence of a Semitic speaking presence in Ethiopia and Eritrea at least as early as
2000 BC. 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. Adding more to the confusion, there existed an Ethiopian city called
Saba in the ancient period that doesn't seem to have been a Sabaean settlement.
The Empire
The Empire of Aksum at its height extended across Most of present-day
Eritrea, northern
Ethiopia,
Yemen, southern
Saudi Arabia northern
Djibouti, and northern
Sudan. The capital city of the empire was
Aksum, now in northern Ethiopia. Today a country village, the city of Aksum was once a bustling metropolis, a bustling 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 Steale, or obelisks. Other important cities included
Yeha,
Hawulti,
Matara,
Adulis, and
Qohaito, the last three of which are now in Eritrea.
Societal structure
The Aksumite population consisted of
Semitic-speaking people (collectively known as
Habeshas),
Cushitic-speaking people, and
Nilo-Saharan-speaking people (the
Kunama and
Nara).
The Aksumite kings had the official title ነገሠ ፡ ነገሠተ
ngś ngśt - King of Kings (later vocalization
Ge'ez ንጉሠ ፡ ነገሥት
nigūśa nagaśt,
Modern Ethiosemitic nigūse negest). Aksumite kings traced their lineage to
Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba. This royal heritage and title was claimed and used by all
emperors of Ethiopia.
Aksumites did own slaves, and a modified feudal system was in place to farm the land.
Foreign relations and economy
Axum traded with
India and
Rome (later
Byzantium), exporting
ivory,
tortoise shell,
gold and
emeralds, and importing
silk and
spices. Axum's access to both the Red Sea and the Upper Nile enabled its strong navy to profit in trade between various African (
Nubia), Arabian (
Yemen), and Indian states.
In the
3rd century AD, Axum acquired tributary states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea, and by 350, they conquered the
Kingdom of Kush.
The main exports of Axum were, as would be expected of a state during this time, agricultural products. The land was much more fertile during the time of the Aksumites than now, and their principle crops were grains such as wheat and barley. The people of Aksum also raised cattle, sheep, and camels. Wild animals were also hunted for things such as ivory and rhinoceros horns. They traded with Roman traders as well as with Egyptian and Persian merchants.
The empire was also rich with gold and iron deposits. These metals were valuable to trade, but another mineral was also widely traded. Salt was found richly in Aksum and was traded quite frequently.
Axum remained a strong empire and trading power until the rise of
Islam in the
seventh century. However, because the Axumites had sheltered
Muhammad's first followers, the Muslims never attempted to overthrow Axum as they spread across the face of Africa. Nevertheless, as early as 640,
Umar ibn al-Khattāb sent a naval expedition against
Adulis under
Alkama bin Mujazziz, but it was eventually defeated. Axumite 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
Dahlak Archipelago from Axum, which became Muslim from that point on, though later recovered in the 9th century and vassal to the
Emperor of Ethiopia.
Eventually, the Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea and most of the Nile, forcing Axum into economic isolation. However, it still had relatively good relations with all of its Muslim neighbors. Two Christian states northwest of Axum (in modern day Sudan),
Maqurra and
Alwa, survived until the
thirteenth century when they were finally forced by Muslim conversion to become Islamic. Axum, however, remained untouched by the Islamic movements across Africa.
Religion
Before its conversion to Christianity the Aksumites practiced a polytheistic religion not unlike the Greek’s system. Astar was the main god of the pre-Christian Aksumites, and his son, Mahrem (Maher), was who the kings of Aksum traced their lineage. In about 324 AD the King Ezana II was converted by his slave-teacher Frumentius, the founder of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Frumentius taught the emperor while he was young, and at some point staged the conversion of the empire. We know that the Axumites converted to Christianity because in their coins they replaced the disc and crescent with the cross.
Frumentius was in contact with the Church in Alexandria and was appointed Bishop of Ethiopia around 330 AD Alexandria never reigned Aksum in tightly, rather allowing its own form of Christianity form, however, the church did retain a minor influence.
Aksum is also the alleged home of the holy relic the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is said to have been placed in the Church of Mary of Zion by Menelik I for safekeeping.
Cultural achievements
The Empire of Aksum is notable for a number of achievements, such as its own alphabet, the
Ge'ez alphabet (which evolved from
Epigraphic South Arabian during the late pre-Aksumite and proto-Aksumite period), which was modified to include vowels, becoming an
abugida. Furthermore, in the early times of the empire, around 1700 years ago, giant Obelisks to mark emperor's (and nobles') tombstones (underground grave chambers) were constructed, the most famous of which is the
Obelisk of Axum.
Under Emperor
Ezana, Axum adopted Christianity in place of its former
polytheistic and
Judaic religions around 325. This gave rise to the present day
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (1959), and
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church (1993). Since the schism with orthodoxy following the
Council of Chalcedon (451), it has been an important
Miaphysite church, and its scriptures and liturgy are still in Ge'ez.
It was a
cosmopolitan and culturally important state. It was a meeting place for a variety of cultures:
Egyptian,
Sudanic,
Arabic, and
Indian. The major Aksumite cities had
Sabean,
Jewish,
Nubian,
Christian, and even
Buddhist minorities.
Coinage
The Empire of Aksum was also the first African polity to issue its own [coin(s)]. From the reign of Endubis up to Armah (approximately
270 to
610), gold, silver and bronze coins were minted. Issuing coinage in ancient times was an act of great importance in itself, for it proclaimed that the Axumite Empire considered itself equal to its neighbors. Many of the coins are used as signposts about what was happening when they were minted. An example being the addition of the cross to the coin after the conversion of the empire to Christianity. The presence of coins also simplified trade, and was at once a useful instrument of
propaganda and a source of profit to the empire.
Ark of the Covenant
Aksum is the apparent home of the
Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is said to be housed in the Church of Mary of Zion, and is guarded heavily by the priests there. The Ark was said to have been brought to Aksum by King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba's son and placed under guard. Controversy surrounds the Church, since no one but the one guard priest is allowed in, no one can verify the Ark's existence.
Stelae
The Stelae are perhaps the most identifiable part of the Aksumite legacy. These stone towers served to mark graves or represent a magnificent building. The largest of these towering obelisks would measure 33 meters high had it not fallen. The Stelae have most of their mass out of the ground, but are stabilized by massive underground counter-weights. The stone was often engraved with a pattern or emblem denoting the king's or the noble's rank.
Decline
Aksum began to decline in the 7th century, and the population was forced to go farther inland to the highlands, eventually being defeated
c. 950. Local history hold that a Jewish Queen named Yodit (Judith) or "
Gudit" defeated the empire and burned its churches and literature, but while there's evidence of churches being burned and an invasion around this time, her existence has been questioned by some modern authors. Another possibility is that the Axumite power was ended by a southern pagan queen named Bani al-Hamwiyah, possibly of the tribe al-Damutah or Damoti (
Sidama). After this period, the Axumite Empire was succeeded by the
Zagwe dynasty in the
eleventh century or
twelfth century, although limited in size and scope. However,
Yekuno Amlak, who killed the last Zagwe king and founded the modern
Solomonic dynasty traced his ancestry and his right to rule from the last emperor of Axum,
Dil Na'od.
Other reasons for the decline are less romantic and more scientific. Climate change and trade isolation are probably also large reasons for the decline of the culture. Over farming on the land lead to decreased crop yield, which in turn lead to decreased food supply. This in turn with the changing flood pattern of the Nile and several seasons of drought would alter all of Aksum’s agricultural Aksum’s geographic location would make it less important in the emerging European economy.
Aksumite Empire in Fiction
The Aksumite Empire is portrayed as the main ally of
Byzantium in the
Belisarius series by
David Drake and
Eric Flint published by
Baen Books.
Further Information
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