3 – The Kingdom of Aksum (100 – 900 AD)
In approximately the third century AD, a Persian philosopher referred to Aksum (also called Axum) as one of the world’s four great kingdoms along with Persia, Rome, and China. The Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum was located in the Horn of Africa, and at its peak, it controlled Eritrea, modern-day Ethiopia, Western Yemen, Sudan, the south of Saudi Arabia, and parts of Somalia.
The city of Aksum was first populated in around 400 BC, and it had developed into a kingdom that dominated its region by around 150 BC. The continuing expansion of the Roman Empire helped Aksum to prosper. The city was in an ideal location on the Red Sea and was considered a crossroads to three continents: Arabia, Africa, and the Greco-Roman world.
The kingdom is first mentioned in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea in the first century AD and one of its rulers at this time was King Zoskales. Aksum reached its peak between the third and fifth centuries AD and its ‘golden age’ began in earnest during the reign of King Ezana who converted the kingdom to Christianity. Indeed, the coins minted during his reign were the first ever to feature the symbol of the cross and Ezana also believed in the importance of written documents. The Ezana Stone features details of the monarch’s conversion to Christianity and the subjugation of various peoples.
Aksum is also believed to have invaded the Kingdom of Meroe and caused its decline in the fourth century. Archaeologists have discovered some interesting things about Aksum; including the seemingly lavish burial practices amongst the wealthy. They would build giant monuments known as stelae which were carved with inscriptions. The largest stelae were up to 100 feet high.
The empire began to weaken in the sixth century. King Kaleb wasted a huge amount of men and resources in trying to depose a general named Abreha who took over Yemen in the 520s. Aksum suffered a double blow as it was probably badly affected by the Plague of Justinian soon after the war.
The rise of Islam in the seventh century proved to be the death knell for the Kingdom of Aksum. When the Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea, it ensured that Aksum was isolated economically and it was only a matter of time before the kingdom collapsed. A series of climate changes also impacted Aksum, but historians are not entirely sure how and when the kingdom ceased to exist.
It is suggested that a Jewish Queen named Yodit defeated the empire in 960 and burned its literature and churches although modern historians are not sure she ever existed. At some point in the eleventh century, a new empire was formed in the region; it was known as the Agaw Zagwe Dynasty which lasted until 1270. Today, there are around 50,000 inhabitants in the city of Aksum which means it is Africa’s oldest continuously inhabited city.