The Kingdom of Aksum, also called the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in Northeast Africa and South Arabia during ancient times and the Middle Ages. It was located in what is now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, and it covered parts of modern-day Djibouti, Sudan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom began after the earlier Dʿmt civilization and was founded in the 1st century. The city of Axum was its capital.

The Kingdom of Aksum was one of the four major powers in the 3rd century, according to Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, along with Persia, Rome, and China. Under the rule of Gedara (around 200–230), the kingdom expanded into South Arabian affairs. His reign allowed Aksum to control parts of western Yemen, including the Tihama, Najran, al-Ma'afir, Zafar (until about 230), and areas of Hashid territory near Hamir in the northern highlands. However, a joint Himyarite-Sabean alliance later forced Aksum out of these regions. Conflicts between Aksum and Himyar continued throughout the 3rd century. During the rule of Endybis (270–310), Aksum began making coins that have been found as far away as Caesarea and southern India.

As Aksum became a major power on the trade route between Rome and India and gained control of Indian Ocean trade, it adopted influences from the Greco-Roman world. In the mid-4th century, under the rule of Ezana (320s–c. 360), Aksum officially adopted Christianity as its state religion. After this change, the Aksumites stopped building large stone pillars called steles. The kingdom continued to grow during late antiquity, briefly conquering Kush in 330 and inheriting the Greek name "Ethiopia" from Kush.

Aksum’s influence in the Red Sea reached its peak during the reign of Kaleb of Axum (514–542). At the request of the Byzantine emperor Justin I, Kaleb invaded the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen to stop the persecution of Christians by the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas. After taking control of Himyar, Aksum reached its largest size, covering about 2.5 million square kilometers (about 970,000 square miles). However, Aksum lost this territory during wars with Persia. Aksum held control of southern Arabia until 525, when Sumyafa Ashwa was replaced by Abraha.

By the 7th century, the kingdom began to decline slowly. Coins were no longer made, and economic problems grew due to the presence of Persians and later Muslims in the Red Sea and the weakening of the Roman Empire, a major trading partner. The population of Axum decreased. Environmental and internal issues may have also contributed to the decline. The final three centuries of Aksum are called a "dark age," and the kingdom fell apart around 960 under unclear circumstances. Though Aksum was one of the most powerful empires of late antiquity, it became forgotten as Ethiopia remained isolated during the Late Middle Ages.

Etymology

Carlo Conti Rossini believed the word Aksum comes from a Semitic root and means "a green and dense garden" or "full of grass."

Because many Byzantine writers had limited knowledge of geography, texts from the seventh and early eighth centuries incorrectly placed Ethiopia in "India." This mistake caused the kingdom to also be known as the Kingdom of the Aksumite Indians.

History

Before the rise of Axum, the regions of Eritrea and the Tigray Plateau in northern Ethiopia were home to a kingdom called dʿmt. Evidence found by archaeologists shows that this kingdom was influenced by Sheba, which is now known as Yemen. Earlier, scholars believed that the Sabaeans, the people of Sheba, were the ones who started the "Semitic" civilization in Ethiopia. However, this idea is no longer accepted, and their influence is now seen as small. The Sabaeans likely lived in the area for only a short time, but their impact on later Aksumite civilization included the use of Ancient South Arabian script, which later became the Geʽez script, and the practice of Ancient Semitic religion.

The early years of Aksum’s growth, when it changed from a small local center to a powerful kingdom, are not well understood. Stone Age tools have been found at Gobedra, a place two kilometers west of Aksum. Excavations at Betä Giyorgis, a hill northwest of Aksum, show that people lived in the area around Aksum as early as the seventh to fourth centuries BCE. More findings at the Stele Park in Aksum confirm that people were active in the region from the start of the Common Era. Two hills and two streams on the east and west sides of Aksum may have encouraged people to settle there.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Aksumite kingdom began between 150 BCE and 150 CE. In the early years of the kingdom, small kingdoms with large communities and homes for leaders existed. Stuart Munro-Hay concluded that these early settlements were part of the Aksumite kingdom’s development.

The first written mention of Axum appears in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a guide for traders from the mid-first century AD. Axum is described alongside Adulis and Ptolemais of the Hunts as part of the realm of Zoskales. The region is noted for producing ivory and tortoise shells. The Periplus shows that Axum was already involved in trade routes connecting Rome and India.

Aksum’s control over Adulis allowed the exchange of Ethiopian goods for foreign items. Both Pliny the Elder and the Periplus mention Adulis, which was three days from the ivory market at Coloe, itself five days from Aksum. Trade across the Red Sea, linking the Roman Empire in the north to India and Ceylon in the east, helped Aksum grow wealthy. The city exported ivory, tortoiseshell, rhinoceros horn, and other goods like hippopotamus hide, monkeys, and slaves. By the second century AD, Ptolemy called Aksum a powerful kingdom. Archaeological and written evidence shows that a strong, organized society had formed in the Aksumite region by this time. By the early fourth century AD, Aksum had become a well-established state with cities, coins made of gold, silver, and copper, organized farming, and a military.

Around 200 AD, Aksum expanded its influence to Southern Arabia, where it settled in al-Maafer and fought with the Saba and Himyar kingdoms. Aksum made alliances with local rulers and tribes. In the early third century, kings GDRT and ʽDBH led military campaigns in the region. Inscriptions from Arabian kingdoms called these rulers "nagasi of Aksum and Habashat," and a metal object found in eastern Tigray mentions a "GDR negus of Aksum." Later in the century, kings of Habashat DTWNS and ZQRNS are noted as fighting in Arabia. A Greek inscription in Eritrea, called the Monumentum Adulitanum, recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes, describes Aksumite expansion in the Ethiopian Highlands and Arabian Peninsula around the mid to late third century (about 240 to 260 AD), with their influence reaching Lake Tana and Egypt’s borders.

By the end of the third century AD, Aksum was recognized by the prophet Mani in the Kephalaia as one of the four great powers of the world, along with Rome, Persia, and China. As Aksum’s power grew, its monuments became more grand. Early stelae, which were simple stone markers, evolved into large monuments in Africa. Granite stelae in Aksum’s main cemetery, where royal tombs were located, became more detailed and resembled multi-story towers. Aksumite buildings used large granite blocks, smaller uncut stones for walls, mud mortar, bricks for vaults and arches, and wooden frameworks called "monkey-heads" or square corner pieces. Walls were built inward and had recessed areas for strength. Cities like Aksum, Adulis, and Matara had large "palace" buildings with this style. In the early sixth century, Cosmas Indicopleustes described a four-towered palace in Aksum with bronze unicorn statues. The city also had rows of granite thrones with metal statues of pre-Christian gods. These thrones had inscriptions from kings like Ousanas, Ezana, Kaleb, and Wazeba, marking their military victories.

King Ezana became the first Christian ruler of Aksum in the fourth century. Coins and inscriptions from Ezana show a shift from pre-Christian symbols to Christian ones around 340 AD. This change connected Aksum to the Mediterranean region culturally. Politically, Aksum linked with the Byzantine Empire, which saw itself as the protector of Christianity. Three inscriptions on the Ezana Stone record Ezana’s conversion to Christianity and two military campaigns. One was against the "Noba," who lived near the Nile and Atbara rivers, and the other against the Beja. The "red Noba" mentioned in the inscription may have been a different group further north, possibly linked to the "other Nobades" mentioned in a Nubian king’s inscription.

King Kaleb led a campaign against the Jewish Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, who was harming Christians in Yemen. Kaleb became famous for conquering Yemen. He claimed the title of king of Hadramawt in southeastern Yemen, the coastal plain, and highlands of Yemen, and all their Arabs, showing Aksum’s influence across the Red Sea into Arabia. Dhu Nuwas was defeated and killed, and Kaleb appointed an Arab ruler named Esimiphaios ("Sumuafa Ashawa") to govern Yemen.

Society

The Aksumite population was mostly made up of groups who spoke Semitic languages, including the Agʿazian people, who spoke Geʽez. A person who studied the Adulis inscription identified the Agʿazian as the main people living in Aksum and nearby areas. The Cushitic-speaking Agaw people also lived in the kingdom. A writer named Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that a "governor of Agau" was given the task by King Kaleb of Axum to protect important trade routes from the south, showing that the Agaw lived near the southern edge of the Aksumite kingdom. The Aksumite region also had a large Greek population living in cities like Ptolemais Theron and Adulis. Nilotic groups, such as the Barya, lived in the western part of the empire. Inscriptions from the time of King Ezana describe the Barya as an animist tribe believed to be the Naras.

Aksumite settlements were spread across many highlands in the northern part of the Horn of Africa. Most were in northeastern Tigray, Ethiopia, and in the Akele Guzai and Seraye regions of Eritrea. Some settlements, like Mifsas Bahri, were located as far as Ofla. In addition to the highlands, Aksumite sites were found along the Red Sea coast of Eritrea, near the Gulf of Zula. Many settlements were placed along a route connecting Aksum to the Gulf of Zula, linking the capital in the highlands to the main port of Adulis on the Red Sea. Along this route, two large settlements, Matara and Qohaito, were located in the Eritrean highlands. The concentration of these settlements suggests that the highlands of Tigray and central Eritrea had many people living there. Little is known about the southern parts of the Aksumite kingdom. However, archaeological surveys in the mountains of Lasta and Wollo found sites with Aksumite connections, especially near Mount Abuna Yosef.

The Aksumite area had a complex farming system that included irrigation, building dams, terracing, and plough-farming. These methods helped support both city and rural populations. Farmers grew many types of grain, including teff, finger millet, sorghum, emmer wheat, bread wheat, hulled barley, and oats. In addition to grains, they also grew linseed, cotton, grapes, and legumes like lentils, fava beans, chickpeas, common peas, and grass peas. Other important crops included Guizotia abyssinica, a type of oil plant from Africa, as well as gourds and cress. Alongside farming, people raised domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats. This mix of farming and animal raising created a productive system that supported the Aksumite economy and helped the kingdom grow stronger.

Culture

The Empire of Aksum is known for many achievements, including its own writing system called the Geʽez script. This script was later changed to include vowel sounds, making it an abugida. Around 1700 years ago, during the early years of the empire, large obelisks were built to mark the tombs of emperors and nobles. The most famous of these is the Obelisk of Aksum.

Under Emperor Ezana, Aksum adopted Coptic Christianity in place of its earlier polytheistic and Judaic religions around the year 325. The Axumite Coptic Church led to the formation of the modern Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (which gained independence from the Coptic Church in 1959) and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (which gained independence from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in 1993). Since the split from Orthodoxy after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, it has remained an important Miaphysite church. Its religious texts and ceremonies are still written in Geʽez.

Greek became the official and literary language of the Axumite state due to the influence of Greek communities in cities like Axum, Adulis, and Ptolemais Theron during Ptolemaic times. Greek was used in government, diplomacy, and trade, and it appears on coins and inscriptions.

Geʽez, the language of the Agʽazi people, was spoken alongside Greek in the court of Aksum. Although Geʽez was spoken early in the kingdom, it was also written in the Old South Arabian language Sabaic. In the fourth century, Emperor Ezana promoted the Geʽez script and made Geʽez an official language alongside Greek. By the sixth century, many texts were translated into Geʽez. After the Muslim conquests in the seventh century, which isolated Axum from the Greco-Roman world, Geʽez replaced Greek entirely.

During the Christian period, many religious texts were translated into Geʽez for use in the Kingdom of Aksum. One famous example is the Garima Gospels, a collection of the four Gospels written in Ethiopic between the fourth and sixth centuries. Bible references have been found in Aksumite inscriptions in South Arabia. The Aksumite Collection is a multi-text manuscript from the 13th century, containing documents translated into Geʽez between the fourth and sixth centuries. These texts cover topics like religious ceremonies, laws, history, letters, and treatises.

Other translated works include the entire Greek Bible, parabiblical texts (such as the Book of Enoch, Book of Jubilees, 4 Baruch, and the Ascension of Isaiah), and theological writings like the Qerallos. Few native Ethiopic texts from this period are known, but many Greek texts were translated. There is no evidence that Syriac literature was translated during the Aksumite era. In recent years, more Aksumite literature has been discovered.

Before converting to Christianity, the Aksumites practiced a polytheistic religion similar to those in southern Arabia. This included symbols like the crescent and disc used in southern Arabia and the northern horn. According to French archaeologist Francis Anfray, the Aksumites may have worshipped gods named Astar, Mahrem, and Beher.

Steve Kaplan suggests that Aksumite culture shifted religiously, with only Astar remaining from the old gods, while others were replaced by a group of indigenous deities: Mahrem, Beher, and Medr. He also notes that Judaism influenced Aksumite culture, as Jewish people arrived in Ethiopia between the time of the Queen of Sheba and the conversion of King Ezana to Christianity in the fourth century. He believes that a small number of Jewish individuals and texts had a significant impact on Ethiopian culture, which later blended with Christianity by the fourth century.

Before converting to Christianity, King Ezana II’s coins and inscriptions show he may have worshipped gods like Astar, Beher, Meder, and Mahrem. However, one of Ezana’s inscriptions clearly refers to "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," showing his conversion to Christianity. Around 324 AD, Ezana was converted by his teacher, Frumentius, who later founded the Axumite Coptic Church, which became the modern Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Frumentius taught the emperor as a child and is believed to have led the empire’s conversion to Christianity. The Aksumites’ switch to Christianity is confirmed by their coins, which replaced the crescent and disc with a cross.

Frumentius connected with the Church of Alexandria and was named Bishop of Ethiopia around 330 AD. The Church of Alexandria did not control Aksumite churches, allowing them to develop their own unique form of Christianity. However, Aksumite churches followed the Church of Alexandria into Oriental Orthodoxy by rejecting the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. Aksum is also believed to be the home of the Ark of the Covenant, which was reportedly placed in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion by Menelik I for protection.

Islam arrived in the seventh century during the reign of Ashama ibn-Abjar. Muslim followers of Prophet Muhammad (called the Sahabah) migrated from Arabia to escape persecution by the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. The Quraysh asked Ashama ibn-Abjar to hand over the migrants, claiming they practiced a new religion. The king refused, but a second group of 100 Muslim migrants arrived later. Arabic inscriptions from the mid-ninth century on the Dahlak Archipelago confirm an early Muslim presence in Aksum.

The Empire of Aksum was among the first African kingdoms to create its own coins. These coins had inscriptions in Geʽez and Greek. From the reign of Endybis to Armah (around 270–610 AD), gold, silver, and bronze coins were made. Producing coins showed that the Aksumite Empire saw itself as equal to its neighbors. Coins often reflected major events, such as the addition of a cross after the empire converted to Christianity. Coins also made trade easier and served as tools for spreading messages and generating wealth for the empire.

Elite Aksumite buildings, like palaces, were built on raised stone platforms held together with mud mortar. Granite blocks were carefully cut and placed to narrow walls as they rose. These platforms often remain as the only parts of Aksumite ruins. Walls above the platforms were built with alternating materials.

In literature

The Aksumite Empire is shown as the main ally of Byzantium in the Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric Flint, published by Baen Books. The series takes place during Kaleb's rule. In the story, Kaleb is killed by the Malwa in 532 at Ta'akha Maryam and is replaced by his youngest son, Eon bisi Dakuen.

In the Elizabeth Wein series The Lion Hunters, Mordred and his family seek safety in Aksum after Camelot falls. Kaleb is the ruler in the first book. He transfers his rule to his son, Gebre Meskal, who governs during the Plague of Justinian.

Gallery

• The reconstruction of Dungur is part of historical preservation efforts.
• The largest Aksumite stele is broken where it fell.
• An Aksumite-era amphora was discovered in Asmara.
• The Obelisk of Aksum was returned to Ethiopia after being taken away.
• A model of the Ta'akha Maryam palace is displayed for educational purposes.
• Aksumite water-spouts are shaped like lion heads.
• An Aksumite jar features a figural spout.
• Tombs are located beneath the stele field.
• The entrance to the Tomb of the False Door is accessible to visitors.
• The Stelae Park in Aksum contains many ancient monuments.
• Small stelae are found in the Gudit Stelae Field.
• Another stelae field exists in Aksum.
• The Istifanos Monastery is located in Hayk.
• Aksumite gold coins are examples of ancient currency.
• Aksum stelle and ruins are preserved for historical study.
• Aksum stelle are found in the desert.