Kingdom of Aksum

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Origins

Geography

Societal structure

The Aksumite kings had the official title ነገሠ ፡ ነገሠተ ngš ngšt - King of Kings (later vocalization Ge'ez ንጉሠ ፡ ነገሥት nigūsa nagast, Modern Ethiosemitic nigūse negest. Aksumite kings traced their lineage to David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This royal heritage and title was claimed and used by all emperors of Ethiopia.

Foreign relations and economy

Aksum and South Arabia at the end of GDRT's reign in the 3rd century.

Aksum traded with India and Rome (later Byzantium), exporting ivory, tortoise shell, gold and emeralds, and importing silk and spices. Aksum'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 2nd century AD, Aksum acquired tributary states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea, and conquered northern Ethiopia. In AD 350, they conquered the Kingdom of Kush.

Aksum remained a strong empire and trading power until the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD. However, because the Axumites had sheltered Muhammad's first followers, the Muslims never attempted to overthrow Aksum 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.E. Cerulli, "Ethiopia's Relations with the Muslim World," in Cambridge History of Africa, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh century, pp.575; Trimingham, Spencer, Islam in Ethiopia, pp.46. 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 Dahlak Archipelago from Aksum, which became Muslim from that point on, though later sometimes vassal to the Emperor of Ethiopia.Daniel Kendie, ''The Five Dimensions of the Eritrean Conflict 1941 – 2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political Puzzle. United States of America: Signature Book Printing, Inc., 2005, pp.228.

Eventually, the Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea and most of the Nile, forcing Aksum 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 migration to become Islamic. Aksum, however, remained untouched by the Islamic movements across Africa.

Cultural achievements

Aksum obelisk, symbol of the Aksumite civilization

The Kingdom of Aksum is notable for a number of achievements, such as the development of its own alphabet, Ge'ez. Furthermore, in the early times of the kingdom, around 1700 years ago, giant Obelisks to mark King's (and nobles') tombstones (underground grave chambers) were constructed, the most famous of which is the Obelisk of Axum.

Under King Ezana, the kingdom adopted Christianity in place of its former polytheistic religion around 325 AD. The Ethiopian (or Abyssinian) Church has lasted until the present day. It is still a Monophysite church, and its scriptures and liturgy are still in Ge'ez. Aksumite Christianity may be one of the foundations for the legend of Prester John.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

A legend has it that at that time, a foreign boy named Frumentius was made a slave of the royal court, and later a tutor to the royal children. When the king died, the queen asked Frumentius to help rule Axum. He had declined promised freedom and remained until the queen's son, Ezana, was old enough to rule. Frumentius established a number of Christian churches, and when Ezana became king he made Christianity (Monophysite) the official religion of Aksum. This custom of a slave who teaches kings remained an important tradition for the next few hundred years.

It was a cosmopolitan and culturally important state. It was a meeting place for a variety of cultures: Egyptian, Sudanic, Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Indian. The major Aksumite cities had Jewish, Nubian, Christian, and even Buddhist minorities.

The Kingdom of Aksum was also the first African polity to issue its own coins. From the reign of Endubis up to Armah (approximately 270 to 610), gold, silver and bronze coins in imitation of contemporary Roman currency were minted. Issuing coinage in ancient times was an act of great importance in itself, for it proclaimed that the Axumite kingdom considered itself equal to its neighbors. The presence of coins also simplified trade, and was at once a useful instrument of propaganda and a source of profit to the kingdom.

Typical Aksumite architecture - the monastery of Debre Damo.

Decline

Bibliography

• Stuart Munro-Hay. Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press. 1991. ISBN 0748601066
• Yuri M. Kobishchanov. Axum (Joseph W. Michels, editor; Lorraine T. Kapitanoff, translator). University Park, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 1979. ISBN 0271005319

References