The Empire of Aksum (Axum)

For the ancient Greeks and Romans, all of the land south of Egypt was called Ethiopia. Up until the 3rd century, their interactions with that part of Africa had been limited to not much more than a few trading expeditions. For them, it was a land of mystery. The Greeks, Romans, and other Europeans at the time didn't realize that what they called Ethiopia was really a powerful kingdom that locally was known as Aksum. Eventually, that kingdom would become one of the most powerful and wealthiest empires in world history. Aksum ruled over a prosperous and influential kingdom during a time that many scholars believe was a golden age of African civilization. Aksumite kings were the first to issue gold coins when few other kingdoms and empires The Aksumites were also some of the most proficient builders of their day. Their royals were buried in magnificent tombs marked by tall stele, some of which were the largest stone monuments in the world. There were probably a number of factors that led the city, or locality, of Aksum to become a prosperous kingdom. One is that it had access to important international trade routes that crisscrossed the area, connecting it with the commercial traffic of the Nile in Egypt to the northeast, Sub-Saharan Africa to the south, and the Red Sea to the west. I want to emphasize here that these were truly international routes that linked Aksum with places as far away as India and China. In fact, Aksumite coins have been found in both places. Aksum's land was also blessed with a stable water supply and fertile soil for agriculture. Though in historical records we first hear of Aksum in the late 1st century, it's clear that the city, as well as the kingdom, had been established earlier than that. Unfortunately, we don't have much information from that far back in time. However, as Aksum became wealthier, both its political and cultural influence spread all over from the Ethiopian plateau to the seacoast of what's today Eritrea. Eventually, it even ruled parts of southern Arabia. By then, it was the most powerful state in the region. In fact, a better word instead of kingdom would be empire of Aksum, since there were many smaller states that it either ruled directly over or exacted tribute from. Aksum's ruler was called the Negusa Nagast, meaning the king of kings. So about these powerful kings. Unfortunately, again, we don't have a lot of information about them with the exception of two kings, Izana and Caleb. Reigning from the 320s to about 360, Izana is one of the most famous Aksumite kings in world history. This is primarily for two reasons. One, he left several inscriptions that detail his conquests as well as the vastness of his territories that he controlled. Many of these texts are written in three different languages, Greek, Sabaean, and the local Ge'ez language. Though Ge'ez is no longer the common tongue in Ethiopia, it's still used by the Ethiopian church as a liturgical language. The second reason is because Izana converted to Christianity, ushering in the start of Ethiopia's identity as a Christian nation. One can actually see Izana's transition from the local polytheistic religion of his time to Christianity by examining the coins he had minted. His early coins have images of a disk and a crescent, symbols of the old polytheistic religion, while those minted towards the end of his reign feature the cross. In fact, he's the first Christian king anywhere in the world to have put crosses on coins. The story of how Izana became a Christian is an interesting one. According to the Roman historian, Tyrannus Rufinus, two brothers, Prumentius and Odysseus, went with their uncle on what was probably a commercial trip along the African coast of the Red Sea. However, their ship was attacked by marauders, with everyone massacred except for the two brothers, who were sold to the king of Aksum as slaves. The two boys gained favor at the court of the king, and shortly before his death were given their freedom. Just before they were to return home, the now widowed queen, who was also the regent for her young son, Izana, begged for them to stay and to educate the new boy king in the ways of the world. The two agreed, with Prumentius becoming especially close to Izana. He also used his position to promote Christianity whenever possible. When Izana came of age and was able to rule by himself, the two brothers left, with Prumentius going to the patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius, and requesting him to send a bishop and some priests as missionaries to Aksum. However, Athanasius, believing that Prumentius was the best person for the job, made him a bishop and gave him the task of converting the Aksumites. Prumentius went back to Aksum and eventually converted and baptized Izana. Not only did he become the first bishop of Aksum, but he's also revered as the first patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Prumentius is also believed to have been the first to translate the Bible into the Ge'ez language. The next great Aksumite ruler that we have substantial records of is the 6th century king, Caleb. During his reign, the Aksumite empire was probably at its height. He's most famous for leading a military campaign around the year 525 against the kingdom of Himyar, in what's today southern Yemen. The story goes that the Byzantine emperor, Justin I, made a strong request to Caleb to lead an assault on Himyar because its king, Yusuf, better known as Dunuas, had massacred a good part of Himyar's Christian community in a place called Najran. Caleb, along with other Christian allies, crossed the Red Sea and if the sources are to be believed, easily defeated Himyar's army and killed Dunuas. After this, he appointed a viceroy to rule the area in his name. However, the viceroy was soon deposed by an Aksumite named Abreha, who refused to pay tribute to Caleb and declared himself to be southern Arabia's new king. Despite losing that part of Arabia, Caleb had accomplished the task of bringing Dunuas to justice. Tradition has it that Caleb eventually abdicated his throne and spent the remainder of his life in a monastery. For championing the cause of Christianity and defeating Dunuas, the Ethiopian church eventually made him a saint. With the rise of Islam in the 7th century and the Muslim takeover of the Arabian peninsula, the kings of Aksum began to lose both influence and their control of trade in the Red Sea region. This resulted in roughly 4 centuries of steady decline which saw the empire downsize significantly. Eventually, the kings even abandoned the city of Aksum and moved to a safer location elsewhere, though where this location was isn't known for sure. The final end of the Aksumite kingdom is a bit of a mystery. Though the details of what happened are not exactly agreed upon, local tradition has it that between the years 960-1000, a non-Christian queen, either Jewish or pagan, took over the kingdom. Others say that she may have simply been a usurper. What is agreed upon is that she caused a good deal of destruction and severely weakened the Aksumite kingdom. After this, there was a sort of dark age for which we lack information, but it's believed that the final king of Aksum, Dilnaod, was succeeded by a certain Maratekle Himenote, founder of the Zagwe dynasty. This though doesn't mean that Aksumite culture vanished with its kings, it still permeates the modern day country of Ethiopia today. Perhaps the Aksumite dynasty also technically lived on with Ethiopia's Solomonic kings. The founder of the Solomonic dynasty, Yekuno Amlak, claimed to be a descendant of the last Aksumite king, Dilnaod. So I hope that this short video gives you an idea of what the empire of Aksum was and why it was so important. If it did and you enjoyed the video, please smash that like button and if you haven't already, consider subscribing. In addition, also check out the History with Sai podcast where I go into more detail with regard to some of the topics that we discuss in these shorter episodes. It's available on all of the major platforms. You can also follow History with Sai on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Once again, thanks so much for stopping by. Please stay safe out there, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Take care.