Much still remains obscure, but Aksum and its empire is becoming elucidated through ongoing archaeology and inscriptional research. The empire declined but likely did not cease with the rise of Islam in Arabia and its subsequent dominance of the Red Sea. Most of what we do know is based on archaeology and external (mainly Classical) documents, together with its own religious and royal inscriptions. The Persian historian/philosopher Mani (3rd century ad) named Aksum as one of the four great empires of his day, the others being Persia, “Sileos” (location uncertain), and Rome, but this important empire is little known today. Rather, Nubia and Ethiopiadeveloped within very different regional spheres of interaction, asa result of which the Nubian kingdom of Kush came to focus. It commanded the ivory trade with Sudan its fleet controlled the Red sea trade through Port. It boasted its own language and script, and minted its own coinage. The kingdom of Aksum was a powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia (Phillips, 2016). This likely was the ultimate basis of its supreme power, but it was underlined by control of an extensive network of inland commercial and/or political relationships with ancient Egypt, Nubia, and regions further south in Ethiopia. Its chronological parameters are variable and its greatest extent uncertain, but for several centuries the empire encompassed both sides of the southern Red Sea and so controlled all seaborne commerce between Rome/Byzantium and India/Indian Ocean. The Kingdom of Aksum, centered in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, flourished in the first six centuries ad, with earlier roots in the last seven or eight centuries bc.

Aksum civilizationpdf