Kingdom of Aksum

Eritrea, 100 CE–960 CE. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Under Ezana, Aksum later adopted Christianity. Christianity was the first world religion adopted in modern Eritrea. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own Aksumite currency.

Seat of power: Axum

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The Aksumites erected a number of large stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times.
• The kingdom is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world.
• Qohaito thrived as a stop on the trade route between Adulis and Aksum.

Picture

Qohaito, or Koloe, was a major ancient city in what is now the Debub region of Eritrea.

Image: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, file

Sources

• Kingdom of Aksum (Wikipedia)
• Kingdom of Aksum (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.