Aksum managed trade between India and the Mediterranean in ivory, gold, emeralds, silk, spices, agricultural products, salt, exotic animals , manufactured goods, and much more. In the first century CE, Aksum flourished. They could afford to build a powerful navy to patrol the Red Sea and protect their trade routes.
What is Aksum known for?
Aksum managed trade between India and the Mediterranean in ivory, gold, emeralds, silk, spices, agricultural products, salt, exotic animals , manufactured goods, and much more. In the first century CE, Aksum flourished. They could afford to build a powerful navy to patrol the Red Sea and protect their trade routes.
What is Aksum in history?
Aksum, also spelled Axum, powerful kingdom in northern Ethiopia during the early Christian era . Despite common belief to the contrary, Aksum did not originate from one of the Semitic Sabaean kingdoms of southern Arabia but instead developed as a local power.
What is modern day Aksum?
Aksum was the name of a city and a kingdom which is essentially modern-day northern Ethiopia (Tigray province) and Eritrea . ... Despite its power and reputation—it was described by a Persian writer as one of the four greatest powers in the world at the time—very little is known about Aksum.
Why was Aksum so wealthy?
In the first century CE, Aksum became very wealthy and powerful. They could afford to build a strong navy to patrol the Red Sea and protect their trade routes . It was at this time that Aksum was first mentioned by Greco-Roman scholars. ... Aksum had its own coinage, each dynasty etched onto the gold coins.
Why was Aksum so powerful?
Aksum was perfectly located to become a major center of trade . Merchants would travel from central Africa, Persia, India, and Egypt bringing their goods to Aksum to trade. Aksum had access to several different trade routes including major waterways such as the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Nile River.
What is the religion of Aksum?
In 320 A.D. Ezana became the King of Axum. Under his rule, Ezana embraced Christianity in 327 A.D. and made it the dominant religion of Axum. ... Axum became the first state in Africa to adopt Christianity as its official faith and at the time was among only a handful of Christian states in the world.
How long did Aksum last?
The Kingdom of Axum was a trading empire with its hub in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. It existed approximately 100–940 AD , growing from the Iron Age proto-Axumite period c. fourth century BC to achieve prominence by the first century AD.
What caused the fall of Aksum?
There exist different hypotheses as to why the empire collapsed, but historians agree that climate changes must have greatly contributed to the end of Aksum. As international profits from the exchange network declined, Aksum lost its ability to control its own raw material sources, and that network collapsed.
Why did the Aksum empire fall?
The kingdom of Axum went in decline from the late 6th century CE, perhaps due to overuse of agricultural land or the incursion of western Bedja herders who, forming themselves into small kingdoms, grabbed parts of Aksum territory for grazing their cattle and who persistently attacked Axum’s camel caravans.
Who built the Axum Obelisk?
Built in the 4th century by King Ezana , the 160 tonne monument had stood in place for over a thousand years, until the colonial aspirations of a nation far from Ethiopia arrived at her borders.
Why did Christianity become the official religion of Aksum?
Ezana’s decision to adopt Christianity was most likely influenced by his desire to solidify his trading relationship with the Roman Empire . Christianity afforded the possibility of unifying the many diverse ethnic and linguistic peoples of the Aksumite kingdom, a goal of Ezana’s leadership.
Why is Aksum worth preserving?
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela are worth preserving because they serve as a huge religious center for not only the people of Ethiopia , but people around the world. The churches bring in around 100,000 people in every year that worship the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
How did Axum become a powerful city?
It grew mostly because of its trade with the ancient Romans and with India ;at the height of its power, the empire was strong enough to create its own money.
What were the two most important resources traded in Africa?
The main items traded were gold and salt . The gold mines of West Africa provided great wealth to West African Empires such as Ghana and Mali.
What made the location of Aksum so good for trade?
Considered as important as the empires in Rome, Persia and China, the kingdom of Aksum arose in the Horn of Africa . This location provided access to trade in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean, allowing it to become a powerful trading hub.
