#aksum

Kingdom of Abyssinia

The Kingdom of Abyssinia was founded in the 13th century CE and, transforming itself into the Ethiopian Empire via a series of military conquests, lasted until the 20th century CE. It was established by the kings of the Solomonid dynasty who, claiming descent from no less a figure than the Bible's King Solomon, would rule in an unbroken line throughout the state's long history. A Christian kingdom which spread the faith via military conquest and the establishment of churches and monasteries, its greatest threat came from the Muslim trading states of East Africa and southern Arabia and the migration of the Oromo people from the south. The combination of its rich Christian heritage, the cult of its emperors, and the geographical obstacles presented to invaders meant that the Ethiopian Empire would be one of only two African states never to be formally colonised by a European power.

Origins: Axum

The Ethiopian Highlands, with their reliable annual monsoon rainfall and fertile soil, had been successfully inhabited since the Stone Age. Agriculture and trade with Egypt, southern Arabia, and other African peoples ensured the rise of the powerful kingdom of Axum (also Aksum), which was founded in the 1st century CE. Flourishing from the 3rd to 6th century CE, and then surviving as a much smaller political entity into the 8th century CE, the Kingdom of Axum was the first sub-Saharan African state to officially adopt Christianity, c. 350 CE. Axum also created its own script, Ge'ez, which is still in use in Ethiopia today.

Across this Christian kingdom, churches were built, monasteries founded, and translations made of the Bible. The most important church was at Axum, the Church of Maryam Tsion, which, according to later Ethiopian medieval texts, housed the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark, meant to contain the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, is supposed to be still there, but as nobody is ever allowed to see it, confirmation of its existence is difficult to achieve. The most important monastery in the Axum kingdom was at Debre Damo, founded by the 5th-century CE Byzantine ascetic Saint Aregawi, one of the celebrated Nine Saints who worked to spread Christianity in the region by establishing monasteries. The success of these endeavours meant that Christianity would continue to be practised in Ethiopia right into the 21st century CE.

The kingdom of Axum went into decline from the late 6th century CE, perhaps due to overuse of agricultural land, the incursion of western Bedja herders, and the increased competition for the Red Sea trade networks from Arab Muslims. The heartland of the Axum state shifted southwards while the city of Axum fared better than its namesake kingdom and has never lost its religious significance. In the 8th century CE, the Axumite port of Adulis was destroyed and the kingdom lost control of regional trade to the Muslims. It was the end of the state but not the culture.

The new progress report is out, here's what's been cooking so far!

Also, happy Black History month!

One of Jelaytha’s inspirations came in the form of the Aksumite Empire, of which we know precious little.

It was one of the four great powers of the time, standing side by side with the Roman Empire, the Sassanian Empire, and the various Imperial Chinese dynasties that came about in the span of 700 years.

Like the Island Kingdom of Jelaytha, the Aksumite Empire was one of the major gateways between continents. They controlled the trade that flowed between the Romans and the Indian subcontinent, and were exposed to many different sciences, ideas, and cultures.

Aksum also became the first African nation to embrace Christianity as a state religion, which also had the consequence of no longer constructing the famous obelisks they are known for today.

In time though, after a span of centuries amongst the world’s most powerful and respected empires, it fell thanks to its isolated position. You could even see it as an island oasis in the middle of the Saharan Desert, which is most certainly how I see them. Once the rising Muslim Caliphates cut the empire off from the Mediterranean with their conquest of Egypt, the flow of trade shriveled up, leading to an inability to keep such a complicated system of government going.

And by then, the soil degradation and soil overuse further contributed to a weaking of the central government.

In my own personal opinion, if looked at in comparison to one of the Bronze Age Empires, you can see similarities in the reasons why those states and Aksum fell.

I’ve always been fascinated by Aksum, as with the Minoan Kingdom of Crete (the two main inspirations for Jelaytha, plus Islamic Spain). They have this allure, of being important parts of history yet still shrouded in mystery.

A new episode of Byzantium & Friends: A conversation with Aaron Butts on the conversion to Christianity of Ezana, the fourth-century king of Aksum (in modern Ethiopia and Eritrea). “Conversion” is a conventional term, but what Ezana’s inscriptions and coins reveals is a complicated process of appealing to different groups and the coexistence of religions in his realm and the royal monuments.

If you can think of any others, feel free to add

Almaqah or Almuqh was the Moon god of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. He was also worshipped in Dʿmt and Aksum in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Almaqah is considered a moon god, but Garbini and Pirenne have shown that the bull's head and the vine motif associated with him may have solar and dionysiac attributes. He was therefore a priest of Ra, the male counterpart of the sun goddess Shamash / Ishtar / Isis, who was also venerated in Saba, but as a tutelary goddess of the royal Egyptian dynasty

The ruling dynasty of Saba' regarded themselves as his seed.Almaqah is represented on monuments by a cluster of lightning bolts surrounding a curved, sickle-like weapon. Bulls were sacred to him.

Ethiopia is dedicated to the lunar God Almaqah, and contains an altar which represents a miniature model of the Great Temple in Yeha.