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Kingdom of Aksum

AfricaHeartland today: Ethiopia and Eritrea

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A trading kingdom in the highlands of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its port at Adulis on the Red Sea. It minted its own coins, raised carved stone stelae and made Christianity its state religion in the 4th century.

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Key events

  1. A Greek sea-trade handbook, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, describes Adulis as a port and the city of the Aksumites as the hub of the ivory tradeDisputed

    Britannica dates the Periplus to the 1st century CE. The text carries no date, so 60 is a rounded estimate.

  2. Aksum begins minting its own coins, mostly goldDisputed

    Britannica and the World History Encyclopedia say only that minting began in the 3rd century. About 270 CE is the date in the Met's Heilbrunn Timeline.

    Sources

  3. King Ezana adopts Christianity and puts the cross on his coins in place of the old symbolsDisputed

    Sources disagree on the year: Britannica gives about 321, the Met's timeline 330, and the World History Encyclopedia about 350. The date here is the Met's.

    Sources

  4. King Kaleb sends an army across the Red Sea and overruns the Himyarite kingdom in YemenDisputed

    Britannica gives 525 for the final victory, after several failed attempts. It dates the Najran massacre that prompted the campaign to about 520 to 523.

  5. Stela 1, the largest of Aksum's stelae at about 32 metres, is toppled as the empire declinesDisputed

    The Met dates the toppling to the late 6th century and, citing recent analysis, says it was brought down on purpose rather than failing during raising. Older accounts blamed a collapse while it was being raised. The World History Encyclopedia gives the length as 33 metres and says only that it lies fallen and broken.

  6. – Aksum declines as Muslim Arab power grows and Christian shipping leaves the Red SeaDisputed

    Both sources date the decline from the 7th century. The Met's timeline says Persian invaders had already undermined Aksum by the end of the 6th century. Sources differ on when the empire ended.