Following the decline of Meroe the powerful Aksumite kingdom rose to their south. Around 330AD the nomadic Nubas conquered a disintegrating Meroe; the Aksum Empire hastily defeated the Nubas and took control of the region.

Aksum had a unique cultural blend, much like the Swahili coast; around 500BC South Arabians settled on the Ethiopian plateau and the two cultures evolved into one. According to The Heritage of World Civilizations, a book written by Harvard and Yale historians, "the people of Aksum, were the product of a linguistic, cultural, and genetic mixing of African Kushitic speakers with Semitic speakers from…south Arabia."²

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Power:
The prophet Mani (216-277) wrote that Aksum was one of the four greatest empires of the world.³ The Aksum Empire stretched from Ethiopia into the Sudan and even across the Red Sea into Southern Arabia; between 183-213AD two Aksumite Kings, Gadara and Gadara's son, were the most powerful rulers in Southern Arabia; Even as late as the 6th century AD the Aksumite rulers appointed three South Arabian kings.⁴

Tekle Tsadik Mekouria wrote that, "The central government of Aksum seemed strong enough to some to be considered the third world power."⁵

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Economy and Wealth:
"The position held by the Aksum kingdom in world commerce," concluded University of Pennsylvania State historian Y.M. Kobishanov, "was that of a first-rate trading power."⁶ Aksum possessed one of the largest exchanges of goods between Arabia, the Mediterranean, and the eastern lands of the Indian Ocean; they also had major trading partners down the coast of Africa and Africa's hinterland.⁷ Ethiopia's Red Sea-ports included ivory, rhinoceros horns, hippopotamus hides, monkeys, obsidian, slaves, turtle, gold dust, perfumes, live animals, and emeralds. Axum's trading vessels were so famous a Mesopotamian poet used the ships in an analogy describing a royal caravan; he proclaimed that the ships, "prows cuts through the foam of the water as a gambler divides the dust with his hand."⁸

The Aksumites were not averse to showing off their magnificent wealth; Julian reported that the King of Ethiopia greeted him in fine linen garments, decorated with gold and pearls, and that the king had a royal throne on a chariot drawn by four elephants, while flutists played in the background.⁹

Aksum also had metal coins. Most of Aksum's coins had mottoes such as "May the country be satisfied," and "Joy to the People." These were clearly attempts to make the government popular with the people.¹⁰

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Culture:
Between 350-360AD King Ezana--the Aksumite King who conquered the Nubas--converted to Christianity. King Ezana wished to spread Christianity throughout the empire, yet he knew he had to be pragmatic. For political reasons, and for his safety, he never publicly abandoned Ethiopia's old Gods, much in the same way Constantine refused to abandon the Roman gods until he was on his deathbed--he feared the old cults of Zeus and Ares.

The Aksumite Kingdom enriched itself with the Greek culture, which it had much exposure. Tekle Tsadik Mekouria,¹¹ wrote that, "There were considerable commercial and cultural exchanges between the two countries." The Greek and South Arabian scripts were used until Aksum developed its own written language, Ge'ez, in the 5^th century. "The Alphabet," Kobishanov tells us, "is generally regarded as the outstanding achievement of the Aksumite civilization."¹² New England historian, Graham Connah pointed out that the, "syllabry used for inscriptions grew less and less like the South Arabian form which it had originated, and more and more like Ge'ez, the ancestor of the Ethiopian languages…At first a consonantal syllabary, it was not until the fourth century AD that a system of vocalization was introduced and this was clearly an Ethiopian development."¹³

Aksum also had much contact with Rome. One ancient inscription mentions an Aksumite viceroy who visited the Roman Emperor and was received with great honors.¹⁴ Nine monks from the Byzantine Empire traveled to Aksum to spread Christianity. When King Ezana decided to use Frumentius, a man who differed with Constantine on certain issues, as the head bishopric of Aksum, Constantine wrote a letter to King Ezana and his brother addressing them as his, "greatly honored brothers."¹⁵ Despite Constantine's displeasure Frumentius remained as head bishopric; records show that the move was a success.

As Christianity spread so did Christian philosophy; the Songs of Songs, the Proverbs, the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, etc. were used instead of the Greek philosophy of Plato and Aristotle; Virgil, Seneca, and Cicero were completely unknown in Aksum.

The world's original castle may be the Enda Mika'el palace in Aksum. The castle had four square towers, and stood four stories high. The royal palaces were 120 meters by 80 meters with heavy wooden doors and a flight of stairs.¹⁶

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Fall of Aksum
The decline of Aksum can be attributed to the war between the Byzantium and Persia empires--which badly hurt trade--Islamic expansion, and declining rainfall.¹⁷ Some would argue, though, that the Aksumite civilization didn't really die, it merely transformed into medieval Ethiopia.

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¹Ancient civilizations of Africa/ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; editor, G. Mokhtar (London; Heinemann Educational Books; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981) 411

²The Heritage of World Civilizations: Volume One: To 1650, 4^th ed. Editor, Owen, Cralyce. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Simon & Shuster, 1997, 189

³Davidson, Basil. "The Ancient World and Africa: Whose Roots?" Race and Class. A Journal for Black and Third World Liberation. 29.2, 1987, 7

⁴Ancient civilizations of Africa/ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; editor, G. Mokhtar (London; Heinemann Educational Books; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 386

⁵Ibid, 411

⁶Ibid, 386

⁷Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. New York: Time, Inc., 1966 ,41

⁸Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. New York: Time, Inc., 1966, 42

⁹Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. New York: Time, Inc., 1966, 42

¹⁰Connah, 78

¹¹Ancient civilizations of Africa/ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; editor, G. Mokhtar (London; Heinemann Educational Books; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 404

¹²Ancient civilizations of Africa/ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; editor, G. Mokhtar (London; Heinemann Educational Books; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 399

¹³Connah, 76

¹⁴Ancient civilizations of Africa/ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; editor, G. Mokhtar (London; Heinemann Educational Books; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 406

¹⁵Ibid, 406

¹⁶James, Peter and Thorpe, Nick. Ancient Inventions. (New York; Ballantine Books, 1995) 395

¹⁷Illiffe, 41

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