Where is axum kingdom

Aksum was ideally located to take advantage of the new trading situation. Adulis soon became the main port for the export of African goods, such as ivory, incense, gold, and exotic animals. Slaves were also traded along the same routes. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the Kingdom of Aksum continued to expand their control of the southern Red Sea basin.

A caravan route to Egypt, which bypassed the Nile corridor entirely, was established. Aksum succeeded in becoming the principal supplier of African goods to the Roman Empire. A gold coin of the Aksumite king Ousas, specifically a one third solidus, diameter 17 mm, weight 1.

Under Emperor Ezana, Aksum adopted Christianity in place of its former polytheistic and Judaic religions. This gave rise to the present day Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church only granted autonomy from the Coptic Church in , and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church granted autonomy from the Ethiopian Orthodox church in These stone towers served to mark graves and represent a magnificent multi-storied palace.

They are decorated with false doors and windows in typical Aksumite design. The Stelae have most of their mass out of the ground, but are stabilized by massive underground counter-weights. Eventually, the Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea and most of the Nile, forcing Aksum into economic isolation. Northwest of Aksum, in modern-day Sudan, the Christian states of Makuria and Alodia lasted until the 13th century before becoming Islamic. Aksum, isolated, nonetheless still remained Christian.

After a second golden age in the early 6th century, the empire began to decline, eventually ceasing its production of coins in the early 7th century.

Around the same time, the Aksumite population was forced to go farther inland to the highlands for protection, abandoning Aksum as the capital. Arab writers of the time continued to describe Ethiopia no longer referred to as Aksum as an extensive and powerful state, although it had lost control of most of the coast and its tributaries.

While land was lost in the north, it was gained in the south, and Ethiopia still attracted Arab merchants. 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.

The already persistent environmental pressure of a large population to maintain a high level of regional food production had to be intensified. The result was a wave of soil erosion that began on a local scale circa and attained catastrophic proportions after Aksum was the name of a city and a kingdom which is essentially modern-day northern Ethiopia Tigray province and Eritrea.

Research shows that Aksum was a major naval and trading power from the 1st to the 7th centuries C. As a civilization it had a profound impact upon the people of Egypt, southern Arabia, Europe, and Asia, all of whom were visitors to its shores, and in some cases were residents.

Aksum developed a civilization and empire whose influence, at its height in the 4th and 5th centuries C. They traded with Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean, and Arabia. 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.

Written scripts existed, but no histories or descriptions have been found to make this African civilization come alive. This pyxis box , made in Alexandria Egypt , depicts a goat; two men spearing a bear; a shepherdess with crook and man with pair of oxen. Pyxis, 5th century C. Aksum provides a counterpoint to the Greek and Roman worlds, and is an interesting example of a sub-Saharan civilization flourishing towards the end of the period of the great Mediterranean empires.

The largest standing obelisk rises to a height of over 23 meters and is exquisitely carved to represent a nine-storey building of the Aksumites.

It stands at the entrance of the main stelae area. The largest obelisk of some 33 meters long lies where it fell, perhaps during the process of erection. It is possibly the largest monolithic stele that ancient human beings ever attempted to erect. A series of inscription on stone tablets have proved to be of immense importance to historians of the ancient world. The introduction of Christianity in the 4th century AD resulted in the building of churches, such as Saint Mary of Zion, rebuilt in the Gondarian period, in the 17th century AD, which is believed to hold the Ark of the Covenant.

Criterion i : The exquisitely carved monolithic stelae dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD are unique masterpieces of human creative genius. Criterion iv : The urban ensemble of obelisks, royal tombs and churches constitute a major development in the cultural domain reflecting the wealth and power of the Aksumite Civilization of the first millennium AD. The boundaries of the property, which encompass the entire area of ancient Aksum town, need to be adequately delineated and approved by the Committee.

One obelisk, removed from the site and taken to Rome as a war trophy during the Italian occupation, was returned to Aksum in and re-erected in in Furthermore, at the time of inscription, it was noted that small, modern houses were built over most of the site, obscuring the majority of the underground Aksumite structures. Some of them still remain covered by modern houses.

In , the construction of a new museum began in the main Stelae Field and, unless amended, the height of the museum will have a highly negative visual impact on the property. Flooding has also become a major problem in the 4th century AD Tomb of the Brick Arches and other monuments. The authenticity of the obelisks, tombs and other monuments remain intact, although they are vulnerable due to lack of conservation.

However, the authenticity of the whole property in terms of its ability to convey the scope and extent of ancient Aksum and its value is still vulnerable to lack of documentation, delineation and lack of planning controls.

The monuments need to be related to the overall city plan, in spatial terms. The city of Aksum was put under the jurisdiction and protection of the National Antiquities Authority in No special legal framework is provided to protect the Obelisks of Aksum, except the general law, Proclamation No. The property is managed at three levels — the site; the region; and the Federal administration.