Kingdom of Aksum: "Kingdom of Aksum: Ethiopia's Ancient Jewel"
Kingdom of Aksum
The Kingdom of Aksum (Ge'ez: መንግሥተ አኵስም, Sabaic:𐩱𐩫𐩪𐩣, Ancient Greek: Ἀξωμίτης), also known as the Kingdom of Axum , the City-State of Axum, or the Aksumite Empire, was centered in East Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in what is now northern Ethiopia, and spanning modern-day Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan, it extended at its height into much of Southern Arabia during the reign of Kaleb, King of Axum.
Axum served as the kingdom's capital for many centuries but relocated to Jarma[8] in the 9th century due to declining trade connections and recurring external invasions.[9][10] Emerging from the earlier Dʿmt civilization, the kingdom was founded in 150BC[11]It
isn't known whether or not a war of succession took place between
competing states for control of the region after the fall of D'mt evolved to the Kingdom of Axum.
The Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the 3rd century by the Persian prophet Mani, alongside Persia, Rome, and China.[16] During the reign of Endubis, Aksum began minting coins that have been excavated as far away as Caesarea and southern India.[17] Axum continued to expand under the reign of Gedara, who was the first Axumite king to involve In South Arabian affairs at sometime around the early 3rd century, conquering Najran, the Tihama tribes and occupying the Himyarite capital, Zafar,
until a joint Himyarite-Sabean alliance pushed them out.
Yemeni-Ethiopian conflicts however will continue throughout the 3rd
century.
History
City-State of Axum
Before the establishment of Axum, the Tigray plateau of northern Ethiopia was home to a kingdom known as Dʿmt. Archaeological evidence shows that the kingdom was influenced by Sabaeans
from modern-day Yemen; scholarly consensus had previously been that
Sabaeans had been the founders of Semitic civilization in Ethiopia,
though this has now been refuted, and their influence is considered to
have been minor.[22][b][23]
The Sabaean presence likely lasted only for a matter of decades, but
their influence on later Aksumite civilization included the adoption of Ancient South Arabian script, which developed into Geʽez script, and Ancient Semitic religion.[24]
The first historical mention of Axum comes from the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a trading guide which likely dates to the mid-1st century AD. Axum is mentioned alongside Adulis and Ptolemais of the Hunts as lying within the realm of Zoskales.
The area is described as a primarily producing ivory, as well as
tortoise shells. King Zoskales had a Greek education, indicating that
Greco-Roman influence was already present at this time.[2] It is evident from the Periplus that, even at this early stage of its history, Axum played a role in the transcontinental trade route between Rome and India.[25]
Axumite Empire
The Kingdom of Axum was a trading empire with its hub in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.[26] It existed approximately 150 BC–960 AD, growing from the Iron Age proto-Axumite period c. fourth century BC to achieve prominence by the first century AD. According to the Book of Axum, the kingdom's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush.[27] The capital was later moved to Axum in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the fourth century.[22][28]
The Empire of Axum at times extended across most of present-day Eritrea, northern Ethiopia, Western Yemen — which it invaded utilizing the dhow designs of Egypt[29] — and parts of eastern Sudan.[28]
The capital city of the empire was Axum, now in northern Ethiopia.
Today a smaller community, the city of Axum was once a bustling
metropolis, cultural and economic hub. Two hills and two streams lie on
the east and west expanses of the city; perhaps providing the initial
impetus for settling this area. Along the hills and plain outside the
city, the Aksumites had cemeteries with elaborate grave stones called stelee or obelisks. Other important cities included Yeha, Hawulti-Melazo, Matara, Adulis, and Qohaito, the last three of which are now in Eritrea. By the reign of Endubis in the late third century, it had begun minting its own currency and was named by Mani as one of the four great powers of his time along with the Sasanian Empire, Roman Empire, and China. The Axumites adopted Christianity as the state religion in 325 or 328 AD under King Ezana, and Axum was the first state ever to use the image of the cross on its coins.[30][31]
According to the Monumentum Adulitanum,
in around the 3rd century (possibly c. 240–c. 260), the Aksumites led
by an anonymous king achieved significant territorial expansion in the Ethiopian Highlands and the Arabian Peninsula, with their influence extending as far as Lake Tana and the borders of Egypt.[32][33][34] Around 330, Ezana of Aksum led his army into the Kingdom of Meroë, conquering and sacking the town itself. A large stone monument was left there, and the conquest is also recorded on the Ezana Stone.[35]
The Axumite Empire engaged in a invasion that culminated in the capture of the Kushite capital of Meroë in the middle of the 4th century AD, signaling the end of independent Kushite Pagan kingdoms, helping to give rise to Nobatia, Alodia, and Makuria which were established by the NobaNubians who themselves conquered the kingdom of Kush.[36][37][38]The Axumite presence in Meroe was likely short lived.
Tribal nomads like the Beja, Afar, and Saho
managed to remain autonomous due to their uncentralized nomadic nature.
These tribal peoples would sporadically inflict attacks and raids on
Axumite communities. The Beja nomads eventually Hellenized and integrated into the Nubian Greek society that had already been present in Lower Nubia.[36][37][38]
Around 525, King Kaleb sent an expedition against the Jewish Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, who was persecuting the Christian community there.
For nearly half a century south Arabia would become an Axumite protectorate under Abraha and his son Masruq.[39] Dhu Nuwas was deposed and killed and Kaleb appointed a Christian Himyarite, Esimiphaios ("Sumuafa Ashawa"), as his viceroy. However, around 530 this viceroy was deposed by the Aksumite general Abraha
with support of Ethiopians who had settled in Yemen. Kaleb sent two
expeditions against Abraha, but both were decisively defeated. Kaleb did
not pursue the matter further, and recognized Abraha as his new
viceroy.[40]
After Abraha's death, his son Masruq Abraha
continued the Aksumite vice-royalty in Yemen, resuming payment of
tribute to Aksum. However, his half-brother Ma'd-Karib revolted.
Ma'd-Karib first sought help from the Roman Emperor Justinian the Great, but having been denied, he decided to ally with the Sassanid Persian EmperorKhosrow I, triggering the Aksumite–Persian wars. Khosrow I sent a small fleet and army under commander Vahrez to depose the king of Yemen. The war culminated with the Siege of Sana'a, capital of Aksumite Yemen.
After its fall in 570, and Masruq's death, Ma'd-Karib's son, Saif, was put on the throne.
In 575, the war resumed again, after Saif was killed by Aksumites. The Persian general Vahrez led another army of 8000, ending Axum rule in Yemen and becoming hereditary governor of Yemen. According to Stuart Munro-Hay,
these wars may have been Aksum's swan-song as a great power, with an
overall weakening of Aksumite authority and over-expenditure in money
and manpower.[citation needed]
According to Ethiopian traditions, Kaleb eventually abdicated and
retired to a monastery. It is also possible that Axum was affected by
the Plague of Justinian around this time.[22]
Rise of Islam
14th century Islamic portrayal of the First Hijrah:The Axumites decline the Qurayshi request to give up the Muslim refugees
After a second golden age in the early 6th century,[22] Aksum was a strong empire and trading power; however, with the rise of Islam
in the early 7th century, Axum began to decline. Axum initially had
good relations with its Islamic neighbours. In 615 AD for example, early
Muslims from Mecca fleeing Qurayshi persecution traveled to Axum and were given refuge; this journey is known in Islamic history as the First Hijrah.[41][42][43][44] However, in 630, Muhammad sent a naval expedition lead by Umar against the port of Adulis, the Expedition of Alqammah bin Mujazziz, igniting hostile relations.[45]
Eventually, the Rashidun Caliphate took control of the Red Sea and Egypt by 646, pushing Aksum into economic isolation. Northwest of Aksum, in modern-day Sudan, the Christian states of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia lasted until the 13th century before being overrun by Bedouin tribes and the Funj Sultanate. Aksum, isolated, nonetheless still remained Christian.[22]
Dark Age and decline
Axum, mid 8th century AD
The Axumite Empire declined in the mid 7th century as the Islamic
powers occupied the trade routes leading to Alexandria and Byzantium,[46] and eventually ceased production of coins in the early 8th century.[47] Around this 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, though they had lost control of most of
the coast and their tributaries.
While land was lost in the north, it was gained in the south;
and, though Ethiopia was no longer an economic power, it still attracted
Arab merchants. The capital was then moved south to a new location
called Ku'bar or Jarmi.[22] The Arab writer Ya'qubi was the first to describe the new Aksumite capital. The capital was probably located in southern Tigray or Angot; however, the exact location of this city is currently unknown.[48]Famine is noted in Ethiopia in the ninth century. The patriarchates James (819–830) and Joseph (830–849) of Alexandria attribute Ethiopia's condition to war, plague, and inadequate rains.[49] Under the reign of Degna Djan, during the 9th century, the empire kept expanding south, and sent troops into the modern-day region of Kaffa,[50] while at the same time undertaking missionary activity into Angot.
Local history holds that, around 960, a Jewish Queen named Yodit (Judith) or "Gudit"
defeated the empire and burned its churches and literature. While there
is evidence of churches being burned and an invasion around this time,
her existence has been questioned by some western authors. Gudit sacked Aksum by destroying churches and buildings, persecuted Christians and committed Christian iconoclasm. Her origin has been debated among scholars. Some argued that she had a Jewish ethnicity or was from a southern region. According to one traditional account, she reigned for forty years and her dynasty lasted until 1137 AD, when it was overthrown by Mara Takla Haymanot, resulting in the inception of the Agaw-led Zagwe dynasty.
Gudit's origin has been extensively debated. Scholars debate whether she was a Jew, an Agaw, a Beja,
and an enslaved servant of an Aksumite emperor who wanted to lead
pagans against Christianity. Others argued that she was a daughter of
the king of Lasta, situated in Bugna. The Italian scholar Carlo Conti Rossini described her as a Bani al-Hamwiyah, while another source pointed to the Sidama people in the area called Sasu, probably south of the Blue Nile,
where Aksumite rulers also obtained caravans for commodities of gold
and coin, which are thought the main motive for Gudit's raid.[51]
According to an oral tradition, Gudit rose to power after she killed the Beta Israel emperor and then reigned for 40 years. She brought her Jewish army from Gondar and Lake Tana
to orchestrate the pillage against Aksum and its countryside. She was
determined to destroy all members of the Aksumite dynasty, palaces,
churches and monuments in Tigray.
Her notorious deeds are still recounted by peasants inhabiting northern
Ethiopia. Large ruins, standing stones and stelae are found in the
area.[52]
Around 960,[53] she attacked Aksum, demolishing churches (the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
was partially demolished), monasteries, buildings and committing
Christian iconoclasm. Gudit also killed the last emperor of Aksum,
possibly Dil Na'od, while other accounts say Dil Na'od went into exile in Shewa, protected by Christians. He begged assistance from a Nubian Greek ruler, King Moses Georgios, but remained unanswered.[54] She was said to have been succeeded by Dagna-Jan, whose throne name was Anbasa Wudem.[51] Her reign was marked by the displacement of the Aksumite population into the south.
According to one Ethiopian traditional account, she reigned for forty years and her dynasty was eventually overthrown by Mara Tekla Haymanot in 1137 AD, who ushered in the formation of the Zagwe dynasty by bearing children with a descendant of the last Aksumite emperor, Dil Na'od.[55]
Another possibility of decline is that the Aksumite power was
ended by a southern pagan queen named Bani al-Hamwiyah, possibly of the
tribe al-Damutah or Damoti (Damot).
It is clear from contemporary sources that a female usurper did indeed
rule the country at this time, and that her reign ended some time before
1003. After a short Dark Age, the Aksumite Empire was succeeded by the Zagwe dynasty in the 11th or 12th century (most likely around 1137), although limited in size and scope. However, Yekuno Amlak, who killed the last Zagwe king and founded the modern Solomonic dynasty around 1270 traced his ancestry and his right to rule from the last emperor of Aksum, Dil Na'od.
It should be mentioned that the end of the Aksumite Empire didn't mean
the end of Aksumite culture and traditions; for example, the
architecture of the Zagwe dynasty at Lalibela and Yemrehana Krestos Church shows heavy Aksumite influence.[22]
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment