Ethiopia axumite was the powerful state between the roman empire and persia. It borders on eritrea in the north, on djibouti in the northeast, on somalia in the east and southeast, on kenya in the south, and on south sudan and sudan in the west. Apr, 2019 the local agaw people of northern ethiopia first began to populate and expand the city of axum around 400 bc. Cosmas quoted in travellers in ethiopia a strong ruler expands the kingdomthe kingdom of aksum reached its height between a. Foundations of aksumite civilization and its christian legacy. Jan 26, 2018 axum, an african civilisation of late antiquity, by stuart munrohay very specifically looks at ancient ethiopian history.
The empire of aksum at its height extended across most of presentday eritrea, northern ethiopia, yemen, southern saudi arabia and northern sudan. What is the best book on the ancient history of ethiopia. The early history of ethiopia also called abyssinia begins with the glorious but little known kingdom of axum. Ancient as axum and dmt were they are empires, federations and confederations of smaller kingdomsstates that surged and waned in their turn ruling their. Certainly there have been books on aksum, or on ethiopian civilisation in general, mainly in german, french. He was the first monarch of axum to embrace christianity, and the. Focuses on the aksumite state of the first millennium ad in northern ethiopia and southern. Pdf on oct 15, 2012, michael diblasi and others published aksum find, read and cite all the. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The article covers the prehistory and history of ethiopia from its emergence as an empire under the aksumites to its current form as the federal democratic republic of ethiopia as well as the history of other areas in what is now ethiopia such as the afar triangle. The kingdom of aksum or axum, also known as the aksumite empire was an important trading nation in northeastern africa, ruled from approximately 100940 ad. Reese adbarat kidiste kidusan dingel maryam tsiyon is an ethiopian orthodox tewahedo church in ethiopia.
In the past, they were known byvarious names suchasthe axumites, habashas, etc. The kingdom used the name ethiopia as early as the 4th century. Once the seat of the kingdom of aksum, it is now a tourist town and religious centre best known for its antiquities. This torah seems to be that which existed when the queen of sheba accepted the israelite faith. A history of early twentieth century ethiopia, richard pankhurst, 1997. In 1937, a 24metre tall, 1,700yearold obelisk of axum, broken into five parts and lying on the ground, was found and shipped by italian soldiers to rome to be erected. Only in connahs 1987 book african civilisations does aksum, though still dealt with in one brief chapter, begin to take its proper place as an important part of africas history. According to the book of aksum, aksums first capital, mazaber, was built by. The aksum kingdom is sometimes known as the axumite civilization. Susenyos i to catholicism, sparking a civil war which ended in his abdication and an expulsion of all catholics from ethiopia. Aksum axum is perhaps most renowned internationally for its enormous monolithic stelae, erected during the third and fourth centuries a. The african kingdom of axum also aksum, located on the northern edge of the highland zone of the red sea coast, just above the horn of africa, was founded in the 1st century ce, flourished from the 3rd to 6th century ce, and then survived as a much smaller political entity into the 8th century ce.
The exploitation of plant resources in ancient africa pp 7 147 cite as. Aksum also spelled axum or aksoum is the name of a powerful urban iron age kingdom in ethiopia that flourished between the first century bc and the 7th8th centuries ad. Pdf on jan 1, 2014, federica sulas and others published aksum. Unesco international scientific committee for the drafting of a general history of africa. Book of axum detailed the 14th century provinces of ethiopia. The origins of the axumite state are now dated to the middle of the 2nd century bc. Elucidating the linguistic history of the aksumite kingdom during the first seven. Set between skyhigh mountains on the top of africa, blistering hot deserts of the danakil depression and the fertile blue nile valley, this is the cradle of humankind, or, according to the. People have lived in ethiopia for thousands of years. An african civilization of late antiquity ranks as one of the best publications ive ever read. Books set in ethiopia fiction and nonfiction books set completely or at least partially in ethiopia. Foundations of aksumite civilization and its christian. It features prominently in ethiopian historical traditions, the earliest extant written.
Two slave brothers birthed africas oldest state church. Ethiopia or kingdom of axum the 1911 edition of encyclopedia britannica says that the first known records of ethiopia date back to 3000 years bc. Identity and geographic restoration of wolkaittegede. What is the best book on the ancient history of ethiopia to. The kingdom of aksum article ethiopia khan academy. Axum was the centre of the marine trading power known as the aksumite empire, which predated the earliest mentions in romanera writings. This thesis addresses historical and contemporary visual representations in maps, books, and photographs in order to explore how looking at imagery defines not only what is known about ethiopia and ethiopian people, but also how that knowledge operates in specific cultural contexts.
Identity and geographic restoration of wolkaittegede, gondar. Aksum and nubiaassembles and analyzes the textual and archaeological evidence of interaction between nubia and the ethiopian kingdom of aksum, focusing primaril. Research reports can use engaging details about the objects, the activities and behaviors, and the laws, rules, or rituals of a culture. The ethiopian empire abyssinia was first founded by ethiopian people in the ethiopian highlands. Around 356 ce, its ruler was converted to christianity by frumentius.
Ancient aksum, which is now ethiopia, is still a center of the ethiopian orthodox christian church. History of ethiopia project gutenberg selfpublishing. Power and authoritythe kingdom of aksum became an international trading power and adopted christianity. It existed approximately 100940 ad, growing from the iron age protoaksumite period c. By 100 ad a kingdom called axum existed in ethiopia. The kingdom of aksum was a trading empire centered in eritrea and northern ethiopia.
List of books and articles about ethiopian history online. Ancient and medieval ethiopian history to 1270 addis ababa. It lies at an elevation of about 7,000 feet 2,100 metres, just west of adwa. Its antecedents and successors is a good introduction written by anthropologist david w. The kebra nagast, the ethiopic national epic written sometime between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, tells a romanticized version of the history of axum from the time of the queen of sheba and her love affair with solomon and the taking of the ark to axum, down to the victories of king kaleb, who reigned in the sixth century ce. Aksumite civilization, its connections and descendants. Axum, an african civilisation of late antiquity, by stuart munrohay very specifically looks at ancient ethiopian history. However the first well known kingdom in ethiopia rose in the first century ad. At the height of its power, between the 4th and 7th centuries ad, the axumite kingdom controlled most of presentday ethiopia, including territories. Yeha, the countrys preaksumite foundation of ethiopian civilisation, is situated between aksum and adwa in. Sacred sites of ethiopia and the arc of the covenant. A dustfilled journey of 3000km, taken twenty times, yields ten chapters of vivid encounters and tangible impressions. Education in ethiopia during the italian fascist occupation 19361941, international journal of african historical studies, 1972, 5, 5.
History of northern ethiopia and the establishment of the italian colony or eritrea. Readers should note that it was written by an anthropologist based on his field research and reads quite differently from a general historical narrative, but it is still interesting. By the midsecond century bc, axum had developed into a regionally dominant kingdom. Axumite emperors were powerful sovereigns, styling themselves king of kings, king of aksum, himyar, raydan, saba, salhen, tsiyamo, beja and of kush.
The torah in the shebamenelik cycle is listed in chapters 41, 42, 89, 90, and 91 of the kebra nagast. How the iron age kingdom of aksum flourished in ethiopia. A good example of this is the former settlement of yeha which is believed to have been built around 800 bc. Ethiopian treasures queen of sheba, aksumite kingdom aksum. Daily life in aksum continued engaging details details can provide a deeper understanding of the history of a particular time period and make your research report more interesting to the reader. The jewish torah and the israe lite torah of the queen of sheba. Tall granite obelisks, 126 inches all, stand or lie broken. Ethiopia s historic journey is long and many ruins can be seen in the country. List of books and articles about ethiopian history.
This was in large part thanks to maritime transformations enacted by the everexpanding roman empire. The encyclopedia also claims that strong links existed between egypt and ethiopia which go back to the 22nd dynasty of ancient egypt. The agricultural foundation of the aksumite empire, ethiopia. Situated in the horn of africa, ethiopia is bordered by eritrea to the north, sudan to the west, kenya to the south, somalia to the east and djibouti to the northeast. Axum the next kingdom, which gradually took over from daamat, was the kingdom of axum aksum, from which modern ethiopia traces its origins. Sep, 20 axum is considered to be the holiest city in ethiopia and is an important destination of pilgrimages. For more books about this country and others, see the around the world in 80 days group. Ethiopia and the horn chapter 14 the cambridge history. Mar 21, 2019 in the mid4th century ce, nubia formerly known as kush and located in modern sudan, with its capital at meroe, attacked axum from the north or viceversa, perhaps because of a dispute over control of the regions ivory trade. The aim of this book is to present a critical outline of current knowledge about the peoples who.
The original church is believed to have been built during the. Determined to establish and expand his authority, ezana first conquered the part of the arabian peninsula that is now yemen. From the axumite period, public history in ethiopia has moved from north to. This book is best noted as not only providing the names of provinces and the history of the time but also the borders of the provinces of ethiopia by then2. Yeha, the countrys preaksumite foundation of ethiopian civilisation, is situated between aksum and adwa in the province of tigray. Ethiopias historic journey is long and many ruins can be seen in the country. Its up there with dandelion wine by ray bradberry, and jenny jameson sings the blues by jenna herself. Ethiopian history pdf ethiopian history medieval ethiopian history ethiopian flag history pdf ethiopian history amharic moderm ethiopian history anicent ethiopian history ethiopian grade 11 history textbook ethiopian grade 11 history textbook pdf ethiopian grade 11 history book test ethiopian grade 11 history ethiopian history free books in amharic ancient and medieval ethiopian history to 1270. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book.
Ethiopia or kingdom of axum final edit african history a. Ethiopian beauty prince alemayehu tewodros duration. Later, under the reign of the empreror kaleb, axum was a quasially of byzantium against the sasanian empire which had adopted zoroastrianism. According to the book of aksum, aksums first capital, mazaber, was built by itiyopis, son of cush. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Jul 16, 2017 ethiopian history in amharic pdf book. Warfare, commerce, and political fictions in ancient northeast africa. Marcus, harold a history of ethiopia, berkeley 1994.