Introduction

Aksum began in East Africa. It was strongest during the 200s CE. Some ancient writers believed it was one of the four great powers of the world. The other three were Rome, Persia, and China.

Agriculture started late in Africa. It began in West Africa in 3000 BCE. There are many reasons for the late start. One is that communities in Africa could forage and raise animals. Other communities avoided agriculture. They did not want to live a life with so much work.

Collective Learning from Two Agrarian Networks

Agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent. This area includes modern-day countries like Egypt and Iraq. The Fertile Crescent eventually grew. It connected Egyptian and Southwest Asian trade networks with the Northern Horn. The Northern Horn is a part of East Africa. It is near the Fertile Crescent.

East Africa learned about agriculture first. It took longer to reach other parts of Africa. By 2000 BCE, agriculture had begun in the Northern Horn. Most communities farmed, herded, and foraged.

Early East African states

At that time, there was an agricultural society in the Northern Horn called D’mt. When D’mt fell, the area was full of small kingdoms like Aksum.

At first, Aksum was just a tiny settlement. Then in 30 BCE, the Romans conquered Egypt. This brought Aksum into contact with the Mediterranean. Aksum began trading less in the Persian Gulf. Instead, they focused on trade in the Red Sea. This trade network connected India and the Roman Empire.

Aksum at the center of Afro-Eurasia

Aksum managed trade between India and the Mediterranean. Trade helped Aksum quickly become a powerful kingdom.

There were many monuments in Aksum. Archaeologists have studied stone columns from Aksum. The columns show how the Aksum ranked members of their society. Archeologists have found Aksum coins hundreds of miles from Aksum. This shows that Aksum was part of a large trade network.

Aksum used its military to grow the empire. Aksum was one of the true powers of the ancient world. There were no other East African kingdoms to challenge them. Aksum was also in the center of an important trade network. This network connected Africa, Europe, and Asia. This made it easy for Aksum to learn about new technologies.

Social and political history of Aksum

Aksum was made of smaller kingdoms. Each had their own king. However, the Aksum king was the “king of kings.” The smaller kingdoms gave him a payment called tribute. The Aksum king put warriors in these smaller kingdoms to control them.

Most of Aksum’s money came from agriculture and herding. Aksum cities also grew as the population grew. The trade routes also brought Aksum new ideas. The upper-class Aksum adopted parts of Greek culture.

Aksum religion also changed. At first, Askum believed in spirits. Later, Christianity became the religion of Aksum. When Aksum grew, it began trading more with the Roman Empire. It learned about Christianity from the Romans. The Romans had just made Christianity their religion. Christianity linked Aksum with the Roman Empire.

Some historical writings tell another story. The Aksum royal children had a tutor named Frumentius. He was from the Roman Empire. Frumentius may have influenced the royal family to adopt Christianity. However, Aksum mixed their traditions with Christianity.

Decline

In the end, Askum’s goal of growing caused it to fail. In the 500s CE, Aksum ran out of money for its military. Upper-class Aksum people were fighting each other. Around 541 CE, Aksum was hit with a wave of the disease called the Justinianic Plague. Experts believe the disease was the same as the Black Death. The Black Death happened about 800 years later. Aksum survived off profits from trade. However, the empire shrunk.

Note: This original version of this article is from the Big History Project (lesson 7.1). It has been modified for WHP.