Introduction

Humans originated in East Africa, making it the homeland of all humans. In East Africa, one of the mightiest agrarian societies formed: the Aksum Empire. The empire was at its strongest during the third century CE. Some ancient writers considered it one of the four great powers of the world, alongside Rome, Persia, and China.

African agriculture got a late start. In 3000 BCE, early humans in West Africa invented agriculture on their own. One of the reasons for this “late start” is that human communities in this area had many resources available. They could forage and raise animals. Some communities were also reluctant to shift to agriculture. This change would mean a less healthy and more work-filled life.

Collective Learning from Two Agrarian Networks

Agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent. This is an area that includes modern-day countries like Egypt and Iraq. But the nearby “Northern Horn” region of East Africa continued foraging for thousands of years. As agrarian societies in the Fertile Crescent grew larger, they had more communication with the Northern Horn. The communities of the Northern Horn learned about agriculture from Egypt and Southwest Asia.

By 2000 BCE, most communities in the Northern Horn were semi-nomadic. They made use of foraging, farming, and pastoralism. They still used stone tools, as copper and bronze were rare in the region. However, eventually, they began to use iron. Some people in the region still foraged without making the shift to farming.

But farming knowledge from Southwest Asia and Egypt eventually moved along trade networks. To the south, the rest of Africa would transition to farming much more slowly. But East Africa was influenced by their location between these two major trade networks.

Early East African states

Around the same time, a major agrarian society known as D’mt arose in the Northern Horn. This kingdom reached its height between the tenth and fifth centuries BCE. Due to their trade connections with Egypt, they began developing more sustained farming. When the kingdom of D’mt fell, the area was full of small kingdoms like Aksum.

Aksum was just a tiny settlement in the Northern Horn for many years. But something changed in 30 BCE. Under Augustus, the Romans conquered Egypt. This brought Aksum into contact with the Roman world in the Mediterranean. Aksum began focusing less on trade networks in the Persian Gulf and Asia. Instead, they began focusing on trade networks over the Red Sea, which connected the Roman Empire and India.

Aksum at the center of Afro-Eurasia

Becoming a member of this trade network transformed Aksum from a small state into a powerful kingdom. Aksum managed trade between India and the Mediterranean. It traded in gold, spices, exotic animals, and much more. In the first century CE, Aksum became very wealthy and powerful. They could afford to build a strong navy to patrol the Red Sea and protect their trade routes. By the first century CE, experts had begun writing about Aksum’s wealth and power.

Aksum grew quickly. Many monuments were built, as well as detailed tombs for important members of society. Aksum also had stone columns called stelae. The stelae have carvings that suggest the Aksum had a social hierarchy for ranking people in society. Archeologists have found Aksum coins hundreds of miles away in places like Rome and India. This proves that the Kingdom of Aksum was part of an immense trade network.

Aksum was able to transport troops and expand its frontiers with naval power. The third century CE marks a period of intense military expansion. At its height, Aksum controlled North Ethiopia and parts of Sudan. They had the wealth to buy swords and ships, and there were no other kingdoms in East Africa to challenge them. Aksum was in the center of an ancient trade network that connected Africa, Europe, and Asia, making it easy for them to learn about new technologies.

Social and political history of Aksum

Aksum eventually controlled an important region of trade. Aksum was made up of smaller kingdoms with their own king, but the Aksum king was considered the “king of kings.” The smaller kingdoms gave him a payment called tribute. In order to keep these regional kings from uprising, the Aksum king stationed warriors in each kingdom. Then the Aksum king would meet with the kings of the small kingdoms for them to pledge their support and pay tribute.

Agriculture and herding were the main ways the Aksum kingdom made money. As the population grew, certain cities did too. The city of Aksum became the main center for kings and the royal court. The city of Adulis grew into a large market town where goods from other parts of Africa were traded for goods from Rome and India.

New ideas were traded, too. The upper-class Aksum adopted parts of Greek culture. Aksum religion also changed. It began as animism, the belief in many different spirits. It later changed to include gods inspired by the stars and planets.

As Aksum grew, so did its trade connections with the Roman Empire. Christianity had recently become the state religion of the Roman Empire, and it eventually becomes the official religion of Aksum, too. Christianity probably made its way to Aksum along these trade networks. Christianity linked Aksum with the Roman Empire.

According to some historical sources, the Aksum royal children had a tutor from the Roman Empire named Frumentius. Frumentius may have influenced the royal family to adopt Christianity. It probably took several decades for Aksum to fully become Christian. However, Aksum still incorporated its traditions into Christianity.

Decline

Aksum continued to prosper long after the Western Roman Empire declined in the fifth century CE. However, its desire to expand partially led to its downfall. In the sixth century CE, Aksum ran out of money for its conquests. At the same time, the Aksum elites were fighting among each other. Around 541 CE, Aksum was hit with the Justinianic Plague. Scholars are fairly certain this plague was the same disease that caused the Black Death in the fourteenth century CE. Aksum survived on its profits from trade, but its territory shrank.

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