By Stuart Munro-Hay According to the Ethiopian traditional accounts of the conversion, Frumentius was captured during the reign of Ella Alada (Amida?), who was succeeded by two brothers, Abreha and Atsbeha, who were the first Christian kings. It has been suggested (Hahn 1983) that these names were constituent parts of the titulary of Ezana and his […]
1. Population An important factor in the economic development of the Aksumite state would have been its demographic history. Kobishchanov (1979: 122-5), in his discussion about Aksumite population, somewhat adventurously concluded that the largest towns, including Aksum, were, `judging by the area they occupied’ to be `numbered in thousands or a few tens of thousands […]
Aksumite Ethiopia possessed a mainly agricultural and pastoral economy, and its geographical situation gave it access to an unusual variety of environments which could be seasonally exploited for crop growing or grazing (Connah 1987; Phillipson 1989). The agricultural resource base, depending on rainfall and soil quality, seems to have been of far richer potential in […]
By Stuart Munro-Hay Aksum was, oddly as it might seem at first, situated in the western part of the future Aksumite kingdom. This, however, must reflect the prevailing political, economic and commercial conditions long before Aksumite ambitions could have reached to an outlet on the Red Sea coast, and probably implies that the original significance […]
By Stuart Munro-Hay Aksum had diplomatic and commercial relations with many foreign countries, increasing as the kingdom’s own importance developed. There are several accounts of ambassadors and messengers sent to or from distant or neighboring powers, and even, occasionally, some clues as to the purpose of their missions. In addition, a number of archaeological or chance […]
1. The Pre-Aksumite Period This period is not of major concern to us here, and in any case we have very little information about it; but some consideration should be given to the situation in Ethiopia before the rise of Aksum, since the source of at least some of the characteristics of the later Aksumite […]
By Stuart Munro-Hay The population of the Aksumite villages probably resembled closely the inhabitants of the present day; Semitic speakers in the central region (`Aksumites, Habash’) owing something of their cultural tradition to influences from South Arabia in earlier times, with Cushitic speaking peoples on the peripheries of the kingdom. We know that tribal groups […]
By Stuart Munro-Hay The kingship was thus of a sacred or semi-sacred character (for a study of this aspect in later times see Caquot 1957). On the coins, the reigning monarch is depicted equipped with a regalia formed from various insignia whose significance is in some cases obvious, and in others obscure. The majority of […]
The Aksumites would doubtless have served their food in some of their large range of pottery vessels, after preparing it in the coarse-ware cooking vessels on open fires, in ovens or on charcoal-fed stoves. Much of their diet would have consisted of products of the local environment. Beef or mutton, bread, beer (sewa), honey wine […]
11-1. The Inscriptional Record By Stuart Munro-Hay An important aspect of the Aksumite kings’ responsibilities was the conduct of military campaigns, the main theme of almost all the Aksumite royal inscriptions which have survived (see Ch. 11: 5). The significance of this element for the kings is emphasized by Ezana’s identification in the pagan period […]
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