Kingdom of Aksum
Explore the Kingdom of Aksum — the powerful East African trading empire that minted its own currency, erected towering obelisks, and adopted Christianity.
The Kingdom of Aksum, centered in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, was one of the great powers of the ancient world — a status that modern historical narratives have too often overlooked. At its height between the 1st and 7th centuries CE, Aksum controlled a trading empire that connected the Roman Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean world, growing wealthy on the commerce in ivory, gold, incense, and exotic animals.
Aksum was remarkably cosmopolitan. Its port city of Adulis hosted merchants from Rome, Arabia, India, and beyond. The kingdom minted its own gold, silver, and bronze coinage — one of only four ancient states to do so, alongside Rome, Persia, and the Kushan Empire. Its towering stone obelisks, some reaching over 20 meters, remain among the most impressive monuments in Africa, testifying to sophisticated engineering and centralized royal power.
In the 4th century CE, King Ezana converted to Christianity, making Aksum one of the first states in the world to adopt the religion as its official faith — contemporary with Constantine's embrace of Christianity in Rome. This early Christian tradition survived in Ethiopia as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest continuously existing Christian institutions in the world.