2. The Kingdom of Aksum
• - It was located South of Kush on a rugged plateau on the Red Sea, in what
we now know as the countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia
• - called the Horn of Africa
• - Adalius was chief Sea-Port of the kingdom and became an international
trading power.
• - The kingdom of Aksum was the only African Kingdom to have a written
language.
• - They seized land around the Red Sea and the Blue NIle because of their
importance in trade
•
3. The Beginning
• - The Ethiopian royal dynasty to the son of Kingdom Solomon and of
the Queen of Sheba
• lasted till the 20th century
• the last ruler died in 1975
• - His name was Haile Selassie
• Around A.D. 550 an Egyptian merchant named cosmas described how
kushites bargained for gold
•
4. Royalty and Importance in Aksum, Africa
• - Ezana learned about Christianity, made it Aksum
• -Christian church was linked to Alexandria, Egypt, not Rome.
•
5. Aksum at its Height
• 330- Ezana turned his attention to Kush
• 350- conquered the Kushites and burned meroe to the ground.
• The kingdom was at its height between A.D. 325 and 360
6. Aksum Religion
• - Christianity began in Judea about A.D. 30
• spread through Roman Empire and then Africa
7. The Fall of Aksum
• 632 and 750- Islamic invaders conquered vast territories in the
Mediterranean world.
• the culture last a good 800 to 1000 years. The kingdom fell when
invaders from the religion islam or the muslims invaded
