Period 4. Ezana as a Christian to Kaleb. c.330AD to c.520AD.
330AD
Christian inscriptions and coins.
Anonymous
Christian coins
350AD
MHDYS*
Ouazebas*
400AD
Eon*
Ebana*
Nezool*/Nezana*
500AD Ousas*/Ousana(s)*. Tazena
Period 5. Kaleb until the end of the coinage. c.515AD to early C.7th AD
Kaleb*
Inscription
Yusuf As'ar
530AD
Sumyafa' Ashwa
Alla Amidas*
Abreha
Wazena*
W`ZB/Ella Gabaz
Ioel*
575AD
Persians in Yemen
Hataz* = `Iathlia'*?
Israel*
600AD
Gersem*
614AD Armah*
Jerusalem falls to Persia
619AD
Egypt falls to Persia
End of Aksum as capital
Period 6. After the end of the coinage
630AD
Death of Ashama ibn Abjar
640AD
Arab expedition in Red Sea,
Egypt falls to Arabs
705-715AD
Reign of al-Walid,
Qusayr Amra painting
The symbol *
denotes issues of coins
Preface
Perhaps the most frequently quoted remark about Ethiopia occurs in a brief excursus on
the Ethiopian church which Edward Gibbon included in his monumental work
The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, written at the end of the eighteenth century;
`Encompassed on all sides by the enemies of their religion the Æthiopians slept near a
thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten'. Gibbon further
accorded brief mention to those few events in Aksumite Ethiopia's history which touched
the larger theme of the history of the Roman empire. In this he still remains relatively
unusual, for however one might nowadays view the Ethiopians' `sleep', Gibbon's last
phrases still ring true. Of all the important ancient civilisations of the past, that of the
ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum still remains perhaps the least known.
When this book was in preparation, I wrote to the archaeology editor of one of Britain's
most prominent history and archaeology publishers about its prospects.
He replied that,
although he had a degree in archaeology, he had never heard of Aksum, and didn't think
it would arouse much interest. If anything, this points the more strongly to the need for an
introductory history to one of Africa's most fascinating civilisations. In most of the recent
general histories of Africa or of the Roman world, Aksum is either not mentioned at all,
or is noted in brief summaries culled from earlier works. Only in Connah's 1987 book
African Civilisations does Aksum, though still dealt with in one brief chapter, begin to
take its proper place as an important part of Africa's history. Certainly there have been
books on Aksum, or on Ethiopian
civilisation in general, mainly in German, French,
Italian and Russian; but since the last of these was published much new work has been
done, and a well- illustrated and up-to-date general coverage of Aksumite Ethiopia is now
the more urgently required.
It is hoped that this book, the result of nearly fifteen years study of Aksumite history and
civilisation, will at least partly fill the gap, and encourage interest in Aksumite studies.
Ancient Ethiopia is a fertile field for future researchers, and if this book attracts the
attention of even a few towards this neglected but richly rewarding subject, it will have
served its purpose adequately. It is worth adding that Ethiopia,
and especially Aksumite
Ethiopia, is an elusive entity, and I cannot hope to have always plumped for the correct
interpretation in some of the more debated themes of its history. Theories and arguments
which I may seem to have left aside could prove to be of great importance to future study.
In most cases where a choice between opposing theories has been made, it is nevertheless
with a profound consciousness of the stimulation afforded by the points-of- view of
colleagues who share the opposite opinion, and with the certainty that the last word has
not yet been said, that I have leaned towards certain conclusions. I have not infrequently
drawn on my own earlier publications for certain sections of this book, sometimes with
radically
different results; alterations indicative of the progress made by more recent
research.
I am extremely grateful, as the dedication indicates, to the late Dr. H. Neville Chittick for
introducing me to Aksumite studies during the important excavations which he directed
at Aksum between 1972 and 1974, and for his continued subsequent encouragement. His
excavations at Aksum completely altered many concepts about Aksumite Ethiopia,
clarifying certain points and, inevitably, raising new questions. In 1985 I was invited by
the British Institute in Eastern Africa, under whose auspices Neville Chittick had worked,
to publish in their Memoir series the excavation report his death prevented him from
undertaking; and it was during this work that
the idea of the present book, less specialist
and wider-ranging, was suggested to me by Glen Kania. The British Institute in Eastern
Africa also kindly gave permission for the reproduction of some of the photographs taken
during the excavations. A number of friends and colleagues helped in the preparation of
the book; I would particularly like to thank Dr. Bent Juel-Jensen and Dr. David Phillipson
for reading and commenting on the typescript at different stages, and for supplying
illustrations; Roger Brereton and the late Ruth Plant for other illustrations; Chris Tsielepi
for information from the Horniman Museum; Michael Grogan for the maps and Glen
Kania for his usual patience and assistance
in editing and word-processing, for the fourth
time, a book on an Aksumite theme.
Aksum's obscurity, and the impossibility of visiting the site at present, seem to have had a
discouraging effect on funding institutions. However, awards which have greatly helped
me in the writing of this book, and in my Aksumite studies in general, came from the
Twenty-Seven Foundation and the Spalding Trust; to these organisations I am extremely
grateful, particularly since they have both assisted my work in other fields as well.
Stuart Munro-Hay
St. Orens-Pouy-Petit, France. December 1988.
1. Introduction
This book is designed to introduce the ancient African civilisation of Aksum to a wider
readership than has been catered for by specialist publications currently available. The
Ethiopian kingdom centred on Aksum in the northern province of Tigray during the first
six or seven hundred years of our era, is still very little known in general terms. Its
history and civilisation has been largely ignored, or at most accorded only brief mention,
in the majority of recent books purporting to deal at large with ancient African
civilisations, or with the world of late antiquity. Perhaps, considering the paucity of
published material, authors of such syntheses can hardly be blamed for omitting it; those
who do include it generally merely repeat the same vague outlines of Aksumite history as
are found in much older works. The excavations of the 1950s-70s in Ethiopia, and the
studies of
a few scholars in recent years, have increased the scope of our information
about the country's history and civilisation, and the time has now come when a general
introduction to Aksum should be of value to interested readers and students of ancient
history alike.