Império de Axum

Brazil has the largest Black population outside of Africa, and therefore, talking about Africa is talking about Brazil. Although not all African kingdoms and empires had their people kidnapped to fuel the slave trade, it is important to know that the history of Africa did not begin only after the European invasion. African kingdoms and empires existed long before Europe began its attacks on Africa, and even during the invasion and colonization of the African continent by whites, great civilizations existed there. This video series seeks to recover the history of the Mother Continent: Africa. Axumite Empire. The Axumite Empire, also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Axumite Empire, was one of the greatest civilizations of Ancient Africa. It emerged around 150 BC, from the ancient civilization of Damoth, and had its center in the city of Axum, located in what is now northern Ethiopia. At its peak, its territory also encompassed Eritrea, Djibouti, parts of Sudan, and the southern Arabian Peninsula, making it a strategic power between the Red Sea and the Nile River. The first Axumite settlements date back to the 5th century BC, when groups settled in Axum and began conquering neighboring peoples, collecting tribute. From the 2nd century AD onwards, the kingdom expanded rapidly, incorporating the Kingdom of Kush and several cities in the Arabian Peninsula. Before the emergence of Axum, the region was occupied by the kingdom of Damoth, which was influenced by the Sabaeans, who came from present-day Yemen. Although it was once believed that they had founded the local civilization, scholars today consider their participation to have been limited. Nevertheless, they left important cultural contributions, such as the ancient South Arabic alphabet, which gave rise to the Ge'ez script. The first historical reference to the kingdom appears in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written in the mid-1st century AD, which describes Axum as an important commercial center ruled by King Zoscales. The city stood out for its trade in ivory, tortoise shell, and other products, becoming a fundamental link between Rome, India, and East Africa. With the growth of trade routes, Axum became one of the greatest economic powers of Antiquity. In the 3rd century, Greek was widely used in administration, trade, official inscriptions, and coin minting. Later, Ge'ez became the main written language of the kingdom. During the reign of Endubis, Axum began minting its own coins, found from Palestine to southern India. His successor, Gedara, initiated an intense policy of expansion in South Arabia, conquering Najran, occupying Zafar—capital of the Himyarite Kingdom—and participating in the conflicts that marked the region throughout the 3rd century. During this same period, the Persian prophet Manes classified Axum as one of the four great powers of the world, alongside Rome, Persia, and China. Around 330 AD, during the reign of Ezana, Axum temporarily conquered the Kingdom of Kush and officially adopted the name "Ethiopia," inherited from Greek tradition. It was also under Ezana that one of the most significant events in the kingdom's history occurred: the adoption of Christianity as the official religion. According to Christian tradition, the Syrian missionary Frumentius, brought to the kingdom as a young man after a shipwreck, gained the trust of the royal family and was later consecrated bishop by Athanasius of Alexandria. His work resulted in the conversion of Ezana and the official recognition of Christianity around 330 AD. From that moment on, the Axumites stopped erecting the traditional monumental stelae and began building Christian churches and palaces, strengthening their ties with Egypt and the Byzantine Empire. The tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church also associates Axum with the legendary Queen of Sheba. According to the Kebra Negast, she left Axum to visit King Solomon, and from this union Menelik I was born, considered the founder of the Ethiopian monarchy. The same tradition states that Menelik brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum, which would remain kept in the Church of St. Mary of Zion. The territorial peak of the empire occurred during the reign of Kaleb (Elesba), in the 6th century. Responding to a request from the Byzantine emperor Justin I, Kaleb invaded the Himyarite Kingdom, in present-day Yemen, to put an end to the persecution against Christians promoted by the Jewish king Dunaas. With this conquest, Axum reached approximately 2.5 million square kilometers, its largest territorial extent. However, shortly afterwards, it lost these possessions in wars against the Sassanid Persians. From the 7th century onwards, the empire began to decline. The disputes between the Byzantines and Persians, followed by Islamic expansion, drastically reduced trade in the Red Sea. The conquest of the port of Adulis by the Arabs interrupted the main trade routes, causing a serious economic crisis. In addition to commerci...