Aksum

Axum, also spelled Aksum, is a historic city in northern Ethiopia. It was the capital of the Aksumite Kingdom, which at its height from roughly the 1st to the 7th centuries CE controlled a major trading network linking Red Sea ports with the Nile, the Mediterranean world, and the Indian Ocean. The kingdom issued coins and traded goods such as gold, incense, and exotic products, with political and cultural influence across what is now Eritrea, northern Ethiopia, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

The city is renowned for its monumental architecture, including a field of stelae and obelisks, tombs, and ritual enclosures. The Great Stelae of Axum and other monolithic columns are among the most notable remnants. The site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ancient City of Aksum, inscribed in 1980, and contains other archaeological and religious structures dating from antiquity to the medieval period.

In the 4th century, under King Ezana, Christianity became the state religion, making Aksum one of the earliest Christian kingdoms. Ezana’s inscriptions in Ge’ez and Greek record territorial authority and Christian proclamations, shaping the religious trajectory of the region. Ethiopian tradition also links Axum to the Ark of the Covenant, a connection maintained by local churches such as the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, though the ark’s presence is not supported by archaeological evidence.

Decline began in the 7th century as trade routes shifted and political power waned, with the center of gravity moving to the Ethiopian highlands. Today, the modern town of Axum is the administrative center of Axum Zone in the Tigray Region, and its archaeological remains continue to attract scholars and pilgrims.