Ancient Agrarian Societies: Aksum

By David Baker

Human origins have been traced back to sub-Saharan Africa. But the
origins of agriculture are clearly found outside of Africa. While the shift to
farming took more time in Africa, agrarian societies like Aksum grew to be
powerful centers of farming and trade.
Introduction
East Africa was the cradle of our species. For millions of years, our early human ancestors roamed across the land.
It is, therefore, the homeland of every human being spread across the planet. In East Africa, one of the mightiest
agrarian societies formed: the Aksum Empire. At its height in the third century CE, some ancient writers considered
it one of the four great powers of the world, alongside Rome, Persia, and China.

African agriculture, in general, got a late start. It was invented independently in 3000 BCE on the other side of the
continent in West Africa. One of the reasons for this “late start” is that human communities in this area had many
resources available. They continued foraging and pastoralism, as they began domesticating cattle, sheep, and goats
early in these regions. The African environment was well suited to foraging. Some communities were also reluctant
to shift to agriculture. This change would mean a less healthy and more work-filled life.

Collective learning from two agrarian networks

Agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent. But the “Northern Horn” region of East Africa continued foraging
for many thousands of years later. As agrarian societies in the Fertile Crescent grew larger, they had more
communication with the Northern Horn. Knowledge of farming filtered down from Egypt and Southwest Asia.
The communities of the Northern Horn began to adopt a mixture of foraging, farming, and animal herding. They
domesticated ensete as early as 3000 BCE or more. This flowering plant was classified in the banana family.
The people of the Northern Horn foraged for animal hides and bird feathers. They also foraged myrrh for use as
perfume, and obsidian rocks to trade with Egypt.

By 2000 BCE, most communities in the Northern Horn were semi-nomadic. They made use of foraging, farming, and
pastoralism. They still used stone tools, as copper and bronze were rare in the region. However, eventually they began
to use iron. Knowledge of iron smelting may have been discovered independently or this technique could have been
adopted from other African societies. Some people in the region still foraged without making the shift to farming.

Aksum, on the east coast of Africa near the Red Sea, and other empires of the sixth century CE, By Talessman, CC BY 3.0.

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But farming knowledge from Southwest Asia and Egypt eventually moved along trade networks. To the south,
the rest of Africa would transition to farming much more slowly. But East Africa was influenced by their location
between these two major trade networks.

Early East African states

Around the same time, a major agrarian society arose in the Northern Horn, popularly known as D’mt. This
kingdom reached its height between the tenth and fifth centuries BCE. Due to their trade connections with Egypt,
they began developing more sustained farming. The surpluses were then traded, along with intricate stone
jewelry. When the kingdom of D’mt fell, smaller kingdoms populated the area. These societies adopted iron and
began exporting their metal work. Collective learning via the trade networks of Arabia and Egypt influenced
Aksum’s architecture and culture.

For many years, Aksum was just a tiny settlement in the Northern Horn, slowly building more land and wealth from
trade. Then in 30 BCE, something changed. The Romans under Augustus conquered Egypt. Aksum was brought into
contact with the Roman world in the Mediterranean. Trade networks shifted from the Persian Gulf and overland Asian
routes more to the Red Sea. Aksum soon became a hub of overseas trade between the Roman Empire and India.

Aksum at the center of Afro-Eurasia

Becoming a member of this trade network transformed
Aksum from a small state into a powerful kingdom very
quickly. Aksum managed trade between India and the
Mediterranean in ivory, gold, emeralds, silk, spices,
crops, salt, exotic animals, manufactured goods, and
much more. In the first century CE, Aksum became very
wealthy and powerful. They could afford to build a
strong navy to patrol the Red Sea and protect their trade
routes. It was at this time that Aksum was first
mentioned by Greco-Roman scholars.

As the society continued to grow, Aksum’s capital

showed signs of rapid expansion. The town grew so
quickly that there seems to have been no master plan
for the city’s layout, or to detail where the city walls
would be placed. Aksum built many grand monuments,
and the elite were buried in elaborate tombs marked by
huge stone pillars (stelae). These stelae had intricate
carvings on them and were also used to commemorate
victories, regions of the kingdom, and great events.
They also provide some evidence that Aksum had
a social hierarchy: bureaucrats, priests, soldiers,
merchants, and artisans. Aksum had its own coinage,
each dynasty etched onto the gold coins. Archaeologists
have found these gold pieces from Rome to Persia to
India, proof of the immense size of the trade network in
which Aksum participated.
Aksum stela of King Ezanas. By Pzbinden7, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Aksum was able to transport troops and expand its frontiers with naval power. The third century CE marks a period
of intense military expansion. At its height, Aksum controlled North Ethiopia and parts of Sudan. They also
controlled the southern Arabian Peninsula, most notably Yemen. Aksum was one of the true powers of the ancient
world. They had wealth to hire swords and ships, and no comparable power in East Africa existed to oppose them.
They were also one of the first agrarian societies in Africa. In the fourth century CE, Aksum formally adopted
Christianity as its state religion. This linked Aksum to the Roman Empire, which had also officially made
Christianity its state religion. Aksum sat at the center of an ancient trade network that crossed Afro-Eurasia. So
they would easily learn of technological developments.

Social and political history of Aksum

Aksum was unified under the rule of kings and grew through military conquests. Eventually it became an empire
that controlled an important region of trade. The Aksum king was considered the “king of kings”, and smaller
kingdoms paid tribute to him. In order to keep these regional kings from uprising, the Aksum king stationed
warriors in each feudal area. The king and his administrators would then collect the tribute from these areas and
meet with the regional kings, who pledged their support.

The main sources of income for the kingdom were agriculture and herding. This was mainly from growing cereal
grains and raising cattle, sheep, and goats. As the population grew, certain cities became more urbanized. Job
specialization also became more varied. Examples of monumental architecture increased with palaces as the
largest structures. The city of Aksum became the main center for kings and the royal court. The city of Adulis grew
into a large market town where goods from the interior of Africa were traded. This included ivory, gold, perfume
and exotic animals. These were all exchanged for foreign products such as wine, olive oil, Roman and Indian coins,
and bronze lamps.

As these goods were exchanged over trade networks, new ideas were also traded. The Aksum elite adopted aspects
of Greek culture. This included the language and religious beliefs. The local reigion of Aksum began as animistic (a
belief in many spirits that exist in the natural world). Later it became more formalized into a belief in gods that were
tied to astronomy. Deities such as Mahrem (the king of gods and god of war), Astar (Venus), and Behēr (god of the
sea) were honored with animal sacrifices and rituals. As trade networks grew and Aksum gained power,
connections between the empire and the Roman Empire (Byzantium) became stronger. Christianity had recently
become the state religion of the Roman Empire. It probably made its way to Aksum along these networks. According
to some historical sources, the Aksum royal children had a Greco-Phoenician tutor named Frumentius. These
sources indicate Frumentius may have influenced the royal family to adopt Christianity. As tutor to the royal family,
he introduced the heirs to the throne to this faith. He eventually became the Bishop of Aksum. Full conversion of the
empire probably happened gradually over many decades. Local customs were often incorporated into the Christian
faith.

Decline
Aksum continued to prosper long after the Western Roman Empire declined in the fifth century CE. However, its
desire to expand was part of its own downfall. Aksum launched a series of military campaigns to control Yemen in
the sixth century CE. But they began to run out of funds. At the same time, the Aksum elite were fighting among
each other. Around 541 CE, Aksum was hit with the destructive Justinianic Plague. Scholars are fairly certain this
plague was the same disease that caused the Black Death in the fourteenth century CE. Aksum held on mainly due
to its profits from trade, but its territory and community shrank.

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Ancient Agrarian Societies: Aksum
David Baker

Gold coins, Aksum, King Endybis (227-235 CE). By PHGCOM, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Note: This original version of this article is from the Big History Project (lesson 7.1). It has been modified for WHP.

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Ancient Agrarian Societies: Aksum
David Baker

Sources
Ehret, Christopher. The Civilizations of Africa: A history to 1800. Oxford: James Currey Publishers, 2002.
Hatke, George. Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa. New York: New York
University Press, 2013.
Indicopleustes, Cosmas. The Christian Topography of Cosmas, an Egyptian Monk. Translated and edited by J.W. McCrindle.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Kobishanov, Y.M. “Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century.” In General History of Africa, Volume II:
Ancient Civilizations of Africa (381-400). London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1981.
Mekouria, Tekle Tsadik. “Christian Aksum.” In General History of Africa, Volume II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa (381-400).
London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1981.
Munro-Hay, Stuart. Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991.
Phillipson, David. Ancient Ethiopia, Aksum: Its Antecedents and Successors. London: British Museum Press, 1998.
Phillipson, David. “The First Millennium BC in the Highlands of Northern Ethiopia and South-Central Eritrea: A Reassessment of
Cultural and Political Development.” African Archaeological Review 26 (2009): 257-74.
Phillipson, David. Foundations of an African Civilization: Aksum and the Northern Horn, 1000 BC – AD 1300. Addis Abba: Addis
Ababa University Press, 2012.
Schoff, Wilfred, ed. The Periplus of Erythraean Sea. Charleston, SC: BiblioBazaar, 2014.

David Baker
David Baker studied his PhD in Big History under Professor David Christian at Macquarie University. He now teaches Big
History alongside Fred Spier and Esther Quaedackers at the University of Amsterdam. He is writer of the YouTube series
Crashcourse Big History, hosted by John and Hank Green in partnership with the Big History Project.

Image credits
Cover: Stele. 23M high block of solid granite accredited to King Ezana, Aksum. Ethiopia © Martin Harvey / Photolibrary / Getty
Images
Aksum, on the east coast of Africa near the Red Sea, and other empires of the sixth century CE, By Talessman, CC BY 3.0.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NE_565ad.jpg#/media/File:NE_565ad.jpg
Aksum stela of King Ezanas. By Pzbinden7, CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stela_aksum.jpg#/media/
File:Stela_aksum.jpg
Gold coins, Aksum, King Endybis (227-235 CE). By PHGCOM, CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:KingEndybisEthiopia227-235CE.jpg#/media/File:KingEndybisEthiopia227-235CE.jpg

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Ancient Agrarian Societies: Aksum
David Baker

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