Axum » Venture Ethiopia - Tours and Travel

Axum

The ruins of the ancient city of Axum are found close to Ethiopia's northern border. They mark the location of the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the Kingdom of Axum was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. The massive ruins, dating from between the 1st and the 13th century A.D., include monolithic obelisks, giant stelae, royal tombs and the ruins of ancient castles. Long after its political decline in the 10th century, Ethiopian emperors continued to be crowned in Axum.

Situated in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, Axum symbolizes the wealth and importance of the civilization of the ancient Axumite kingdom, which lasted from the 1st to the 8th centuries AD. The kingdom was at the crossroads of Africa, Arabia and the Greco-Roman World, and was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. In command of the ivory trade with Sudan, its fleets controlled the Red Sea trade through the port of Adulis and the inland routes of north eastern Africa.

The ruins of the ancient Axumite Civilization cover a wide area in the Tigray Plateau. The most impressive monuments are the monolithic obelisks, royal tombs and the palace ruins dating to the 6th and 7th centuries AD.

Several stelae, dating between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, survive in the town of Axum. They are thought to be the tallest structures on Earth carved from a single piece of rock.  The largest obelisk, some 33 meters long, lies where it fell, perhaps during the process of erection.  The largest standing obelisk rises to a height of over 23 meters and is exquisitely carved to represent a nine-storey building of the Axumites. It stands at the entrance of the main stelae area.  The second largest (27m) has unfortunately now been stolen.

A series of inscriptions found on stone tablets at Axum have proved to be of immense importance to historians of the ancient world. Some of them include trilingual text in Greek, Sabaean and Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopian), inscribed by King Ezana in the 4th century AD.

The introduction of Christianity in the 4th century AD resulted in the building of churches, the most important of which is the Saint Mary of Zion Church, which is believed to hold the Ark of the Covenant.

Map of Axum