Axum, also spelled Aksum, is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire.
Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region, near the base of the Adwa mountains. It has an elevation of 2,131 metres (6,991 feet) and is surrounded by La'ilay Maychew, a separately administered woreda of the Tigray region.
In 1980, UNESCO added Axum's archaeological sites to its list of World Heritage Sites due to their historic value. Prior to the beginning of the Tigray War in 2020, Axum was a leading tourist destination for foreign visitors.
History
Ancient
Little information is available regarding the early centuries of Aksum's presumed evolution from a humble regional hub to a dominant power. Archeological findings at Gobadra (Gobo Dara) and the Anqar Baahti rock-shelters suggest Stone Age remnants in close proximity. R. Fattovich's excavations at amba 'Beta Giyorgis above Aksum validate the pre-Aksumite roots of a settlement in Aksum dating back to approximately 7th to 4th centuries B.C. Excavations in the Stele Park at the heart of Aksum substantiate ongoing activity in that area since the beginning of the common era. By the 1st century AD, Aksum was described as a "metropolis" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Several archaeological expeditions have conducted excavations in various parts of Aksum. The early utilization of stelae, or obelisks as grave markers, is documented, evolving over time to encompass some of the world's largest monuments. Initially, the granite stelae in the primary cemetery, housing the Aksumite royal tombs, and in other cemeteries around the town were plain and rough. Subsequently, they became plain but carefully dressed in granite, eventually carved to emulate multi-storey towers in a distinctive architectural style. The Aksumite architecture is characterized by massive dressed granite blocks, smaller uncut stones for walling, mud mortar to fix them, bricks for vaulting and arches, and an external wooden framework resembling "monkey-heads" or square corner extrusions. The walls tend to incline inwards as they ascend, often featuring several recessed bays for added strength. A comparable architectural style is evident in substantial "palace" structures not only in Axum but also in other cities like Adulis and Matara. The presence of a large reservoir, now known as May Sum, below the hill called May Oho, may trace back to Aksumite times, indicating the city's reliable water supply. Axum likely had a prosperous agricultural vicinity, evident from wheat depicted on Aksumite coins, abundant livestock, local forests supplying firewood for centuries, and various industries such as metalworking, glassware, and pottery. The Aksumites' achievements in architecture and stone-working, along with evidence of ivory and leather-working, are found in Aksumite tombs.
Cosmas Indicopleustes, who visited Aksum in the second decade of the 6th century, described the four-towered palace of the king of Ethiopia, adorned with bronze statues of unicorns. Aksum also housed rows of monumental granite thrones, likely bearing metal statues dedicated to pre-Christian deities such as Astar, Baher, Madr, and Mahram. These thrones incorporated large panels with inscriptions, some attributed to Ousanas, Ezana, Kaleb, and his son Wazeba, chronicling their wars and serving as victory monuments. One inscription mentions Ezana setting up a throne "here in Sado," presumably a place in Aksum. Libraries in Aksum housed essential Christian documents, and Coptic monks translated many of these books in the 5th and 6th century. The Bible was translated into Ge'ez language, and the sole, complete surviving copy of the Book of Enoch is in the Ge'ez language.
Contact with the Byzantine Empire ceased after its eastern provinces were seized by the Arabs and as a consequence, Aksum grew poorer and more isolated. It ceased to be the political capital of the Kingdom of Aksum sometime after the 8th century, which was relocated to the south. An inscription, crafted by a certain Hasani 'Dano'el, mentions his success in subjugating the king of Aksum and reducing the city to the status of a tributary to his own kingdom in the 9th century. It is conceivable that the ecological damage extended to the surrounding area of Aksum due to increasing demands for foodstuffs and firewood. The region around the town might have eventually become incapable of sustaining the population of a major political center. By the end of the 9th century, Aksum was largely abandoned and lay in ruins.
Medieval
The city rose to prominence again after the rise of the Solomonic Dynasty, and became the spiritual capital of the Ethiopian Empire. A collection of Ge'ez documents, encompassing a concise legendary history of Aksum, land charters, and other related material, known as the Book of Axum, is occasionally discovered bound within manuscript books alongside the Kebra Nagast and other works. This compilation provides numerous insights into the church's possessions and the subsequent history of the town. The city also had its own governor known as the Nebure Id, who was also a high dignitary of the church. The Kebra Nagast was written by Nebure Id Yishaq of Aksum, but Aksum is never mentioned by name in the
book. Instead, the "city of the kingdom" is called Dabra Makadda.
The Aksum Seyon was restored by Dawit I in 1406. It has been rumored to house the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, in which lie the Tablets of Stone upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. Zara Yaqob underwent his coronation there in 1436 and continued to reside in Aksum for three years. Subsequently, a few other monarchs also chose Aksum as the site for their coronation ceremonies. This unique ritual involved cutting a cord held by the "daughters of Aksum," symbolizing the king's ascent to "king of Zion." The ancient Aksumite stone thrones served as coronation chairs, although the "coronation" itself comprised an anointing and tonsuring ritual, followed by a mass in the church.
Francisco Alvares, a Portuguese missionary and explorer who spent eight months in Aksum in the 1520s described it as "a large town with very good houses and very good wells of water of very beautiful worked masonry, and also in most of the houses ancient figures of lions and dogs and birds, all well made in very hard, fine stone" He also described Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, the stelae, the thrones and other structures. Describing the church, he wrote: "A very noble church, the first there was in Ethiopia: it is named Mary of Syon. They say that it is so named because its altar stone came from Sion. In this country (as they say) they have the custom always to name the churches by the altar stone, because on it is written the name of the patron saint. This stone which they have in this church, they say that the apostles sent it from Mount Sion. This church is very large; it has five aisles of good width and of great length, vaulted above, and all the vaults closed, the ceiling and sides all painted. Below, the body of the church is well worked with handsome cut stone; it has seven chapels, all with their backs to the east, and their altars well ornamented. It has a choir after our fashion, except that it is low, and they reach the vaulted roof with their heads; and the choir is also over the vault, and they do not use it. This church has a very large circuit, paved with flagstones like the lids of tombs. This consists of a very high wall, and it is not covered over like those of the other churches, but is left open. This church has a large enclosure, and it is also surrounded with another larger enclosure, like the enclosing wall of a large town or city. Within this enclosure are handsome groups of one storey buildings, and all spout out their water by strong figures of lions and dogs of stone [of different colours]. Inside this large enclosure there are two mansions, one on the right hand and the other on the left, which belong to the two rectors of the church; and the other houses are of canons and monks."
Adal leader Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi led the conquest of Axum in the sixteenth century. Aksum was sacked and burned in 1535 by the troops of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi who destroyed the church that Alvares had described. Before the city was sacked, a document in the Book of Aksum lists 1,705 golden objects as well as many other items from Aksum that Lebna Dengel distributed to various governors to save them from destruction, and it is recorded by Ahmad's chronicler that a large stone object
was removed at this time for safety to "Tabr".
Manuel de Almeida who visited after the convulsions of Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi confirmed the extent of the ruin that befell Aksum in the 16th century commenting that it then had only about 100 inhabitants where everywhere there are ruins to be seen.
The city was rebuilt in 1580 by Emperor Sarsa Dengel who restored the church and held his coronation there.
17th century
In 1604/05 the city was visited by the Jesuit Fernao Guerreiro, he reported that the church had a nave, two aisles, and a thatched roof. It is possible that some elements of the internal architecture from the former church endured, including the outer walls, within which the smaller new church was situated. In 1608, during the coronation of Susenyos I in Aksum, Mass was conducted at this location. However in 1611, Aksum was sacked by Oromo, who set fire to the church. Pedro Páez who visited Aksum in around 1620 saw only about 150-200 mud houses, and Manoel Barradas wrote that Aksum was no more than a small village.
In 1655, Fasilides had the church restored. Its dedication was celebrated by his daughter, Princess Yodit, who gave "an incalculable quantity of money", so that the church became "marvellous and magnificent". In 1678, rebels under Ras 'Faris, governor of Salawa, burned Aksum, but the church survived to serve at the coronation of Iyasu I in 1693.
18th century
The French traveller Charles-Jacques Poncet visited Aksum (which he called "Heleni") in 1700, describing the stelae and the church. James Bruce also left descriptions of the old town, which in his time consisted, he estimated, of about 600 houses. He believed Aksum to have been mainly the work of the Ptolemies, crediting most of the monuments to Ptolemy III Euergetes.
After the decline of imperial authority in the period of the Zemene Mesafint, Aksum fell under the control of the rulers of Tigray. One of whom, Wolde Selassie, would grant the church of St. Mary a land grant in 1794.
19th century
According to the missionary Samuel Gobat, in the early 19th century Aksum was economically well off, as it was situated in a "vast fertile plain" which was "richly cultivated". Apart from the ruins, the settlement was made up almost entirely of round huts with thatched roofs.
The warlord Wube Haile Maryam, gave a land grant to the Church of St. Mary in an undated charter.
On 12 January 1872, Yohannes IV was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in the city of Aksum.
In February 1893 the British explorers, James Theodore Bent and his wife Mabel Bent, travelled by boat to Massawa on the west coast of the Red Sea. They then made their way overland to excavate at Axum and Yeha, in the hope of researching possible links between early trading networks and cultures on both sides of the Red Sea. They reached Axum by 24 February 1893, but their work was curtailed by the tensions between the Italian occupiers and local warlords, together with the continuing ramifications of the First Italo-Ethiopian War and they had to make a hasty retreat by the end of March to Zula for passage back to England.
The British journalist Augustus B. Wylde wrote after visiting Aksum in 1897: "after every heavy downpour of rain, old coins are washed out of the soil, the local boys were delighted to accompany a stranger about the place. They were intelligent, sharp-eyed little urchins who took a great interest in the search for curiosities, though unless someone is there to reward them for finding the old coins they do not trouble to pick them up, as they are of no value to them."
20th century
Aksumite remains were investigated in 1906 by an important German archaeological mission led by the renowned scholar Enno Littmann.