The Kingdom of Axum
The Aksumites were a people formed from the mix of Cushitic speaking people in Ethiopia and Semitic speaking people in southern Arabia who settled the territory across the Red Sea around 500 BCE.
The Aksumites lived in the Ethiopian highlands of this region. This gave them a strategic position in the trade routes between Yemen (in the south of the Arabian Peninsula) and the cities of Nubia. They spoke a Semitic language and wrote in Semitic characters. This gives Ethiopia, in fact, one of the longest continuous literate traditions in Africa.
We know little about the early Axumite kingdom. Roman and Greek sources indicate that an Axumite kingdom was thriving in the first century CE.
The city of Adulis on the Red Sea is frequently mentioned because it had become one of the most important trading ports in Africa.
Aksum lay in the path of growing trade routes between Africa, Arabia, and India. As a result, it grew wealthy and its major cities, Adulis, Aksum, and Matara, became three of the most important cosmopolitan centers in the ancient world.
Although they were off the beaten path as far as European history is concerned, these cities were just as cosmopolitan and culturally significant. They served as a crossroads to a variety of cultures: Egyptian, Sudanic, Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Indian.
Perhaps an indication of this cosmopolitan character can be found in the fact that the major Aksumite cities had Jewish, Nubian, Christian, and even Buddhist minorities.
In the second century CE, Aksum acquired tribute states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea and conquered northern Ethiopia and Kush.
The downfall of the Nubian powers led to the rise of Aksumite imperial power. The Aksumites controlled one of the most important trade routes in the world and occupied one of the most fertile regions in the world.
The Aksumite religion was actually from polytheistic Arabic religions. They believed that gods controlled the natural forces of the universe. However, in the 4th century, the Aksumite king Ezana converted to Christianity under the tutelage of a Syrian bishop. King Ezana declared Axum to be a Christian state, making it the first Christian state in history. He actively converted his population to Christianity.
In the 5th century, the Axumites replaced Greek in the liturgy and began using their own native language, Ge'ez. Because of their Semitic origins, they believed they were descendants of the Hebrews, who were also Semitic, and traced their origins back to David.
Axum remained a strong empire and trading power until the rise of Islam in the seventh century. However, because the Axumites had sheltered Muhammed's first followers, Islamic powers never attempted to overthrow Axum as they spread through Africa.
Even though Axum no longer served as a hub of international trade, it nonetheless enjoyed good relations with its Islamic neighbors. Two Christian states north of Axum: Maqurra and Alwa, survived until the 13th century when they were finally forced by Muslim migration to become Islamic.
Axum, however, remained untouched by the Islamic movements across Africa. Because of this, the Ethiopic (or Abyssinian) Church has lasted until the present day.