The Kingdom of Aksum
An Ethiopian empire mints its own coins and adopts Christianity early.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 400 years
- Known to
- ± 30 years
- Era
- Classical, Holocene
Aksum controls the Red Sea trade between Rome and India from the first century CE, issues gold, silver and bronze coinage — the only sub-Saharan African state to do so in antiquity — and raises carved stone stelae up to 33 metres, the largest single blocks of stone anyone attempted to erect. Around 330 CE King Ezana converts, making Aksum one of the first states anywhere to adopt Christianity officially. The Ethiopian church has been continuous since.