Excavations at the Aksumite town of Beta Samati.
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Aksum remains one of the least documented major civilisations of the ancient world. Ethiopia’s earliest complex polities appeared during the Pre-Aksumite period (from roughly the eighth century BC onwards), as indicated by a settlement pattern of towns, villages and hamlets, with a major ceremonial centre at Yeha. Although monumental architecture, iconography and writing provide clear evidence for cultural links between northern Ethiopia and South Arabia, most scholars explain Pre-Aksumite civilisation as a largely endogenous (localised) phenomenon. By the Early Aksumite period, the Kingdom of Aksum ruled a rapidly expanding population. Long-distance trade contributed to Aksum’s social and economic complexity, and helped to consolidate political power. Monumental tombs topped with stelaewere erected for kings, with smaller standing stones marking the graves of elites. At its peak, during the third to sixth centuries AD, the Empire of Aksum launched military campaigns that periodically extended its dominion into Yemen and intermittently subdued parts of Sudan to claim Kush (perhaps overstatedly) as a vassal state. During Aksum’s apogee (highpoint), state business was administered from palatial compounds, such as those at Dungur near Aksum. Beyond the capital of Aksum, archaeological sites, including Matara in Eritrea (excavated between 1959 and 1964) have clarified regional cultural links and trade connections. During the mid fourth century AD, King Ezana converted Aksum to Christianity, but the early impacts of royal conversion on the non-elite populace are not well understood. The Late Aksumite period is of considerable significance as it coincides with the rise of Islam. In AD615, the King of Aksum (possibly King Armah, see below) granted refuge to early Muslims, including one of the Prophet Mohammed’s daughters, and his son-in-law/successor ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan and compatriots. While Aksum was spared the initial conquest of Islam, its decline has long been presumed to relate, in part, to the loss of control over Red Sea trade.