S2 E4: Aksum's Humble Origins

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this week's episode on the rise of the kingdom of Aksum. Starting as a minor agrarian township in the Ethiopian highlands, Aksum soon became a powerful empire rivaled only by Rome, Persia, and China.

Author's note: the last power in the quotation attributed to Mani is a subject of scholarly debate. While most mainstream sources believe he is referring to China, some claim that he was, in fact, referring to the Kushan empire of Northern India. If this is true, the four states he mentions were the only four states presently capable of minting gold coins during Mani's lifetime. The ability to mint gold coins may have been Mani's barometer for a state's power and prestige.

Tomb of the legendary Aksumite king Bazen, who is often equated with the biblical magus, Balthazar. Built ~20 AD

As described in this week's episode, Aksum's rise primarily came about as a consequence of three outside factors and two internal factors. The first of these was the rise of the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt. The Ptolemaic kingdom put a larger emphasis on expanding its influence in the Red Sea trade system. It began patrolling the Red Sea with a massive fleet of ships, the most intimidating of which was the Octere. These enormous oar-propelled ships were the dreadnoughts of their day, especially dominant in the shallow inland seas like the Mediterannean and Red seas. With the backing of this powerful navy, the Ptolemaic kingdom projected its economic influence throughout the Red Sea region. In order to secure safe passage through the waters of the Red Sea, the incense merchants of East Africa were forced to offer their products at lower prices to the Ptolemaic merchants. With the price of their most important export declining, so too fell the economies of Aksum's trade dependent neighbors, like Adulis, Qohaito, and Yeha. 

A Ptolemaic Octere Ship: from the Naval Encyclopedia

Aksum, on the other hand, was barely affected by this change. The city's economy was based primarily on the exportation of Ethiopian pepper and teff, which were much less affected by the Ptolemy's naval influence in the region. The kings of Aksum used the weakening of their neighbors to expand their own influence into their floundering East African rivals, soon growing to become the undisputed hegemon of the Ethiopian highlands.

 

One king of Aksum that went unmentioned in the podcast due to the lack of records surrounding his life was the legendary king Bazen, who supposedly ruled Aksum from around 20 BC to 20 AD. Bazen's life is largely enigmatic, though it's worth noting that in the tradition of Ethiopian Christianity he is equated with the king Balthazar, known for his gift of myrrh to the baby Jesus.

However, the first major move made by Aksumite kings to propel the city from a local power into a regional kingdom was the conquest of Adulis by the king Za Haqala in the late First Century AD. Adulis was an incredibly important port on the Red Sea coast, and its conquest allowed Aksum to become the preeminent trade power in the region.

Remains of a Roman-Egyptian style church in Adulis ~5th Century AD.

In 30 BC, the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its conquest by the Roman empire led to a resurgence of the incense trade. Not only was the primary cause of the price's decline gone, but a new, wealthier customer had taken its place. With the failure of a Roman invasion of Saba a few years later, it became clear that Roman influence in the Red Sea would be more limited. However, the damage done by the Ptolemaic kingdom had already been done in Arabia. The kingdom of Saba had collapsed into civil war, with multiple kingdoms declaring their independence from the capital of Marib. In order to secure a monopoly on the recovering incense market, future Aksumite kings would see increasing their influence in southern Arabia as their foremost policy goal.

Map of East Africa and Arabia ~100 AD

This week will be accompanied by a premium episode about the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, one of the primary sources about the economic and political situation of the Indian Ocean during this period. If you'd like to learn more about this interesting source from an ancient globalized world, access any of our previous premium episodes, or help pay for the hours of unpaid work that we put into researching, recording, and editing the show, support us on Patreon for just $1.99 per month.

S2 E3: In with D'mt, Out with Saba

This week's episode will focus on the collapse of the confederation of Saba, the rise of the Kingdom of Saba in its place. For the purposes of African history, this history is incredibly important because it would give rise to Ethiopia's first independent and powerful state, the confederacy of D'mt.

The Name D'mt comes from the Sabaic word for Pillars, in reference to the tower pillars that once adorned this temple to Almaqah in Yeha.

Yes, that's right, Dm't was most likely a confederation, not a kingdom like most sources seem to claim. After the rule of Rdm around 685BC, the title of King of D'mt was replaced with the title Mukarrib (federator) of Dm't, implying that the state of D'mt functioned in a way similar to the Sabaean confederacy. Rather than one centralized government, D'mt functioned more like a united alliance of autonomous city-states. Each city paid taxes and submitted to the authority of D'mt's capital city, Yeha, but were allowed to make their own laws and manage their own affairs.

As always, here are some maps to help you follow along with the geography of this week's episode.

East Africa and Yemen during the Sabaean Civil War (~690 BC)

East Africa and Yemen after the declaration of the Kingdom of Saba (~680 BC)

Anyways, the main figure of this week's podcast, Karib il-Watar, is one of the best-documented southern Arabian kings from the ancient era. Albeit, that's not saying much, as he's essentially the only ruler from the period that is documented in any respectable capacity. Pretty much his entire biography comes from a handful of inscriptions, the most important being the Naqsh An-Nasr, the Inscription to Victory. This inscription documents Watar's triumphant campaigns through the kingdom of Awsan, describing his destructive campaign in glorious language. More than 16,000 people are estimated to have been killed according to this document, and countless villages laid to waste. 

A section of the Inscription to Victory

Sadly, like much of the preislamic history of Yemen, this inscription is in immediate danger. The destructive modern war in Yemen threatens to destroy priceless artifacts as well as the knowledge of the past that they could provide us. Ironic that a document that so vividly described the destruction of war could itself be demolished by an even more destructive conflict. Learn more here.

S02E02: The Rise of Saba

Hello everyone, this week we're going to look at the rise of the Yemeni kingdom of Saba. Yes, I know this is the History of Africa podcast, but the story of Saba is so crucial to Ethiopian civilization that any series on Ethiopian history that excludes their story would be incomplete.

Anyways, here's a map of Saba in case you get lost during this episode. 

This is a picture of the Marib dam. This dam controlled the floods of the Wadi Dhana, allowing the Sabaeans to efficiently use Yemen's sparse water for irrigation. Various forms of the dam remained in use until the 6th century AD, and remained an important facet of southern Arabian life. The dam was permanently breached in 570 AD when the siltation of the reservoir made the dam unusable. The destruction of the dam destroyed the Yemeni society of the time, an event alluded to in the Quran. According to the Quranic depictions of events, the failure of the dam caused a destructive flood, sent by God to punish the southern Arabians for their continued practice of the old pagan faiths. 

But they turned away. So We sent against them a devastating flood, and replaced their orchards with two others producing bitter fruit, fruitless bushes, and a few sparse, thorny trees. -Surah 34:17

The Marib dam remains a symbol of national pride to the modern people of Yemen, depicted on the shield of the eagle's chest in the country's national coat of arms. 

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this week's episode. This show isn't free to produce, as I have to pay for hosting, and spend usually about 20+ hours each week writing scripts, recording, editing and, uploading to various platforms, in addition to writing articles. So please, if you'd like to support the hard work we put into the show, please click the support show link at the top of the page. 

S2E01: Ethiopia's Civilizational Stage

I hope you enjoy this week's episode of the History of Africa. This week, we're starting a new season, one that finally leaves the Nile Valley and moves on to the Highlands of Ethiopia.

So, to help you along while listening to the geography portion of the show here's a map showing the general placement of the different biomes in Eastern Africa

This Egyptian mural depicts the so-called king and queen of Punt. As we discussed in the podcast, these people were most likely rulers of a specific Puntite city-state, rather than rulers of a unified Puntite kingdom. Looking at the king, you may notice some trappings of Egyptian fashion, specifically, the elongated, artificial beard.

 

The queen of Punt is possibly depicted as having severe health issues, most likely elephantiasis, a disease that can cause major swelling of limbs. But it might also indicate that beauty standards in Ancient Punt were focused on fertility, with rotund women possessing especially large hips being considered the ideal female form. This resembles depictions of fertility goddesses in other hunter-gatherer and neolithic societies, so it's not a stretch to attribute this view to neolithic East Africans.

Anyways, if you'd like to support the show, click support show at the top of the page. Your help is needed to keep the show running, and it's much appreciated. 

S01E10: Collapse of the Old Kingdom

After all these weeks spent exploring the early years of Egyptian civilization, the Old Kingdom, encompassing more than 500 years and four dynasties of Egyptian history, has come to an end. However, if you'd like to learn about the lives of Egypt's lower and middle classes during the Old Kingdom, or if you would just like to ensure that we can keep providing free education on African History, you can support the show on Patreon and receive access to premium episodes for just $1.99.

Part of the reason for the collapse of the Old Kingdom was the expansion of the power of bureaucrats and local nomarchs. This problem was especially hard to deal with because trying to limit the power of one of these groups would often increase the power of the other. For example, when the fifth dynasty king tried to lessen the influence of royal bureaucrats, he inadvertently surrendered power to the local nomarchs. Reforms to limit the influence of nomarchs often achieved the opposite, surrendering power to the bureaucracy. By the time of the sixth dynasty period, the power of these groups each superseded the pharaoh in real influence. While nomarchs and high-level bureaucrats often received luxurious tombs of their own, by the sixth dynasty their tombs exceeded the tombs of the pharaohs in terms of opulence.

This tomb, for example, was built at Saqqara for Mereruka, an advisor of the pharaoh Teti. With over 30 distinct rooms and passages, it surpasses even many royal tombs in terms of size and splendor, including that of his advisee. This evidences that bureaucrats from this era possessed a lot of wealth, even more wealth than the pharaoh at points.

Photo By Manmeet Kaur

Another example of this is the tomb of Mehu, the vizier and manager of the royal treasury under Pepi I. The tomb, also built in Saqqara, is not only impressive in its external structure, but also for its internal decor. The tomb contains some of the most intact and intricate stonework from the Old Kingdom. 

So, after the slow decline of the power of the pharaoh throughout the Sixth Dynasty period, local nomarchs assumed the powers once covered by the royal government. Next week, we'll reflect on the achievements of the Old Kingdom, and also learn what happens to Egypt in the immediate aftermath of the Old Kingdom's fall. After that, I'm not sure where next season will focus on, but make sure to keep your eyes open for updates.

S01 E09: The Rise and Fall of the Cult of Ra

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this week's episode. In order to continue to keep the show hosted, we rely on the support of listeners like you. If you'd like to support the show, you may do so here and gain access to premium content for just $1.99 per month, just the price of a couple gumballs. Click here to support the show. Unfortunately, there is no premium episode this week, but you can still listen to all previous premium episodes. I have to wrap up my semester and have thus been busy. The semester is ending soon though, and premium content will return soon.

Part of the reason why the Fifth Dynasty is so unknown in popular consciousness compared to its successors is that most of their monuments have no stood the test of time. Above, for example, is Userkaf's pyramid, which lies in ruins at Saqqara (you can see Djoser's pyramid on the right side of the image.) This would become a trend among fifth dynasty Pharaohs, with all of their pyramids either collapsing or remaining unfinished.

Neferirekare's pyramid is the closest to being intact, but even then the rushed structural integrity led to structural problems, and much of the base of the pyramid has collapsed.

During the episode, we talked a bit about the city of Iunu, the origin of the worship of Ra. This city, more commonly known as Heliopolis, remained a religious center long after the solar cult's decline from prominence during the late 5th dynasty. As a token of loyalty, the Egyptian kings of the fifth dynasty routinely offered the Cult huge tracts of valuable land to be used for the cultivation of plants used in rituals. The priests did grow these plants, but they also became incredibly rich as agricultural landowners. Part of Djedkare's motivation in disempowering the Cult of Ra may have been in an effort to reclaim this valuable land from the clutches of the priestly class. 

Another thing we mentioned during the episode was Ash, the god of Oases. Ash was a minor deity in Egyptian religion, and was believed to be responsible for the creation of oases  Like in many other polytheistic cultures, Egyptian religion usually followed the structure of having major gods that covered a large overarching topic, like Ra, Seth, Neith, as well as minor gods to cover more specific things. Ash, as the god of oases, was associated with Seth, the god of the desert. As the nomadic tribes and city-states of ancient Libya largely focused around the oases that dotted the arid landscape, Ash also became associated with the people of Libya. Ash may even be an Egyptian reimagination of a god worshipped by the people of Libya, or perhaps just another name for Seth himself, meant to represent a more benign aspect of Seth's character. Unlike most Egyptian gods, Ash was portrayed with multiple different animals as his head in artwork from the time, including the head of hawk, vulture, and mythological Seth animal. In the episode, we hear Ash grant the pharaoh Sahure domain over Libya. Like is common throughout the world, Egyptian kings used religion to justify their conquests.

Thank you to friend of the show @loogatwo on Instagram. He provided an excellent voiceover for Ash. 

S01 E08: The Old Kingdom's Peak

I hope everyone enjoyed this week's episode about Egypt's fourth dynasty. In order to continue to keep the show hosted, we rely on the support of listeners like you. If you'd like to support the show, you may do so here and gain access to premium content for just $1.99 per month, just the price of a couple gumballs. Click here to support the show.

Anyways, this week's episode I mention the pyramid at Meidum, one of Egypt's most haunting monuments. This pyramid was built by Sneferu on behalf of his father in-law, Huni.

That inner, more intact section of the structure is the remains of the step pyramid base, while the collapsed rubble around it is what remains of the once beautiful limestone shell.

Here is a picture of the first pyramid of Sneferu, known colloquially as the Bent Pyramid because, well, just look at it. Interestingly, this pyramid is one of the few structures that retains most of its limestone casing. Most pyramids had a casing of smooth limestone that surrounded the inner-structure. However, thieves often stole this limestone to resell, and later pharaohs would sometimes reincorporate it for later building projects. This, in addition to the thousands of years of natural erosion, led this limestone to break down over time. Why it remains more on the Bent Pyramid is something of a mystery. Archaeologists long believed that the Bent Pyramid was a mistake, and many mainstream sources continue to share this view today. I personally held this view before my preliminary research for this episode, but a study by Giulio Magli and Juan Antonio Belmonte, published in the Journal for the History of Astronomy, convinced me otherwise during my research.

They pointed out some of the flaws with the mainstream theory that caught my attention. For one, there is no serious sign of imminent collapse within the Bent Pyramid. The fact that the structure was completed at all and not merely abandoned partially through construction like other poorly constructed pyramids also indicates that, if problems occurred during construction, it wasn't serious enough to cancel the project. These problems, combined with the symmetrical nature of the Bent Pyramid's and Red Pyramid's designs when the pyramidions are taken into account, makes the case that these pyramids were built together as one combined project, rather than constructed separately. Like much of the symbology in protodynastic and Old Kingdom Egypt, the Red and Bent Pyramids were meant to symbolize Sneferu's dual authority over Upper and Lower Egypt. 

Next week I'll elaborate more on the sun cult that rose to prominence during this era. In short, you may have noticed that, in our discussions on Egyptian religion, the sun god Ra has never made an appearance. Ra and a cult surrounding worship of the sun rose to prominence during the late Third and Fourth Dynasty periods, but I chose to leave this out until now because the Fifth Dynasty will empower the cult of Ra to a whole new level, with temples to the immaculate god of the sun eventually surpassing the tombs of the pharaohs in terms of significance and legacy. Tune in next week to learn more.