v16_0152 - REGNO DI AXOUM - ANONIMO Bronze, (PB, Æ 14)

AKSUMITE KINGDOM - ANONYMOUS

(4th - 5th century AD)

Aksum or Aksum was the capital of a kingdom located in the north of Ethiopia in the current province of Tigray. The royal dynasty claimed descent from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. The Aksumites played a major role in the trade of the Red Sea and were very early in contact with the Egyptians, the Greeks and then the Romans. Under the reign of Ézana (c. 320-356), the kingdom was evangelized by Frumentius, a Syrian merchant who was consecrated as the first bishop of the Kingdom by Athanasius of Alexandria. After a brilliant period, the Kingdom went into decline during the Arab conquests of the 7th century.