Aksum

AKSUM. - City of northern Ethiopia, at 2,130 m above sea level, with about 10,000 inhabitants. A very ancient population center (certainly of Agone stock), as numerous Paleolithic objects attest, it was occupied by and took its name from South Arabian colonizers (aksum = "hortus viridis et densis herbis impletus"), who made it the metropolis of a state of theirs, whose head accordingly assumed the title of king of A.

It is mentioned for the first time by the Periplus Maris Erythraei in the 1st century A.D., although it is undoubtedly older. It seems to have reached its greatest splendor in the 6th century under King Ezana. It declined with the waning of the political power of the Abyssinians (7th century ff.) and with their expansion no longer toward the Nile and Arabia but toward the south; it must have ceased to be a capital already before the 12th century. It suffered greatly in the 16th century from the invasions of Muslims (Somali and Turks) and in 1511 from a Galla incursion. It nevertheless remained the major religious center of Abyssinia, both for its historical memories and for its cathedral, built on an ancient pagan temple and restored several times, among others by King Fasilides (17th century); Italian restorations altered it. In the church (called of Zion) dedicated to Mary, the Abyssinians believe the Mosaic Ark of the Covenant is to be found. The kings of Ethiopia aspired to be anointed there, with solemn ceremonies. The head of the place, rich in fiefs, often had notable political and even military importance and bore the title of "nebran ed" (in modern times nevraid) = praepositus manuum; sometimes the kings themselves assumed this office, long reserved for ecclesiastics. The city is rich in ruins of ancient buildings, and has numerous numerous obelisks, worked or rough; one of them, which lies broken on the ground, was 19 meters high with a rectangular base whose longer side measures 4.70 m. Described by Alvarez in the 16th century, by Portuguese missionaries of the 17th century (Paes, Barradeas) and later by travelers (Bruce, Salt, Rüppels, Lefèvre, etc.), explored on the surface by Bents (another attempt by C. Conti Rossini was prevented by the xenophobia of the Shoa neurod), it was the subject of studies by a German expedition headed by B. Littmann, by U. Monneret de Villard and by an Italian mission; a great deal, however, remains to be done. For Christian archaeology v. ETIOPIA. - See Pl. XLIII.

Carlo Conti Rossini