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Ezana's Predecessors: The Kings Who Built Aksum
Description
Before Ezana made Ethiopia Christian, a series of warrior-kings transformed Aksum from a regional port into an empire spanning the Red Sea. This episode follows the shadowy figures of Zoskales, the first Aksumite king mentioned in classical texts, and Sembrouthes, who called himself 'King of Kings' a century before the title became standard. We explore the enigmatic Monumentum Adulitanum, a throne inscription from an unnamed third-century king recounting campaigns from the Nile to the Arabian coast. Lucas unpacks the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greek sailor's guide that reveals Aksum's trade in ivory, tortoiseshell, and frankincense. Luna asks how we know these kings existed when so few inscriptions survive, and learns about the enduring mystery of Aksum's earliest rulers—their names, their wars, their alliances with Himyar and Saba. The episode also touches on the controversy around the legendary Nubian king 'Aksum' mentioned in Ethiopian tradition, and whether archaeological evidence supports an earlier kingdom than previously thought.