The Aksum Empire held power in the heart of ancient Ethiopia until the 13th century.
Axum, located on the northeastern plateau, is a historic city in Ethiopia, with an altitude of 2,100 meters. Around the first century AD, the Aksumite kingdom appeared here. 4-6 centuries AD was the heyday of the empire and became one of the political, economic and cultural centers of Africa at that time.
Kingdom legend
The original kingdom was used as the capital in legend, which is why it was once called the “cornerstone”, “mother of cities” and “cradle of ancient civilization” of Ethiopia.
Numerous temples, carvings and inscriptions have become the main feature here, and the most impressive are the numerous towering granite spiers and huge columns. These towers and obelisk columns were built around 306 AD, all carved from a single stone, making them unique in the modern world.
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According to historical records, the largest stone tower is about 33 meters high and has 13 floors, it is said to have collapsed during construction. The highest is the 24-meter Stele of King Ezana. It is made of granite 24 meters high and weighs 200 tons. It is said to be 1,700 years old and is a symbol of Ethiopian civilization.
It is said that these gigantic stone towers and columns were probably built to commemorate some of the early kings of Aksum.
The famous cathedral is the Church of Mary of Zion in Axum, which contains the crowns and royal costumes of many kings and Coptic Christian writings. In ancient times, several kings held coronation ceremonies in this church. According to legend, the Church of Mary of Zion was originally erected as a storage place for the legendary relic - the ark of the covenant, so it was built magnificent and richly decorated.
It is believed that this church is the oldest active Christian temple in Africa.
In 1980, Axum was added to the World Heritage List.