Ethiopia: Political History and Notable People

Kingdom of Axum (All Facts) 

• Kingdom ruled by many notable rulers including 

  • Aphilas 

  • Ezana 

• By 350, it became

  • The commercial crossroads of northeast Africa

  • The capital of the most powerful independent African state at that time

  • An architectural wonder consisting of towers, palaces, and obelisks

• Prospered by trading goods obtained from India, Arabia, the Roman Empire, and the interior of Africa

• It was affected by the spread of Christianity and Islam, making the region it covered religiously diverse

300s - 310s - Aphilas (All Facts)

• King of Axum 

• Under his reign, Axum grew into a powerful kingdom 

• Under his reign, frankincense and myrrh were exported through the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea 

• He issued his own coinage 

• Under his reign, magnificent obelisks and royal palaces were constructed 

320 - 380 - Ezana (All Facts)

• King of Axum

• He converted to Christianity

  • This was done via a Coptic missionary named Frumentius  

• Under his reign, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was established 

• He and his forces destroyed Meroe, the capital of the Kushite Empire (Sudan) 

  • Prior to this, he and his forces allied itself with Romans against Meroe and the Kushite Empire, which had succeeded up to that point in resisting the Roman Empire 

514 - 534 - Kaleb / Elesbaan (All Facts) 

• King of Axum 

• He and the Ethiopians invaded and reconquered Yemen from the Jewish prince who led it, Dhu Nuvas, who had been persecuting Christians there, and re-established Christianity there 

534 - 564 - Gebre Meskel (All Facts)

• King of Axum

• He led Axum to sever its ties with Rome after Rome had persecuted the Coptic Church in Egypt, thus alienating Axum

• Under his reign, 

  • Ethiopian scholars began to translate the Bible into the Geez language

1137 - 1270 - Zagwe Dynasty (All Facts)

• Dynasty whose most notable ruler was Lalibela

• Dynasty which, for 300 years, had been on the defense against various entities including the

  • Muslims, who eventually recognized their independence

  • Oromo, which, at the time, were pagan and persecutory of Christians

• Dynasty which

  • Initially consisted of pockets of Christians in the north of Ethiopia

  • Eventually regained control of the Ethiopian Highlands from the Muslims and then the Oromo

1181 - 1221 - (Gebre Meskel) Lalibela (All Facts)

• Emperor of Ethiopia during the Zagwe Dynasty

  • He reigned during a time when religion and national identity were one, in which political revival was thus matched by religious revival

• He oversaw the construction of the rock-hewn churches in the namesake town named after him

  • They symbolized the culmination of the religious revival that was Christianity when the Zagwe Dynasty and its rulers retook Ethiopia

• He moved the capital of the Empire of Ethiopia from Axum to Lasta, which would soon be renamed after him