The kingdoms of Kush and Axum (Aksum) were located in Northeast Africa. Kush was south of Egypt from 2000-1000 BC and served as a trade corridor between Egypt and interior Africa. Axum emerged to the south of Kush in the 1st century AD near the Red Sea. It developed as a major trading hub due to its location between sea and caravan routes. Axum adopted Christianity in the 4th century AD and developed advanced farming techniques but declined after 750 AD due to Muslim invasions and environmental degradation.

1. The African Kingdoms of
Kush and Askum

4. Pyramids of Meroe

5. Pyramids of Giza

6. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ramses_II_charging_Nubians.jpg

7. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slave_Market,_Mono_version.jpg

8. The Interaction of Egypt and Nubia (Kush)
• From about 2000 to 1000 B.C., Egypt dominated Nubia
and the Nubian kingdom of Kush, which was south of
Egypt.
• Kush, and other Nubian kingdoms, lay between the
Blue Nile, and the White Nile, and served as a trade
corridor that linked Egypt and the Mediterranean
world to the interior of Africa, and to the Red Sea.
• Goods and ideas flowed back and forth along the river
for centuries.

9. The Rise of the Kingdom of Axum
• Aksum (Axum) was located to the south of Kush, and
on a rugged plateau on the Red Sea, in what are now
the countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
• The area is known as the, “Horn of Africa.” Arab
traders crossed the Red Sea, and established trading
settlements in Aksum. They sought ivory to trade in
Persia and farther east in the Indian Ocean trade.
They brought silks, textiles, and spices from eastern
trade routes.

10. Location, Location, Location
• Aksum’s location and expansion made it a trading
hub for caravan routes to Egypt and Meroe. Access
to sea trade on the Mediterranean Sea and Indian
Ocean helped Aksum become an international
trading power.
• Traders from Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India, Greece and
the Roman Empire crowded Aksum’s chief seaport,
Adulis, which was a deep water port on the Red Sea.

11. International Culture Develops
• Diverse culture, Arabs from across the Red Sea, and
Kushites
• Attracted people from all over the ancient world, as
Axum became a powerful trading center.
• Port city of Adulis was cosmopolitan.

12. Religion
• Aksumites believed in one god, and believed
their king was directly descended from him.
• They were also animists, and worshipped the
spirits of nature and honored their dead
ancestors.
• Christianity, which began in Judea about A.D.
30, spread to Axum by merchants.
• Ezana ruled, and converted to Christianity.

13. Aksumite innovations
• Developed a written language
• Minted its own coins.
• Adapted to rugged terrain, hilly terrain.
They created terrace farming, and dug
canals to channel water from the
mountain streams into the fields.
• Build dams and cisterns to store water.

14. The Fall of Aksum
• Lasted 800 years.
• Muslim invaders conquered Aksum between
632 and 750.
• Aksum’s rulers moved their capital over the
mountains into what is now northern Ethiopia
to escape Islam.
• New geographic location, and depletion of
forests and soil erosion led to its decline.