Royal and urban centre of the Aksumite kingdom, known for its stelae fields, tombs, inscriptions and long connection to Red Sea trade.
Aksum became the political centre of a kingdom whose power joined the northern highlands to the Red Sea through Adulis. Its rulers issued coins and inscriptions, and participated in exchange linking northeast Africa with Arabia and the Mediterranean world.
The surviving archaeological landscape includes carved granite stelae, elite tombs and the remains of large buildings. Several fourth-century inscriptions of King Ezana are especially important because they preserve Greek, South Arabian and Geʿez texts.
Why this place matters
Aksum was the heart of the Aksumite Empire and remains the spiritual centre of the Habesha people.