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The fabled wealth of Ethiopia pre-dates the medieval Prester John legend by many centuries. The Pharoahs of Egypt obtained myrhh from this area as long ago as 3000BC and it was known to the ancient Greeks: Homer, in the Iliad, tells of Zeus departing for the country of 'the blameless Ethiopians'. Some sources credit the Greeks with giving Ethiopia its name: 'the land of people with burnt faces' -- though Ethiopians themselves believe the name is derived from Ethiopic, Noah's great grandson. The Axumite kingdom was described by a third century Persian writer as one of the four great kingdoms of the world, the others being Persia, China and Rome. It traded with Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India and Ceylon. It issued its own currency and was a literate society with a unique language and script based on the Sabaean alphabet, related to that used in South Arabia and hence to Hebrew. A sixth century saint is said to have devised the first system of musical notation in Africa and to have composed the formalised sacred mu sic and dance still in use today.

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The Portugese searched the African coast for John throughout the 15th Century, Pope Alexander III sent an ambassador to find him, and cartographers routinely included John's expansive domains on maps up until the 17th Century. John's armies were counted upon to assist the Christians during the Second Crusade and he was once reported slain by Genghis Khan. When the Ethiopian Emperor Lebna Dengel began diplomatic relations with Europe, he was most distressed at the number of people who insisted on addressing him by a name he didn't recognize: Prester John!

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At about the time of this war Ellestheaeus, the king of the Ethiopians, who was a Christian and a most devoted adherent of this faith, discovered that a number of the >Omeritae on the opposite mainland [modern Yemen] were oppressing the Christians there outrageously; many of these rascals were Jews, and many of them held in reverence the old faith which men of the present day call Hellenic [i.e., pagan]. He therefore collected a fleet of ships and an army and came against them, and he conquered them in battle and slew both the king and many of the >Omeritae. He then set up in his stead a Christian king, an Omeritae by birth, by name Esimiphaeus, and, after ordaining that he should pay a tribute to the Ethiopians every year, he returned to his home. In this Ethiopian army many slaves and all who were readily disposed to crime were quite unwilling to follow the king back, but were left behind and remained there because of their desire for the land of the >Omeritae; for it is an extremely goodly land.

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Originally posted by Sundiata:
Indeed, Askum apparently seemed to have a very formidable army comprised of Ethiopians who according to Roman sources turned Yemen into one of their tributary states.

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At about the time of this war Ellestheaeus, the king of the Ethiopians, who was a Christian and a most devoted adherent of this faith, discovered that a number of the >Omeritae on the opposite mainland [modern Yemen] were oppressing the Christians there outrageously; many of these rascals were Jews, and many of them held in reverence the old faith which men of the present day call Hellenic [i.e., pagan]. He therefore collected a fleet of ships and an army and came against them, and he conquered them in battle and slew both the king and many of the >Omeritae. He then set up in his stead a Christian king, an Omeritae by birth, by name Esimiphaeus, and, after ordaining that he should pay a tribute to the Ethiopians every year, he returned to his home. In this Ethiopian army many slaves and all who were readily disposed to crime were quite unwilling to follow the king back, but were left behind and remained there because of their desire for the land of the >Omeritae; for it is an extremely goodly land.

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http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/nubia1.html

^I do wonder though who exactly were the "Omeritae" and if they can be equated with the Himyarites, and if "Ethiopian" at this time still carried the connotation of "burnt faces"?..

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Originally posted by King_Scorpion:

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Originally posted by Sundiata:
Indeed, Askum apparently seemed to have a very formidable army comprised of Ethiopians who according to Roman sources turned Yemen into one of their tributary states.

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At about the time of this war Ellestheaeus, the king of the Ethiopians, who was a Christian and a most devoted adherent of this faith, discovered that a number of the >Omeritae on the opposite mainland [modern Yemen] were oppressing the Christians there outrageously; many of these rascals were Jews, and many of them held in reverence the old faith which men of the present day call Hellenic [i.e., pagan]. He therefore collected a fleet of ships and an army and came against them, and he conquered them in battle and slew both the king and many of the >Omeritae. He then set up in his stead a Christian king, an Omeritae by birth, by name Esimiphaeus, and, after ordaining that he should pay a tribute to the Ethiopians every year, he returned to his home. In this Ethiopian army many slaves and all who were readily disposed to crime were quite unwilling to follow the king back, but were left behind and remained there because of their desire for the land of the >Omeritae; for it is an extremely goodly land.

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http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/nubia1.html

^I do wonder though who exactly were the "Omeritae" and if they can be equated with the Himyarites, and if "Ethiopian" at this time still carried the connotation of "burnt faces"?..

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I have no doubt the Axumites (or Abyssinians) were Black if that's what you're asking. Some internets sources will cling to the Sabean origin theory, but most modern scholars throw this out. You should read the work of the late Stuart Munro-Hay. He wrote the following book in 1991 and is the large reason why the Sabean theory is now pretty debunked...

Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity

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Aeizanas, king of the Aksumites, the Himyarites, Raeidan, the Ethiopians, the Sabaeans, Silei (Salhen), Tiyamo, the Beja and Kasou, king of kings, son of the unconquered god Ares. Since the people of the Beja rose up, we sent our brothers Saiazana and Adefan to fight them. When these had taken arms against the enemy, they made them submit and they brought them to us with their dependents, with 3112 head of cattle, 6224 sheep, and beasts of burden. My brothers gave them meat and wheat to eat, and beer, wine and water to drink, all to their satisfaction whatever their number. There were six chiefs with their peoples, to the number of 4400 and they received each day 22,000 loaves of wheat and wine for four months, until my brothers had brought them to me. After having given them all means of sustenance, and clothed them, we installed these prisoners by force in a place in our land called Matlia. And we commanded again that they be given supplies; and we accorded to each chief 25,140 head of cattle.

In sign of recognition to he who engendered us, the unconquered Ares, we have raised statues to him, one of gold, one of silver, and three others of brass, to his glory.

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. [Ezana, son of Ella Amida, Bisi Halen, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhin, Tsiyamo,] Beja and of Kasu, king of kings, son of the invincible Mahrem.

The Agwezat took the field and arrived at Angabo. There came to meet us Aba'alkeo, king of the Agwezat, with his tribe, and he brought tribute. And, when later we arrived at `Alya the camp in the land of Atagaw, we obtained camels and beasts of burden, men, women, and provisions for twenty days. But the third day after our arrival, since we recognised the perfidy of Aba'alkeo, we delivered the Agwezat who had come with their king to pillage; and those whom we plundered we bound, and as for Aba'alkeo, we left him naked, and chained him to the bearer of his throne (or, after Huntingford 1989: 53, Aba'alkeo king of the Agwezat we did not leave, but we bound him (also) along with the bearer of his throne; or, after Schneider 1984: 159, this passage means that only Aba'alkeo was not put in chains). We then ordered the column Mahaza and the commanders of the columns to march night and day. Then they sent the column Mahaza and the column Metin, and they were ordered to go and fight the Agwezat. Then they went to . . . and arrived at Asala? and came to Ereg? and took what they found. And they left by the pass of Asal and . . . river Nadu (or, Huntingford 1989: 53, And they went to the place of assembly . . . and reached `Asala (?); and they came to Ereg and . . . and went out by the slope of Asal and . . . river Nadu), and killed all those whom they met.

From there they came to the territory of Agada where they killed and captured men and beasts. Then they sent the troop Daken and ordered it to go by Se`ezot and from the east . . . they retired . . . and the carriers of water brought water (or, Huntingford 1989, and they turned by Tabenya and descended where the water falls). And the three columns Daken, Hara, and Metin rallied at Ad(ya)bo. . . . Then they sent the column Hara and ordered them to go towards Zawa..t.

And from there for the third time they sent the column Laken and dispatched it and ordered it to proceed to Hasabo and it left for the pass (Huntingford 1989: 53, slope) of Tuteho and descended . . . the river, and reached Lawa and descended towards Asya. . . . And together they departed from Hezaba, and camped at . . . and they entered and passed the night. And at dawn, they attacked . . . followed to the mustering place of Magaro and the three columns . . . to the river, with Falha and Sera.

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The Afan Campaign. [E]zana, son of Ella Amida, Bisi Halen, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhin, Tsiyamo, Beja and of Kasu, son of the invincible Mahrem.

The Tsarane, whose country is Afan (Huntingford 1989: 55, suggests Awan), attacked and annihilated a merchant caravan. And we went to war against them, and we sent columns, those of Mahaza, Daken and Hara and we ourself followed and camped at the place of encampment of the troops at `Ala (Huntingford 1989: 55, Alaha) and from there we sent out our troops. And they killed some of the Tsarane, and captured others and took booty. We vanquished Sa`ene and Tsawante and Gema and Zahtan, four peoples, and we seized Alita (Huntingford 1989: 55, Alitaha) and his two children.

And 503 men of Afan and 202 women were put to death, in all 705. Men and their women (Huntingford 1989: 55, belonging to the baggage train) were made prisoner, 40 men and 165 women, total 205. The booty comprised 31,900 (Huntingford 1989: 55, 31,957) head of cattle and 827 beasts of burden.

And he (the king) returned in safety with his people and raised a throne here in Shado which he put under the protection of the gods Astar, Beher and Meder. And should anyone remove or displace it, let him and his race be exterminated; let him be extirpated from these lands. And he brought a thank-offering to Mahrem who begot him, 100 head of cattle and 50 captives.

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By the might of the Lord of Heaven who in the sky and on earth holds power over all beings, Ezana, son of Ella Amida, Bisi Halen, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhin, Tsiyamo, Beja and of Kasu, king of kings, son of Ella Amida, never defeated by the enemy.

May the might of the Lord of Heaven, who has made me king, who reigns for all eternity, invincible, cause that no enemy can resist me, that no enemy may follow me!

By the might of the Lord of All I campaigned against the Noba when the Noba peoples revolted and boasted. `They will not dare to cross the Takaze' said the Noba people. When they had oppressed the Mangurto, Hasa and Barya peoples, and when the blacks fought the red people and they broke their word for the second and third times and put their neighbours to death without mercy, and pillaged our messengers and the envoys whom I sent to them to admonish them, and they plundered them of what they had including their lances; when finally, having sent new messengers to whom they did not wish to listen but replied by refusals, scorn, and evil acts; then I took the field.

I set forth by the might of the Lord of the Land and I fought at the Takaze and the ford Kemalke. Here I put them to flight, and, not resting, I followed those who fled for twenty-three days during which I killed some everywhere they halted. I made prisoners of others and took booty from them. At the same time those of my people who were in the field brought back captives and booty.

At the same time I burnt their villages, both those with walls of stone and those of straw. My people took their cereals, bronze, iron and copper and overthrew the idols in their dwellings, as well as their corn and cotton, and threw them themselves into the river Seda (Blue Nile). Many lost their lives in the river, no-one knows the number. At the same time my people pierced and sank their boats which carried a crowd of men and women.

And I captured two notables who had come as spies, mounted on camels, by name Yesaka and Butala, and the chief Angabene. The following nobles were put to death: Danoko, Dagale, Anako, Haware. The soldiers had wounded Karkara, their priest, and took from him a necklace of silver and a golden box. Thus five nobles and a priest fell.

I arrived at the Kasu, fought them and took them prisoner at the confluence of the rivers Seda and Takaze. And the day after my arrival I sent into the field the columns Mahaza, Hara, Damawa? Falha? and Sera? along the Seda going up to their cities with walls of stone and of straw; their cities with walls of stone are Alwa and Daro. And my troops killed and took prisoners and threw them into the water and they returned home safe and sound after terrifying their enemies and vanquishing them thanks to the power of the Lord of the Land.

Next, I sent the columns of Halen, Laken? Sabarat, Falha and Sera along the Seda, going down towards the four towns of straw of the Noba and the town of Negus. The towns of the Kasu with walls of stone which the Noba had taken were Tabito(?), Fertoti; and the troops penetrated to the territory of the Red Noba and my peoples returned safe after taking prisoners and booty, and killing by the might of the Lord of Heaven.

And I erected a throne at the confluence of the rivers Seda and Takaze opposite the town with walls of stone which rises on this peninsula.

And behold what the Lord of Heaven has given me; prisoners, 214 men, 415 women, total 629; killed, 602 men, 156 women and children, total 758, and adding the prisoners and killed 1,387. The booty came to 10,560 head of cattle and 51,050 sheep.

And I set up a throne here in Shado by the might of the Lord of Heaven who has helped me and given me supremacy. May the Lord of Heaven reinforce my reign. And, as he has now defeated my enemies for me, may he continue to do so wherever I go. As he has now conquered for me, and has submitted my enemies to me, I wish to reign in justice and equity, without doing any injustice to my peoples. And I put this throne which I have raised under the protection of the Lord of Heaven, who has made me king, and that of the Earth (Meder) which bears it. And if anyone is found to root it up, deface it or displace it, let him and his race be rooted up and extirpated. They shall be cast out of the country. And I have raised this throne by the power of the Lord of Heaven.

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11. Warfare

1. The Inscriptional Record

An important aspect of the Aksumite kings' responsibilities was the conduct of military campaigns, the main theme of almost all the Aksumite royal inscriptions which have survived (see Ch. 11: 5). The significance of this element for the kings is emphasised by Ezana's identification in the pagan period as the son of Mahrem, whose parallel in Greek was the war-god Ares. In most of the inscriptions we are given a fair amount of detail about the campaigns which the Aksumite rulers conducted throughout the Aksumite sphere of influence. Similarly, the South Arabian inscriptions mentioning Habashat and Aksum deal with Ethiopian military activities on the east side of the Red Sea. We therefore have a considerable amount of information about the Aksumites' methods and tactics in warfare. It is very probable that the Aksumite system of controlling subject peoples through their own rulers had the effect of encouraging these to try the strength of their overlords at each succession or other crisis. This might explain the `revolts' which occurred at places apparently quite near to the centre of the kingdom. The inscriptions and coins often use the word `peace', but we gather that the `Pax Aksumita' was, if not apparently seriously challenged, in need of continuous repair.

The Aksumite inscriptions are rather stereotyped in style and content, being the official records of the campaigns. In general, they commence with the reasons for the campaign; these included damage to a trading caravan, DAE 10; rebellion of vassal kings or tribes, DAE 4, 6 & 7, Geza `Agmai; and a combination of rebellion and a plea for assistance from subjects under attack, DAE 11, Anfray, Caquot and Nautin 1970. Other reasons, implied in a general way by the Monumentum Adulitanum inscription, but certainly important, were the need to deal with such questions as frontier security, piracy in the Red Sea, and the security of land routes for trade.

After the justifications for war, the inscriptions next recount any diplomatic efforts towards achieving a peaceful settlement (DAE 11) and, these failing, there finally came the decision to make war.

The next stage in the inscriptions is the account of the campaign itself. Details are supplied as to the routes and encampments, provisioning, the strategy, the troops or regiments used at different phases of the campaign, and the eventual inevitable victory. Geographical information abounds, though it is often difficult to place on the modern map, and the enemies or allies and their environment are also sometimes the object of a brief description.

Finally, the results of the campaign are noted. Men, women, and children killed or captured, and plunder in the form of animals and goods, are all proudly recorded with meticulous figure and word accounting. Any settlements are noted, usually expressed as `giving laws' to vassal kings and sending them back to their territories after payment of tribute. In some cases the settlement involved retaining land, property and prisoners or transporting tribes to new lands by force. Offerings to the gods, or later the construction of Christian sanctuaries, are the usual acts of gratitude to the deity after these campaigns. Accounts of these form the closing part of the inscriptions. The setting up and consecration of the inscription itself, apparently often as part of a throne, manbar — Monumentum Adulitanum, DAE 10, DAE 11 (two thrones, one in Shado in Aksum, the other at the confluence of the Seda (Blue Nile) and Takaze (Atbara)) — seems to have been a customary ceremonial act to mark the victory. The inscriptions often terminate with a formula which curses anyone who defaces them. The trilingual inscriptions, (actually written in two languages, Greek and Ge`ez, using three scripts, Greek, Ge`ez and Epigraphic South Arabian) were designed to present the kings' deeds to the local and foreign populace in the best possible light. Two different versions of the Beja campaign inscription of Ezana, in both cases `trilingual', were set up in different parts of the capital; unless we are missing duplicate copies of other inscriptions as well, this presumably indicates that Ezana was particularly proud of his victory over these people, and also wanted to emphasise his subsequent treatment of them.

Kaleb's inscription (see below) in the South Arabian script alludes to events in Himyar. Another, Ge`ez, inscription carved in alabaster was found at Marib in the Yemen (Kamil 1964; Caquot 1965). This latter inscription was fragmentary but was of exceptional interest as being only the second Ge`ez inscription ever found there (the first was on an alabaster lamp, Grohmann 1911). The inscriptions may mention Kaleb's famous Himyar war against king Yusuf, but what details are known about this campaign come from outside reports.
2. The Military Structure

The military establishment was undoubtedly one of the key institutions of the Aksumite monarchy, and as such was closely associated with it. The king himself was the commander-in-chief, but royal brothers and sons, and perhaps other relatives, were frequently put in charge of campaigns when the king was occupied elsewhere. The semi-sacred character of the monarchy may have been one of the bases of its domination, but the control of its military arm by members of the ruling family must also have been a source of strength and security. It is possible that the brothers of Ezana who were in theoretical charge of the Beja campaign described in the inscription from Geza `Agmai (Bernand 1982) and in DAE 4, 6 & 7 (Ch. 11: 5) were in fact very young at the time (Munro-Hay 1990), and that experienced military leaders accompanied them. Nevertheless, credit for the victory went to the royal brothers under the supreme authority of the king.

There seems to have been at least one remarkable war-leader king (Ezana), though the achievements of Gadarat earlier in the third century could hardly have been accomplished without some military skill. Kaleb, too, managed to organise a major overseas expedition, and to win an initial success even if the results were, in the long run, negative (see Ch. 4).

The Aksumite army was organised into sarawit (sing. sarwe), groups or `regiments' of unknown numerical strength, each with a name (possibly a provincial district name, or a `tribal' name, see Ch. 7: 5), under their own commanders or generals. The generals of these groups were referred to in the inscription DAE 9 by the title nagast, the plural of negus or king, exactly the same as the word used in the royal title negusa nagast, king of kings, in the same inscription. This indicates the importance of their office, and was possibly a reminiscence of the former sub-kingdoms now part of Aksum. The troops were presumably levied as needed, though there must surely have been some kind of `Praetorian Guard' at the capital for ordinary guard duties about the palace, treasury and the king's person. In mediaeval times such troops were designated by the name of the part of the palace which they guarded. If the troop-names were related to provinces, perhaps the local rulers had to send contingents on demand to their overlord in Aksum. Sergew Hable Sellassie (1972: 95) suggested that the troop-names referred to function, identifying commando, elephant-fighter, and infantry units.

The inscriptions speak of specific troops being sent on certain missions, and thus have preserved several of these Aksumite troop or `regiment' names. It may transpire that these names are reflected in the `Bisi'-title of the kings, as one or two have a close resemblance to those of individual kings. The `regiment' names known include Hara, Halen, Damawa, Sabarat, Hadefan, Sabaha, Dakuen, Laken, Falha, Sera, Metin, Mahaza; they have been referred to by different modern authors as detachments, Truppe, armies, corpi di militzia, colonnes, and troupes, all translations from the Ge`ez word sarwe. Unfortunately, as yet we do not have the Greek translation of this from any of the inscriptions. From the known `Bisi'-titles of Aksumite rulers we can find parallels as follows: Halen for Halen; Hadefan for Hadefan; and Dakuen for Dakhu.

When on campaign, encampments were set up, possibly in some cases in recognised military stations or garrisons, or traditional muster-points. Certain provisions were requisitioned where necessary from the enemy's country. Others were brought on beasts of burden or by human portage. Mention is made of the water-corvée, and the provision of water must have been particularly important when the campaigns reached the more arid areas. Camels were certainly used in transport, and are sometimes specified among the plunder taken.

There is no hint as to the size of the regiments or the armies, but in various inscriptions the dead and captured are noted as follows; DAE 11 — killed 758, prisoners 629; DAE 10 — killed 705, prisoners 205; Kaleb inscription; killed, more than 400 men (figure lost for women and children). Fifty of the captives in DAE 10 were given to Mahrem as an offering. In the sixth century Arabian war, the historian Procopius says that the Ethiopian army sent by Kaleb to the Yemen to punish the usurper Abreha and his supporters for the deposition of Sumyafa` Ashwa` consisted of three thousand men; a figure the more convincing for its relative modesty. This army in fact turned against Kaleb, and remained to support Abreha (Procopius, ed. Dewing 1914: 191). Later Arab writers elevate the numbers of men sent to the Yemen to 70,000 men under Aryat (Guillaume 1955: 20, after Ibn Ishaq). Tabari (Zotenberg 1958: 182) agrees with this figure, mentioning that Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asar) had 5000 men at San`a; he then says that the najashi sent another army with 100,000 men under Abreha. After Abreha's rebellion the najashi sent another 4000 with Aryat's second mission, and on its failure began to assemble yet another army to punish Abreha. The numbers of men in these armies, swelling as the story develops, are certainly highly exaggerated, and only Procopius' information seems credible; though of course there is always the standard explanation that the lower figures represent the real fighting strength, and the higher the whole mass of non-combatant dependents. The inscription of Yusuf Asar Yathar (Rodinson 1969) claims that he took 11,000 prisoners, but even if the figure is a true one, many of these must have been from Arabs fighting against the king on the side of the najashi.
3. Weapons

Military equipment is shown on certain stelae at Aksum. The so-called `Stele of the Lances' is now known to be part of Stele 4 (after the DAE notation), whose apex is to be found elsewhere in the town (Chittick 1974: 163); on it two spears, one with a long blade and one with a shorter blade, were depicted. The Ethiopian slave Wahsi, one of the first of his countrymen to embrace Islam, was famed for his skill with the spear. Ibn Ishaq's comment here is interesting, in that he specifically mentions that Wahsi could "throw a javelin as the Abyssinians do, and seldom missed the mark". Wahsi himself, questioned later at his house in Homs, mentioned that at the time when he killed Hamza, the prophet Muhammad's uncle, in battle, he was "a young Abyssinian, skilful like my countrymen in the use of the javelin" (Guillaume 1955: 371, 376). He also killed the false prophet Musaylima with his javelin after Muhammad's death. It seems from the reports about Wahsi's career that spear-fighting was an Ethiopian speciality at the time.

On the reverse of the Stele of the Lances is depicted a round shield. What may be a round shield is also carved on the back of the still-standing Stele 3. The Arab author al-Maqrizi, who died in the mid-fifteenth century, mentions that the Beja still used shields of buffalo-hide called `aksumiyya' and `dahlakiyya' (Maqrizi, al-Khitat Ch. 32, in Vantini 1975: 621). The former were made of buffalo-skin, reversed or `turned round the side'.

Illustration 58. The reverse of the so-called Stele of the Lances (part of no. 4), depicting a round shield.

No personal armour has yet been found, nor are there any surviving representations of soldiers, except from one most unusual source. In the Musée des Tissus, Lyon, there is a brightly coloured woven textile fragment, apparently of Egyptian manufacture of the sixth century, which, it has been suggested, is a copy of a Persian textile based on an original fresco (Browning 1971: 176). Grabar thought it might be either imported from Persia or made in a factory in the Roman empire after an Iranian model (1967: 326). It came from the excavations at Antinoë, and is thought to represent a battle scene from one of the Yemeni (or Aksumite — Grabar, 1967: fig. 382) wars of the time of Khusrau I. A seated potentate, possibly the Persian king himself or perhaps his viceroy, is enthroned, seated in a hieratic pose holding his sword, point downwards, watching a contest between Persian warriors and black and white troops. The Persians are shown mounted or on foot, fully clothed with tunic and trousers, and armed with bows. Their adversaries wear only a small kilt, and what seems to be a sword-belt diagonally across one shoulder; a black warrior, who seems to be a captive tied by a rope to a Persian horseman, has his broad-bladed, flat-ended sword slung behind his back. The white warriors are long-haired, like the Persians and earlier Yemenis as depicted on their coins and in sculpture, and one holds a small round shield. This textile may provide the only picture we have of an Aksumite soldier, albeit fighting in the Yemeni wars outside Aksumite control.

The Periplus (Huntingford 1980: 21-2) lists certain weapons among the imports into the Aksumite region. Iron (sideros) used for spears is specified, the spears being used for hunting elephants and other animals as well as for war. Swords are also in the list, and iron and steel figure as raw material.

Tomb finds at Aksum have revealed iron weapons, including tanged spear-heads which closely resemble those on the Stele of the Lances. Iron knives or poniards, probably originally with bone or wood handles, were also found, and, from Matara (Anfray and Annequin 1965: pl. LXIV, 1), came a handle of bronze decorated on each side with bosses formed by the heads of large nails. The Aksumite kings depicted on the coins sometimes hold a spear (or, in Aphilas' case — Munro-Hay 1984: 50 — what is apparently a sword), and spears and shields are mentioned in the description of the Byzantine embassy to Ethiopia by John Malalas (see Ch. 7: 2). A few arrow-heads, but no swords as yet, have been found during archaeological excavations in Ethiopia.

Although there is as yet no direct evidence, one would suppose that horses were known and used in warfare; some of the regiments could perhaps have been cavalry forces. That horses were valued possessions in at least one of the lands under Aksumite hegemony is shown by the burial of horses, in elaborate silver and jewelled harness, at the tombs of the `X-Group' monarchs at Ballana (Kirwan 1973). In later times in Ethiopia favourite chargers were of such importance that a leader could be named after his horse; one suggestion even relates the `Bisi'-title of the kings to their horses (Pankhurst 1961: 30, n. 68).

The use of elephants for Kaleb's state chariot, and the report (Photius, ed. Freese 1920: I, 17-19) of one of the Byzantine ambassadors, Nonnosus, that he saw some 5000 of them grazing near Aue (sometimes identified with Yeha (Bent 1896: 143-7), but probably further to the north-east; see Ch. 3: 1) on the Adulis-Aksum route, make it possible that they could have been used for military purposes, though Kosmas notes that the Ethiopians rarely trained them (Wolska-Conus 1973: 354). Camels would have been used in desert warfare, and two camel-riding spies were captured by Ezana during his Noba campaign. Camels, as well as donkeys or mules, may have been employed as transport animals.
4. The Fleet

There are numerous occasions when ships and shipping are mentioned in Aksumite contexts. The various expeditions and trading ventures overseas would suggest that Aksum was mistress of a fleet of some kind. Though there is no really clear statement to that effect in the local sources, a fleet is mentioned in the Monumentum Adulitanum inscription, and other inscriptions (DAE 2, Marib inscription; see Ch. 11: 5) also refer to expeditions by land and sea. In the case of the Adulis inscription, concern for the sea-lanes and the coastal defence of the country, as well as land routes, is manifested. The king cites the area from Leuke Kome to the Arabian kingdoms as one area of operations, then on the Ethiopian side he established the Solate people to guard the coasts. The Periplus (Huntingford 1980: 20) notes that ships anchored cautiously at the island of Oreine since, in the past, the anchorage which was to become Adulis' harbour, Gabaza, had proved dangerous because of raids from the local people. This could not have been tolerated later, when the port's function as a gateway to trade had grown more important, and the Periplus may indeed refer to a period when Aksum was still consolidating its position on the coast.

Some of the commentators on Kaleb's expedition to the Yemen allude to ships, and even to the shipyards of Adulis/Gabaza (Munro-Hay 1982: 117; Sergew Hable Sellassie 1972: 132-3). Perhaps the most interesting comment of all came from the sixth-century historian Procopius, who not only stated that Kaleb — whom he called Hellestheaios, his version of Elle Atsbeha — collected a fleet of ships, but also described Ethiopian and Indian ships. He mentions that

"all the boats which are found in India and on this sea (the Red Sea) are not made in the same manner as are other ships. For neither are they smeared with pitch, nor with any other substance, nor indeed are the planks fastened together by iron nails going through and through, but they are bound together by a kind of cording. The reason is not as most persons suppose, that there are certain rocks there which draw the iron to themselves (for witness the fact that when the Roman vessels sail from Aelas into this sea, although they are fitted with much iron, no such thing has ever happened to them), but rather because the Indians and the Aethiopians possess neither iron nor any other thing suitable for such purposes. Furthermore they are not even able to buy any of these things from the Romans since this is explicitly forbidden to all by law" (Procopius, ed. Dewing 1914: 183-4).

The Aksumite technique whereby ships were made by binding with ropes, not by using nails, which is also mentioned by the Periplus as existing on the East African coast (Huntingford 1980: 29), lasted until recently in the Somali, Hadrami, and East African coastal regions, where such `sewn boats' were common. Procopius' information is a very good indication that when he speaks of Kaleb's fleet he was actually referring to Aksumite ships rather than others simply using Aksumite ports. It cannot be said what proportion of goods might have been shipped in Aksumite vessels, but as a trading nation with a maritime outlet of great importance, and later on an empire to administer overseas, it is certain that Aksum's merchant fleet or navy was a useful, even vital, part of the apparatus of commerce and government.

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I have no doubt the Axumites (or Abyssinians) were Black if that's what you're asking. Some internets sources will cling to the Sabean origin theory, but most modern scholars throw this out. You should read the work of the late Stuart Munro-Hay. He wrote the following book in 1991 and is the large reason why the Sabean theory is now pretty debunked...

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Aksumite origins are still uncertain, but a strong South Arabian (Sabaean) influence in architecture, religion, and cultural features can be detected in the pre-Aksumite period from about the fifth century BC, and it is clear that contacts across the Red Sea were at one time very close (Ch. 4: 1). A kingdom called D`MT (perhaps to be read Da`mot or Di`amat) is attested in Ethiopian inscriptions at this early date, and, though the period between this and the development of Aksum around the beginning of the Christian era is an Ethiopian `Dark Age' for us at present, it may be surmised that the D`MT monarchy and its successors, and other Ethiopian chiefdoms, continued something of the same `Ethio-Sabaean' civilisation until eventually subordinated by Aksum. A certain linguistic and religious continuity may be observed between the two periods, though many features of Aksumite civilisation differ considerably from the earlier material.

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This evidently favourable region was, it seems, already populated when Aksum was founded. Though there are earlier sites with ruins dating to the Sabaean-influenced pre-Aksumite period nearby (such as Hawelti, Melazo — with Gobochela and Enda Cherqos — and Medoge) so far no firm evidence has been found to indicate that the site of Aksum itself was occupied before about the beginning of our era. However, the pre-Aksumite `Sabaean' cultural area certainly extended along the route from Adulis and into the Aksum region.

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Very likely these pre-Aksumite statues represent much the same people as those who later formed the Aksumite population. We know from Ezana's `monotheist' inscription (Ch. 11: 5) that the Aksumites recognised the Black (tsalim) and the Red (qayh) peoples, mentioning also the `Red Noba'; but it is not clear where in these categories they fitted themselves. Littmann (1913) thought that the implication was of the `red' people of the kingdom of Aksum in contrast to the `black' Noba (and others), a differentiation which still applies today in the eyes of the northern Ethiopians. Both Drewes (1962: 98) and Schneider (1961: 61-2), whose particular study has been the pre-Aksumite inscriptions, have come to the conclusion that even in the time of the kingdom of D`MT this contrast was used. The expression `the entire kingdom' was rendered in the geographical sense by the phrase `its east and its west', while the different characteristics of its population were illustrated by the words `its red (people) and its black (people)'. If this is correct, and the two phrases are intentionally balanced, it might indicate a predominance of the `red' or semiticised population in the eastern and central part of the kingdom, as would be expected given the South Arabian influences apparent from the material remains found there

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Evidently the arrival of Sabaean influences does not represent the beginning of Ethiopian civilisation. For a long time different peoples had been interacting through population movements, warfare, trade and intermarriage in the Ethiopian region, resulting in a predominance of peoples speaking languages of the Afro-Asiatic family.

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Originally posted by Yom:
The "reds" refers to the Cushitic and Semitic people of the Highlands and eastern lowlands (not Arabians), while the "blacks" refers to the Nilotic tribes of the Western lowlands.

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Originally posted by Yom:
Because they originated in Southwest Arabia and not Africa. They are an African diasporic people in the same way that all humans are descended from diasporic Africans, but they weren't recently African (today Yemenis have a lot of African ancestry, though).

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Originally posted by alTakruri:
Nonesuch! If so, then how in the hell are they Semitic speakers?
Nor is the Arabian peninsula in anybody's non-political southwest Asia.

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Originally posted by King_Scorpion:
I can understand where Takuri is coming from though...the Sabeans have been talked about at length on this board. I think there is an argument to be made that the Sabeans were as influneced by Ethiopians as the Ethiopians may have been from them. So Sabean probably shouldn't automatically equal Arabic. Semiticized is used in the sense of language and location I presume. There are probably some other people on this board who can shed a better light on this though.

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Originally posted by Yom:

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Originally posted by alTakruri:
Nonesuch! If so, then how in the hell are they Semitic speakers?
Nor is the Arabian peninsula in anybody's non-political southwest Asia.

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Since when does the language you speak define your cultural origin? It can shed some light, but many languages have spread without having a substantial impact on a culture or a population's genetics.

It is also geographically in Southwest Asia, which is a purely geographical term, unlike the "Middle East," which is socio-political. You can't place everything in Africa, alTakruri. Just because of some mountain range and desert that stretches past a single continent. In the past, Asia and Africa were contiguous, but that hasn't been the case for millions of years.

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Originally posted by King_Scorpion:
I can understand where Takuri is coming from though...the Sabeans have been talked about at length on this board. I think there is an argument to be made that the Sabeans were as influneced by Ethiopians as the Ethiopians may have been from them. So Sabean probably shouldn't automatically equal Arabic. Semiticized is used in the sense of language and location I presume. There are probably some other people on this board who can shed a better light on this though.

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No one said they are "Arabic," because they aren't. They are, however, Arabian. The issue at hand isn't Ethiopian influence on Saba' but the opposite. We can discuss the former if you'd like, but a separate thread should be made.

Wasn't this thread supposed to be about Prestor John, anyway?

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There are no limits to the kindness of our Saviour, who works for the unity of the Christian people and his mystical body, for which he prayed: I wish, Father, that they may be one even as we are one. Indeed we are experiencing his kindness particularly in these times. For his infinite mercy has granted that we are now awaiting the arrival of envoys, furnished with full power to accept in this holy council the doctrine of the orthodox faith from which their peoples have gone astray in many points, from our most dear son in Christ Zar'a Ya'qob, king of Ethiopia, commonly called Prester John, to whom very many kings and almost innumerable peoples are subject and who is impelled, as we trust, by divine inspiration. To foster and hasten such a holy and divine proposal, which is so necessary for the whole of Christianity, we have sent our own nuncios and envoys, who are full of zeal for this holy task and have considerable influence with the said most powerful king.

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A more direct if less formal contact with the outside Christian world was maintained through the Ethiopian Monophysite community in Jerusalem and the visits of Ethiopian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Ethiopian monks from the Jerusalem community attended the Council of Florence in 1441 at the invitation of the pope, who was seeking to reunite the Eastern and Western churches.

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