Despite that, people still scoff at me. After all, what has Ethiopia ever accomplished besides being the only African to not be colonized during the Europeans' Scramble for Africa?

Let's just take a look at an interesting map, shall we? Allow me to show you the trade routes during the Roman period. This map shows the trade routes going through Axum around the 1st century AD.

Larger Picture Here

Here, you can see the trade routes from India to Rome. Of course, much trade went overland to the Roman Empire via the Parthian Empire, but even more went across the Arabian Sea (at the time, known as the Indian Ocean) and up the Red Sea (or Arabian Gulf) directly to Rome. And who did it pass through? None other than the Axumite Empire, of course.

Now we must remember; it wasn't the Romans who travelled these trade routes. It was none other than the Axumites who did facilitated this whole trade, and by doing so, they became stinking rich off of it. The Empire of Axum became famous for its markets of spice from India, as well as its being the main export of all African goods, ranging from ivory, incense, gold, iron, and exotic animals. In the Ethiopian highlands, they also had tons of salt which was an extremely valuable commodity. Needless to say, the Axumite people were extremely rich and were known throughout the Roman Empire, Middle East, and India for their wealth. The sheer size and power of their navy from the 1st to 10th centuries AD was a sure indication of the people during this age just how powerful and wealthy these guys were, so much so that the Sassinid Persians considered that there were 4 great kings of the world - the emperor of China, the emperor of Rome (or Byzantine Empire at this point), the emperor of Persia, and none other than the emperor of Axum.

But don't think that the Axumites didn't have any competitors for their trade. Certainly, they controlled much trade between India and Rome, but as far as African goods went (which was their main source of wealth), they competed with the Kushites (whose capital was the city of Meroe, as shown on the map above), who had a sophisticated kingdom along the upper regions of the Nile River and exported African goods down the river to the Nubians and Egyptians. As a result, during the 1st century AD, the Axumites led large campaigns and wound up conquering the Kingdom of Kush, and with that, made sure the bulk of their trade went through Axum and their coast along the Red Sea rather than down the Nile River (though a significant portion still went down the Nile).

So why did the Axumite Empire collapse?

I wonder how many people know about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Axumite Empire was the first state in the world to declare itself Christian, doing so around the end of the 1st century AD. And by the 7th century AD, Islam took rose just across the Red Sea and became dominating the region rapidly.

The Axumite Empire was no longer as powerful as it once was in the 1st cenutry AD, mainly due to the Roman Empire's collapse, weakening the trade which made it so rich. Although the people of Axum weren't persecuted by the Muslims - the Muslims treated them with respect, as the Axumite Empire had given refuge to the earliest followers of Muhammed. But that didn't stop the Muslims from taking over the coasts along the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Nile River. This forced many Axumites to migrate further inland to the Ethiopian highlands, isolating the Axumite people from their fellow Christian Byzantine Empire (their main ally of this period) and their extensive trade network.

All that, along with climactic change (from the overgrazing of their farmlands, deforestation, and persistent drought), all led to the collapse of the Axumite Empire. Around the year 1000, Ethiopia entered a dark age, which many would say it has not yet left.

But that isn't to say that the Axumite Empire doesn't have its legacy. Its recorded history is much more difficult to come by as a result of the empire's collapse and loss, but knowledge of the civilization certainly wasn't lost. The Western Europeans faintly knew of the Axumites, which led to the popular legend of Prester John - a rich Christian king of Asia who's more powerful than any European nation, and is surrounded by Muslims and fighting them all off, which led many Christians to attempt seeking out this empire (during many voyages of the Age of Discovery, one of the goals was to find this Prester John). Certainly, this parallels the situation of Axum and undoubtedly originated from there - except for the fact that Axum is located in Africa and not Asia. Though do bear in mind that Europeans did not differentiate between the two continents during the Middle Ages. To a typical European of the year 1200, Africa and Asia would both be the same thing.

The wealth and extent of the Axumite Empire alone disproves any notion of Sub-Saharan Africa never having achieved any great empires. Though in recent memory, Ethiopia may have not achieved much, its civilization is rich and once prosperous, disproving any notion that Sub-Saharan Africans can't make themselves an empire.

Post edited at 12:34 am on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

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cause its too old!?

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What an intelligent response.

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Greetings, citizens. We are living in the age where the pursuit of
all values other than money, success, fame and glamour, has either been
discredited or destroyed. Money, success, fame, glamour.

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Quote: from Ruben at 5:34 pm on April 4, 2008

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cause its too old!?

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What an intelligent response.

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He does have a point, though. Its age and irrelevance to the Western World is a big factor is why it's ignored, although that never stopped other great empires from being recognized (most notably the Mayan kingdoms).

I personally think that because modern Ethiopia is a direct continuation of the former Axumite Empire, people are led to believe that it wasn't very large and prosperous simply because modern Ethiopia isn't today. Indeed, how can such a great empire fall so completely that it's apart of the current mess of today's Sub-Saharan Africa? Then again, one has to remember that all civilizations rise and fall. As Ethiopia is not only isolated from the rest of the world after the rise of Islam, but also very much a part of Africa, it would be very effected by its major decline post-1500. If one looks at the a cartogram of the world economy by regions, they would notice Africa was fairly large around the year 1500, only to decline into near nothing today.

Post edited at 12:49 am on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

ive never heard of them at all...i should be ashamed lol

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Shakespeare

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The end of the 15th/ start of the 16th century is a pretty important point in history, and it is a real pity that it is pretty much overlooked by western educators.  Well, the most important clue as to what took place is discussed, but the ramifications of those aren't explained.

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Well, I was mainly focusing on the Axumite Empire, which ended by the year 1000, 500 years before Europe's big rise, though I eluded to it by mentioning the decline of Africa as a whole. The main reason why Ethiopia hasn't returned as a great power is largely a result of Africa's current situation.

It is sad that the late 15th and early 16th centures aren't talked about much in schools, though.  I've always personally found that period to be one of the most interesting.

Post edited at 1:01 am on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

If we're giving examples of African empires, I would add Songhay, Gao, the Malinese empire, Great Zimbabwe and why not the Zenj-Buganda Kingdom. There's more to be discussed than most people can imagine.

What most of these societies have in common, though, was that they were rather primitive by most standards, most never extending beyond what we could call the African Iron-age. Although great empires in their own right, they were quickly outpaced by their contemporaries in the Middle East and East Asia. And then, uhm, Europe sort of came in to the picture and... well, you know the story.

Most of these kingdoms failed to leave a lasting cultural legacy on the African continent (the Axumites are an exception perhaps?), although they did leave some pretty neat architechture. I've seen much of it in real life actually, including Llamu, Mombasa and the GZ.  

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I believe in yogurt.

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Good summary, although you might have emphasized the demographic decline a bit more.

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Yeah, their decline is fairly ambiguous, but almost certainly having to do with their isolation from the rest of the world and trade routes by Islam and the climactic changes on they were facing. Plus I got sleepy from writing all that.  

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If we're giving examples of African empires, I would add Songhay, Gao, the Malinese empire, Great Zimbabwe and why not the Zenj-Buganda Kingdom. There's more to be discussed than most people can imagine.

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Agreed wholeheartedly. I always talk about Mali if one tries talking about how Sub-Saharan Africans have always been poor and stupid. You can't get a much richer intellectual center than Timbuktu during 1300.

I simply decided to talk about the Axumite Empire as I'm much more knowledgable on them than the Malinese Empire, and certainly much more so than the other African empires (which I only vaguely know about).

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What most of these societies have in common, though, was that they were rather primitive by most standards, most never extending beyond what we could call the African Iron-age.

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I think most people of today would find societies before 1600 or 1700 very primitive for the most part. The Axumites weren't the most technologically advanced people, but they certainly weren't backwards. They were at least on par with the Roman Empire, Parthia, and Indian kingdoms. The Axumite Empire was much more of an empire based on trade than military strength.

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Although great empires in their own right, they were quickly outpaced by their contemporaries in the Middle East and East Asia. And then, uhm, Europe sort of came in to the picture and... well, you know the story.

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Empires of the Middle East have existed since the Bronze Age, and in East Asia since the formation of the Qin dynasty at the very latest. Although Ethiopia dates way back to around 1000 BC, the Axumite Empire didn't truly rise until the period the Roman Empire was at its zenith (around the time the Axumite Empire was at its zenith as well).

Their fall, like I said, was very much a result of the collapse of these trade routes and surrounding by Muslims.  

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Most of these kingdoms failed to leave a lasting cultural legacy on the African continent (the Axumites are an exception perhaps?), although they did leave some pretty neat architechture. I've seen much of it in real life actually, including Llamu, Mombasa and the GZ.  

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Much of the empires of Sub-Saharan Africa seem to shrink rather than fragment, like the Western Roman Empire did. Originally, the Axumite Empire was huge, extending all across the western coast of the Red Sea and Horn of Africa and then declining until they were confined to the Ethiopian highlands. They do have a rich legacy there, but largely as a result of their shrinkage (as well as Muslims exporting their own cultural legacies onto the African territories they conquered), the influence of the Axumite Empire diminished greatly.  It's very comparable to the Byzantine Empire and their shrinking until they were finally defeated for good in 1453, a major reason why they're largely forgotten today.

BTW, you've seen some of their architecture? That's pretty awesome. I really wish I could travel and see some of these things.

Post edited at 1:49 am on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

Anyway, if you're visiting places I'd highly recommend Llamu (off Kenya's east coast), and the ancient Stone Town on Zanzibar. The latter is a really fascinating place to visit with a cool mix of Islamic, Hindu, European and African culture. Plus they still have donkeys walking around on their streets.

The GZ is decent if you're intrested in the history of it. I never spend much time in West Africa, but I'm guessing the remnants of Timbuktu would be really cool.

Compared to the ancient arcitechture you find in Europe, however, it's not really THAT impressive. These historical sites are few and far between. I personally appreciated Africa more for it's nature and wildlife. A pack of lions walking on the horizon during sunset, with a few monkeys dancing around in the foreground, while I sit there sipping my Coca Cola... now that's worth preserving, haha.

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I believe in yogurt.

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The East-West trade route was basically their lifeline, so in a sense they placed all their eggs in one basket. I wouldn't exactly put them on par with the Roman Empire... that would be exaggerating it a bit I think, especially considering their lack of military prowess.

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I never claimed they were on par with the Roman Empire, but as far as technology was concerned, they weren't backwards compared to them.  Sure, they didn't have the engineering feats that the Romans had, but if you were to visit both societies during the 1st century AD, you wouldn't notice that much of a difference (it'd be like visiting the US and Germany or any European country today).  You'd probably observe more cultural differences, of course, but that's irrelevent to technology.  That's why I'd say as far as technology and economic sophistication, the Axumite Empire is about on par with Rome (though as far as military, influence, and engineering goes, they were far behind Rome).

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Anyway, if you're visiting places I'd highly recommend Llamu (off Kenya's east coast), and the ancient Stone Town on Zanzibar. The latter is a really fascinating place to visit with a cool mix of Islamic, Hindu, European and African culture. Plus they still have donkeys walking around on their streets.  

The GZ is decent if you're intrested in the history of it. I never spend much time in West Africa, but I'm guessing the remnants of Timbuktu would be really cool.

Compared to the ancient arcitechture you find in Europe, however, it's not really THAT impressive. These historical sites are few and far between. I personally appreciated Africa more for it's nature and wildlife. A pack of lions walking on the horizon during sunset, with a few monkeys dancing around in the foreground, while I sit there sipping my Coca Cola... now that's worth preserving, haha.

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Yeah, I'd imagine so.  Sounds like fun.  There's a lot of places I'd like to visit, so who knows if I'll ever get the chance.

Post edited at 10:21 am on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

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Where did you get that info from? Also what did they do? Sound like they were just some rich traders. Who never went to war with anyone or never invented anything. So really I won't even consider them a Empire. I consider a Empire a place that has a lot of Military power. However, I know that isn't the real definition of Empire, lol. Did they have any great Philosophers or anything?

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If you actually read my summary on the Axumite Empire, you'd notice that they conquered the Kushites who had a civilization just south of Nubia on the Nile River and were prominent traders as well.  The Kushites also had a tendency to invade Nubia and Egypt from time to time.

Not to mention, the Axumite Empire had quite the navy, which makes sense considering their emphasis on trade, much like Phoenicia in the Mediterranean Sea.  I believe around 500ish, Axum's navy was one of the largest in the world.

And as far as philosophy goes, much of the knowledge about the Axumites have been loss.  Some of their archtitecture still stands and some writing has been preserved, but most of it lost.  And considering that the Axumites never had a lasting legacy in eastern Africa like Rome did throughout the entire Mediterranean basin, it became largely forgotten.  Much of this is owed to Islam overtaking the Axumites in that respect.

And military is only a small component of an empire.  An empire is generally defined as a civilization (that of Axum in this case) forcing its rule over other peoples (such as Somalia, Eritrea, and the Kushites, as the Axumites did).  Axum was in every way an empire and just because it mainly thanks to their trade why they became so powerful doesn't demean them in any way.  I personally think it's offensive that you try to as the United States would be nothing without its trade, and the same goes for the UK, Germany, the Roman Empire, and virtually every other great empire to have ever existed.  An empire is dependent on its economy, and an economic collapse is almost equivalent to the end of the empire itself (as was the case of the Western Roman Empire).

And do bear in mind that Axum was located a ways inland, certainly not on the coast.  I didn't mention their rise very much, but as they were originally on the Ethiopian highlands, they had little trade going on and did have to conquer other tribes and cities before they could get access to the Red Sea and Nile River and prosper.

And if you're interested where I got all this information, just search the Axumite Empire online.  Wikipedia has a nice summary on it.  I can also recommend you a book on the subject (which also talks about the Kushites) here.

Post edited at 10:22 pm on April 4, 2008 by Bud2400

Even though its been denied countless times,  people have been attempting to degrade blacks in any way possible. Whenever any information is introduced regarding the success of Africans or Blacks in general, someone will try to break it down in some way or form. Sure there are the conspiracies but I think it's plainly obvious some people would rather accept a world where all blacks are insignificant for w/e reason. Anyway this kind of thinking has taken a large toll on the self-esteem of many black youths and I hope one day it's resolved.
Anyway it's nice to see things like these shown to people instead of the cliches you'd hear from common bigots such as "Blacks never developed a written language etc etc".

You should also see some of the information regarding the Black Romans.

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I'm jazzy jeff.