AFRICA

After the Kush were driven down into Africa by the powerful Assyrians,. they lived relatively peacefully there, until a more powerful kingdom known as the Aksum. The Aksum originated in the south of Kush, in modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea. This point is known as the Horn of Africa, and was a powerful trading point with the Arabian Peninsula from across the Red Sea. The Aksum traded with such superpowers as Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and the Roman Empire. Their most powerful city was Adulis on the tip of the Horn of Africa, their center of trade.

 

All these different civilizations trading in Aksum created a rich diversity of different cultures spreading their beliefs. Aksum itself adopted Christianity as a main religion. Aksum was the only civilization in Ancient Africa apart from Egypt and Meroe to develop a written language. They also minted coins, which were actually used as a form of inspiration for the people of Aksum. 

 

One very important innovation the Aksum thought up of was terrace farming. Because of the rugged terrain and rough hills of their environment, they cut steplike ridges in the terrain, which kept water from flowing downhill, and helped the soil retain that water. The Aksumites obtained their water from trenched they dug from mountain streams to their fields of terraces. Speaking of water, the Aksumites also built dams and holding tanks (cisterns) to hold water for later use.

 

However, having a relatively unprotected main trading city such as Adulis proved a significant weakness when Islamic invaders burned the city to the ground, isolating Aksum from the outside trading world. As Islam spread its religion to the many places it conquered, Aksum also became isolated from other Christian settlements. To escape invaders, Aksum had to move it's capital city over the mountains to modern-day Ethiopia. Aksum was no longer a great world power.