Adulis
Quick Summary
Adulis was an ancient city and a crucial port for the Kingdom of Aksum, located on the Gulf of Zula in East Africa. It served as a major trading hub, connecting African, Mediterranean, and Asian trade networks. The city was described in the 1st century CE as an "open harbour" with a settlement of Greco-Roman merchants. Adulis played a significant role in Aksum's economy, facilitating the trade of goods like ivory, gold, and slaves. The city's importance declined as trade routes shifted, and it was eventually cut off from Mediterranean trade by the rise of Arab powers in the 7th and 8th centuries.123
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eastern AfricaAksumIts port of Adulis received a continuous stream of merchants who offered textiles, glassware, tools, precious jewelry, copper, iron, and steel in return for ivory, tortoiseshell, rhinoceros horn, gold, silver, slaves, frankincense, and myrrh. Aksum, the capital, was five days’ march from the coast onto the Tigray Plateau,…
Read MoreIts port of Adulis received a continuous stream of merchants who offered textiles, glassware, tools, precious jewelry, copper, iron, and steel in return for ivory, tortoiseshell, rhinoceros horn, gold, silver, slaves, frankincense, and myrrh. Aksum, the capital, was five days’ march from the coast onto the Tigray Plateau,…
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EthiopiaFrom prehistory to the Aksumite kingdom…south, and the port of Adulis on the Gulf of Zula. Aksum’s culture comprised Geʿez, written in a modified South Arabian alphabet, sculpture and architecture based on South Arabian prototypes, and an amalgam of local and Middle Eastern deities. Thus, evidence exists of a close cultural exchange between Aksum and…
Read More…south, and the port of Adulis on the Gulf of Zula. Aksum’s culture comprised Geʿez, written in a modified South Arabian alphabet, sculpture and architecture based on South Arabian prototypes, and an amalgam of local and Middle Eastern deities. Thus, evidence exists of a close cultural exchange between Aksum and…
Read More