How did South Arabian culture influence Aksumite writing, art, and architecture?

The culture of the Aksumite kingdom was deeply influenced by a long-standing exchange with the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea. This interaction significantly shaped several core aspects of Aksumite civilization:12

• Writing: The Ge'ez language was written using a modified version of the South Arabian alphabet. This script, which originated from the Sabaean branch of the South Semitic alphabet, eventually evolved into the Ethiopic alphabet used for modern languages like Amharic and Tigrinya.123
• Art and Architecture: Aksumite sculpture and architecture were heavily based on South Arabian prototypes.12

While historical evidence confirms this close cultural exchange, modern scholarship increasingly challenges the traditional view that South Arabian immigrants were the sole creators of pre-Aksumite northern Ethiopian society. Instead, this cultural synthesis is viewed as a complex interaction that became symbolically enshrined in the Ethiopian legend of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.12