History of Afric‪a‬ The History of Africa Podcast

After Saizana's death, a mysterious man named Mahedyas takes the throne of Aksum. He begins a crusade to rid Aksum of the holdovers from its polytheistic past, and consolidates the church under his direct control. Later, a group of refugee priests land...

The Ancient Nubian kingdom of Meroe had existed before Aksum's foundation as a city, and was the preeminent power in East Africa for most of its existence. But, by the year 360, the tables had turned. Nubia was a kingdom in decline, while Aksum was the...

King Ezana of Aksum is widely regarded among scholars of Aksumite history as the greatest ruler in the empire's history. He transformed the empire religiously, politically, and economically in a way that is unmatched by other Aksumite rulers. In this...

In the aftermath of the great conquests of king Gadarat, Aksum was left in a vulnerable position. Diplomatically isolated, militarily exhausted, and limited only to Najran and its immediate surroundings, Aksum will soon find itself trapped in a series...

In the year 200 AD, the Aksumite King, Gadarat, went to work expanding Aksumite influence. At first, his ambitions were contained to the African continent, but when pirates from the southern Arabian kingdom of Himyar begin seizing Aksumite ships, his...

In 300 BC, a small agrarian village in the Ethiopian highlands was beginning its rise to glory. This village, known as Aksum, would soon rise to become a great power, revered as far away as Rome, China, and Persia. Listen this week to learn about the...