The Kingdom of Aksum or Axum, also known as the Aksumite Empire, was a trading nation in Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia Tigray.[2] It existed from approximately 100–940 CE. It grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period c. 4th century BCE to achieve prominence by the 1st century CE, and was a major player in the commercial route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own Aksumite currency, the state established its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of Kush and regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, eventually extending its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom. The Persian Prophet Mani regarded Axum as third of the four greatest powers of his time after Persia and Rome, with China being the fourth.

The Axumites erected a number of large stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. One of these granite columns is the largest such structure in the world, standing at 90 feet.[3] Under Ezana (fl. 320–360) Aksum adopted Christianity. In the 7th century, early Muslims from Mecca also sought refuge from Quraysh persecution by travelling to the kingdom, a journey known in Islamic history as the First Hijra.

Its ancient capital, also called Aksum, was in northern Ethiopia Tigray as early as the 4th century.[4][5] It is also the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purported home of the Queen of Sheba.