Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa (ISAW Monographs, 2)

Aksum and Nubia assembles and analyzes the textual and archaeological evidence of interaction between Nubia and the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum, focusing primarily on the fourth century CE. Although ancient Nubia and Ethiopia have been the subject of a growing number of studies in recent years, little attention has been given to contact between these two regions. Hatke argues that ancient Northeast Africa cannot be treated as a unified area politically, economically, or culturally. Rather, Nubia and Ethiopia developed within very different regional spheres of interaction, as a result of which the Nubian kingdom of Kush came to focus its energies on the Nile Valley, relying on this as its main route of contact with the outside world, while Aksum was oriented towards the Red Sea and Arabia. In this way Aksum and Kush coexisted in peace for most of their history, and such contact as they maintained with each other was limited to small-scale commerce. Only in the fourth century CE did Aksum take up arms against Kush, and even then the conflict seems to have been related mainly to security issues on Aksum's western frontier. Although Aksum never managed to hold onto Kush for long, much less dealt the final death-blow to the Nubian kingdom, as is often believed, claims to Kush continued to play a role in Aksumite royal ideology as late as the sixth century. Aksum and Nubia critically examines the extent to which relations between two ancient African states were influenced by warfare, commerce, and political fictions. Online edition available as part of the NYU Library's Ancient World Digital Library and in partnership with the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW). 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The Fourth Century CE: Aksum in Nubia 68 4.1. Ousanas and Kush: RIE 186 68 4.2. Aksum Invades Kush: Two Greek Inscriptions from Meroë 72 4.2.1. Dating RIE 286 and SNM 24841 76 4.2.2. The Political Implications of the First Aksumite Invasion of Kush 79 4.3. Trouble on the Western Front? A Possible Clue in RIE 186 81 4.4. The Noba: A New Force to be Reckoned With 83 4.5. ‘Ēzānā’s Nubian War 86 4.5.1. The Greek Account: RIE 271 87 4.5.2. The Vocalized Ge‘ez Account: RIE 189 100 4.5.3. A Third Account of the Nubian War: RIE 190 130 4.6. Assessing the Impact of Aksum on Nubia in the Fourth Century 136 4.6.1. The Archaeological Evidence 137 4.6.2. The Graeco-Roman Textual Evidence 141 4.6.3. The Fall of Kush: Was Aksum to Blame? 144 5. After Kush: Aksum and Nubia in the Sixth Century CE 150 5.1. Kālēb and Nubia: RIE 191 151 5.2. The Nobades and Blemmyes: Would-be Mercenaries of Aksum? 159 5.3. Longinus’ Mission and the Aksumite Presence in Alodia 162 5.4. Into the Middle Ages: Hadāni Dāne’ēl and Aksum’s Western Neighbors 164 6. Conclusion 168 Bibliography 174 Maps 201 Map 1. Northeast Africa in the third century CE 201 Map 2. Northeast Africa in the fourth century CE 202 Map 3. Northeast Africa in the sixth century CE 203 Index 204 A 204 B 204 C 204 D 205 E 205 F 206 G 206 H 206 I 206 J 206 K 207 L 207 M 207 N 207 O 208 P 208 Q 208 R 208 S 208 T 209 W 209 Y 209 Z 209 Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 10 Preface......Page 8 1. Introduction......Page 12 1.1. Before Aksum and Kush......Page 15 1.2. The First Millennium BCE: A Turning Point in State Formation......Page 19 2. The Question of Aksumite Trade with Nubia......Page 26 3. The Third Century CE: Monumentum Adulitanum II (RIE 277)......Page 38 3.1. Cosmas Indicopleustes at Adulis......Page 39 3.2. Dating Monumentum Adulitanum II......Page 42 3.3. Aksumite Expansion in Northeast Africa......Page 45 3.3.1. Aksum and Rome’s Southern Frontier......Page 49 3.3.2. Aksum and “Ethiopia”......Page 53 3.3.3. Sasu: A Scribal Error for Kush?......Page 54 3.3.4. Aksum’s Northern and Western Frontiers in the Third Century......Page 58 4.1. Ousanas and Kush: RIE 186......Page 68 4.2. Aksum Invades Kush: Two Greek Inscriptions from Meroë......Page 72 4.2.1. Dating RIE 286 and SNM 24841......Page 76 4.2.2. The Political Implications of the First Aksumite Invasion of Kush......Page 79 4.3. Trouble on the Western Front? A Possible Clue in RIE 186......Page 81 4.4. The Noba: A New Force to be Reckoned With......Page 83 4.5. ‘Ēzānā’s Nubian War......Page 86 4.5.1. The Greek Account: RIE 271......Page 87 4.5.2. The Vocalized Ge‘ez Account: RIE 189......Page 100 4.5.3. A Third Account of the Nubian War: RIE 190......Page 130 4.6. Assessing the Impact of Aksum on Nubia in the Fourth Century......Page 136 4.6.1. The Archaeological Evidence......Page 137 4.6.2. The Graeco-Roman Textual Evidence......Page 141 4.6.3. The Fall of Kush: Was Aksum to Blame?......Page 144 5. After Kush: Aksum and Nubia in the Sixth Century CE......Page 150 5.1. Kālēb and Nubia: RIE 191......Page 151 5.2. The Nobades and Blemmyes: Would-be Mercenaries of Aksum?......Page 159 5.3. Longinus’ Mission and the Aksumite Presence in Alodia......Page 162 5.4. Into the Middle Ages: Hadāni Dāne’ēl and Aksum’s Western Neighbors......Page 164 6. Conclusion......Page 168 Bibliography......Page 174 Map 1. Northeast Africa in the third century CE......Page 201 Map 2. Northeast Africa in the fourth century CE......Page 202 Map 3. Northeast Africa in the sixth century CE......Page 203 C......Page 204 E......Page 205 J......Page 206 N......Page 207 S......Page 208 Z......Page 209 Aksum and Nubia assembles and analyzes the textual and archaeological evidence of interaction between Nubia and the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum, focusing primarily on the fourth century CE. Although ancient Nubia and Ethiopia have been the subject of a growing number of studies in recent years, little attention has been given to contact between these two regions. The present study contends that the reasons for the seemingly weak ties between Aksum and Nubia can be explained by the geographical orientation of Ethiopian Highlands and the middle Nile Valley. It argued that the main cause for conflict between Kush and Aksum in the fourth century has less to do with political or economic rivalry at the highest level, than with the security of the frontier regions that separated them