General & Miscellaneous Ancient Egyptian History, General & Miscellaneous North African History, Ethiopia - History
Log in to track your reading progress.
Overview
This book examines two ancient African civilizations, Kush and Axum, which were the most highly developed civilizations south of Egypt, but are often overlooked in modern texts. Stanley Burstein has compiled and edited with commentary the most significant Greek and Roman sources concerning these states. The result is a fascinating book about the people of the southern part of the Nile valley, the gold mines of Nubia, and the Hellenistic city of Meroe, capital of the Ethiopian empire of Kush with its own highly developed culture (300 BC-300 AD). Axum is best known as one of the oldest capitals of the ancient Ethiopian empire (100-500 AD). The texts in this book describe the Red Sea trade and the rise of Axum, the birth of the Axum Empire, the conversion of Axum to Christianity, and Axumite civilization on the eve of the Middle Ages.Editorials
Choice
The Ancient Kingdom of Kush (third century BCE to the fourth century CE, with earlier traces) and Axum (fourth century CE to the seventh century CE)...were reflections of ancient Egypt to the north, but with the collapse of Egypt, Kush flourished and then gave way to Axum. Scholarly interest in these two essentially unknown kingdoms has waxed greatly in the past three decades, with special museum exhibits and permanent installations, as interest in inland Africa has developed with marked significance. Burstein opens the volume with a brief survey of the two kingdoms; with introductions and important notes he then presents the ancient literary and epigraphical testimony for this region...A brief bibliography and photographs aid this significant volume.Book Details
Published
March 31, 1997
Publisher
Markus Wiener Publishing Inc
Pages
196
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781558761483