Ancient African civilizations

About this book

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.