Annales d'Ethiopie, 2001, vol. XVII: 3-24..

The Proto-Aksumite Period: An Overview

Rodolfo Fattovich* and Kathryn A. Bard**

Introduction

The origins and early development of the kingdom of Aksum are still uncertain, mainly because of a scarcity of data1.

Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that:

1. An Ethio-Sabean state (known as Da'amat) emerged in northern Ethiopia and central Eritrea in the early to mid- 1st millennium BC, as a consequence of contacts between the opposite regions of the southern Red Sea in late prehistoric and early historical times2.

2. The Kingdom of Aksum arose in the same region in the early 1st millennium AD, as a consequence of the inclusion of this region in the Roman long-distance trade