Aksum and Nubia

George Hatke holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He is a Visiting Research Scholar at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. His research includes the ancient history of the Horn of Africa and South Arabia, Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade, and the late antique Near East.

• Preface1. Introduction1.1. Before Aksum and Kush1.2. The First Millennium BCE2. The Question of Aksumite Trade with Nubia3. The Third Century CE3.1. Cosmas Indicopleustes at Adulis3.2. Dating Monumentum Adulitanum 3.3. Aksumite Expansion in Northeast Africa 3.3.1. Aksum and Rome's Southern Frontier3.3.2. Aksum and "Ethiopia"3.3.3. Sasu3.3.4. Aksum's Northern and Western Frontiers in the Third Century4. The Fourth Century CE4.1. Ousanas and Kush4.2. Aksum Invades Kush4.2.2. The Political Implications of the First Aksumite Invasion of Kush4.3. Trouble on the Western Front? A Possible Clue in RIE4.4. The Noba4.5. 'Ezana's Nubian War 4.5.1. The Greek Account4.5.2. The Vocalized Ge'ez Account4.5.2.1. The Haughty Noba4.5.2.2. Pillaging the Towns of the Noba4.5.2.3. The Attack on Kush4.5.2.4. Tallying Up the Spoils of War4.5.3. A Third Account of the Nubian War4.6. Assessing the Impact of Aksum on Nubia in the Fourth Century4.6.1. The Archaeological Evidence4.6.2. The Graeco-Roman Textual Evidence4.6.3. The Fall of Kush5. After Kush 5.1. Kaleb and Nubia5.2. The Nobades and Blemmyes5.3. Longinus' Mission and the Aksumite Presence in Alodia5.4. Into the Middle Ages6. Conclusion BibliographyMaps Map 1Map 2Map 3Index

A very useful and stimulating contribution on the problem of the contacts between Aksum and Nubia, to be recommended both to Nubiologists and to specialists of Ethiopian studies and certainly also to specialists of Classic and Late Antique studies. (Annali Sezione Orientale) Rich and important offerings, well worthy of study by specialists, who will find many stimulating ideas to consider, and by more general readersperhaps familiar with adjacent areas and/or periodswhose horizons will be greatly extended. - David W. Phillipson,University of Cambridge