Need help about the African state of Axum

[Eretz Yisrael]

Although i claim to know some history, I regret to say that I have no idea about African history before WWI;
The only thing I do know about Axum is that they are the Ethiopians(am I right at this?)and they were the one of the first empires to convert into Christianity; and they spoke a language called Ge'ez, right?
I am not trusting Wikipedia for this peice of history; Wikipedia can be very sketchy and sometimes even wrong on history before the Modern Aage.........

 

[C:enter##]

Well, I can tell you that Axum fell because of it's conversion to Christianity.
You see, Axum was almost entirely dependent on commerce for it's sovereignity, and it traded mostly with Arab Muslims to the north. When Axum became Christian, the number of Arab leaders that would trade with them, dwindled, and Axum soon crumbled. That's why religion is made into a diplomatic issue in CivIV.

 

[Tee Kay]

Axum converted to Christianity long before Islam exists (around AD300 IIRC). Apparently, the Prophet Mohammad sent some early Muslim converts who were prosecuted by the Meccans to Ethiopia for protection.

Their decline was partly due to competition in trade from the Muslims in the Red Sea, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean which Axum used to dominate, and before that due to competition from the Sassanids, who were expanding into what was then Axumite colonies in present-day Yemen. Soil erosion and changing climate probably also played a part. After around AD800 the centre of power in the region shifted south.

 

[Plotinus]

In its heyday, Axum had the largest fleet in the world. taillesskangaru is right that they converted to Christianity long before Islam even existed, which is why the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a good claim to be the oldest national church in the world (its main rival for this title being the Armenian one). The empire's later decline did have a lot to do with trade disputes and wars with Muslims around the Horn of Africa, despite the existence of a supposed prohibition by the Prophet against ever going to war with Ethiopia. However, the empire remained in existence, at least in theory, until 1974, when the last emperor, Haile Selassie, was toppled in a coup.

If you're interested in the ancient and medieval history of Ethiopia, you should play my African scenario! It's much more reliable than Wikipedia.

 

[Eretz Yisrael]

In its heyday, Axum had the largest fleet in the world. taillesskangaru is right that they converted to Christianity long before Islam even existed, which is why the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a good claim to be the oldest national church in the world (its main rival for this title being the Armenian one). The empire's later decline did have a lot to do with trade disputes and wars with Muslims around the Horn of Africa, despite the existence of a supposed prohibition by the Prophet against ever going to war with Ethiopia. However, the empire remained in existence, at least in theory, until 1974, when the last emperor, Haile Selassie, was toppled in a coup.

If you're interested in the ancient and medieval history of Ethiopia, you should play my African scenario! It's much more reliable than Wikipedia.

OMG, did such a beautiful Civ3 Scenario even exist?
T'is just a amazing work of art; the leaderheads are the best I ve seen in a CIV 3 mod, and those tech trees..... you are real genius.
But sadly, I formatted my CIV3 CONQUESTS away a while ago; Ill go on Amazon and buy a new one i guess.

 

[Eretz Yisrael]

But I am also curious as in wht did Axum accomplish during the years?

 

[TheLastOne36]

Well they were rich for one, and were pretty advanced for there time to.

 

[Plotinus]

They built lots of obelisks and developed a writing system, which is more than any other sub-Saharan African civilisation did in antiquity. It was influenced by the Greek alphabet and (more importantly) Arabian writing systems, since the Axumite civilisation was culturally closely linked to the Arabian ones. You can see why if you look at a map.