Throne of Adulis

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Throne of Adulis Page 16

by Bowersock, G. W.


  See also Ethiopia

  Axum (son of Abraha), 117, 120, 158n13

  Azouli, as site of Adulis, 8–9, 11

  Azqīr, 85

  Bab al Mandab (“Gate of Lamentation”), 9

  Babylon, 41–42

  Ballana culture, xxi

  Barbaria, 26, 47, 51–52, 97

  Beaucamp, Joëlle, 142

  Beeston, A. F. L. “Freddy,” ix–x

  Beja, 46, 50–51

  Bent, Theodore, 68

  Berber, 53, 150n7

  biblical references on inscription, 100–101

  Bir Murayghān inscription, 115, 116, 158n10

  Blemmyes, xxi, 60, 70, 72

  Book of Kings, 82

  Book of the Ḥimyarites, 88, 89, 95

  Bukharin, Mikhail, 147n9, 148n1

  Byzantine empire, xxi

  and Abraha’s leadership, 112

  Chalcedonian Christianity in, 76, 90–91, 107, 121

  civil servants of, 135

  commercial interests of, 121

  emperors (see Anastasius; Justin; Justinian)

  Ethiopian alliance with, 4, 107, 117, 121, 142, 157n2, 162n25

  expansion of diplomatic activities, 107

  and Palestine, 122

  and Persia, 5, 86, 108, 122, 142

  and regional power shifts, 120–122

  and regional religious instability, 118

  and rise of Islam, 119, 122, 125

  and Yūsuf, 90–91

  Caria, 40

  Casson, Lionel, 31

  chain of MDBN, 97–98

  Chalcedonians, 15, 76, 90–91, 107, 121

  Chosroes I, 117

  Chosroes II, 122

  Christians and Christianity

  Aezanas’ conversion to, 65, 66, 67, 70–71, 73

  Chalcedonians, 15, 76, 90–91, 107, 121

  churches, 103–104

  in Ethiopia, 65, 66–67, 74–75, 81–83

  and expulsion of Ethiopians from Arabia, 117–118

  Kālēb’s Christian beliefs, 30, 87–88

  and Kālēb’s Ḥimyar campaign (525), 103

  Monophysites, 15, 76, 91, 107, 121

  Nestorian branch of (Church of the East), 15

  persecution of, 3, 76, 85–91, 92, 97, 103–104 (see also Najrān pogrom)

  and Persia’s capture of Jerusalem (614), 118

  saints of, 132

  Christian Topography (Cosmas)

  composition of, 25, 133

  and copy of inscriptions, 20

  and merchant status of Cosmas, 22

  on pagan cosmology, 28–29

  on shape of the universe, 29–30

  subject matter of, 15, 133

  Chronography (Malalas), 136

  Chronography (Theophanes) 136

  Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 122

  coastlines, changes to, 10, 12

  Coele, 40

  coinage, 61, 64, 75–76, 101

  Constantine, 28, 67

  Constantinople. See Byzantine empire Constantius II, 66–67, 75

  Cosmas Indicopleustes

  in Adulis, 25–26, 92, 133

  background of, 15

  base of operations for, 23–24

  Christian Topography, 15, 20, 22, 25, 28–30, 133

  and copy of inscribed texts, 19–20, 21, 25, 30, 92

  on cosmology, 28–30

  description of throne, 15, 16, 17–18, 38

  historical perspective of, 27

  incorrect inferences about inscriptions, 13, 18–19, 27, 44

  manuscripts of, 12, 13, 15, 16–17, 119

  map drawn by, 12, 13, 16–17

  name of, 23

  and negus in Axum (Kālēb), 19, 21, 25, 30, 92

  and Patrikios, 25

  on stele, 18–19, 35

  travels of, as merchant, 22–23, 25

  Council of Chalcedon of 451, 76, 83

  Crone, Patricia, 126–127, 129, 130, 159n15

  Cyclades, 40

  Cyprus, 40

  Cyrenaica, 40

  Dacia, 54

  David, biblical, 81, 87, 88, 102

  Dese, 10

  Dhū Raydān, 63

  Diakrinomenos, John, 93, 94

  Didôros (Diodorus) Island, 10, 12, 27, 146n7

  Diocletian, 71–72

  Dioscourides, 24

  diphros (small throne), 16

  Djibouti, 26, 31, 33, 51–52

  Dodekaschoinos (“Twelve Mile Land”), xxi, 71–72

  East Africa

  elephant hunting in, 35–37, 39

  and Ethiopian negus, 33

  imperialist designs on, 48

  territory of, xxi, 31

  and Zoskales, 31

  Ecclesiastical History (Anagnostes), 93

  Egypt, xxi

  Ethiopian access to, 43, 52–53

  incest practices in, 37–38, 149n3

  elephants

  and Abraha’s Mecca campaign, 116

  hunting of, by Ptolemy III, 35–36, 39

  hunting of, by Trogodytes, 39

  industry of, 40

  ivory trade, 31, 39, 42

  palanquin of Kālēb, 109–110, 110

  references to, on stele, 35–37, 39, 40

  Year of the Elephant (‘Ām al fīl), 116, 118

  Ella Asbeha. See Kālēb Eritrea, 6, 7, 10, 31

  Esimphaios (Sumyafa Ashwa‘), 103, 106, 111

  Ethiopia

  Byzantium alliance with, 4, 107, 117, 121, 142, 157n2, 162n25

  capital city of, 7 (see also Axum)

  Christianity in, 65, 66–67, 74–75, 81–83

  coinage of, 61, 64, 75–76, 101

  commercial interests of, 157n2

  and Egypt, 43, 52–53

  elephants of, 35–37, 39

  expulsion of Ethiopians from Arabia, 117–118

  Ge‘ez script of, 14, 32, 69–70

  and Gulf of Zula, 7

  Ḥimyar campaign (518), 93, 94, 95

  Ḥimyar campaign (525), 4–5, 21, 25, 91, 92, 97–98, 103, 106

  Ḥimyar occupation (third century), 45, 55–56, 59, 60, 61, 63–64, 78–79

  imperialism of, 5, 14, 25, 48, 63

  and Jews, 82

  Justin’s calls for intervention, 5, 96–97, 156n6

  and “king of kings” phrase, 64–65

  languages used in, 32

  map of, xxii

  and Meroitic kingdom, 43

  Monophysite Christianity in, 121

  Muslim Believers’ immigration to, 123–126

  and Nubia, 53–54

  power of rulers, 33, 120–121

  and regional power shifts, 120–123

  royal line of, 82, 87

  as Solomon’s descendants, 81–82, 87, 102

  sovereignty claims of, 14, 61–62, 64

  term, 53–54

  and Zoskales, 31

  Euphrasius, 138

  Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (Müller), 136

  Frumentius, 66–67, 75

  Gabaz, Ella, 12

  Gabaza (harbor of Adulis), 12, 97

  Gadara, 55–56, 57, 58, 78

  Gaius Caesar, 27

  Gajda, Iwona, 87

  Gaza, xxii

  Geography (Ptolemy) 56

  Getae, 54

  Greek language, 26–27, 31–32, 45

  Gregentius 103, 104

  Gulf of Aqaba, 108

  Gulf of Zula

  as access point to Adulis and Axum, 12

  history of name, 7

  and location of Adulis Throne, 13

  Pliny the Elder on, 27

  Habab, 50

  Haddas river, 9

  Ḥaḍramawt, 63, 80

  ḥanīf references, 127–129, 130

  Ḥārith ibn Jabala, 111, 114

  Hawting, Gerald, 126–127, 130, 159n15

  Ḥayyān, 95

  Hebrew Bible, 131

  Hebrews, Epistle to, 29

  Heliodorus, 60

  The Hellespont, 40, 42

  Heracles, 38, 149n4
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  Heraclius, 125

  Hermes, 38, 131, 149n4

  Herodotus, 39, 53

  Ḥimyar kingdom

  Byzantium support of, 121

  Christian kingdom installed in, 5, 93, 94–95, 103, 105

  Christian persecution in, 3, 76, 85–91, 92

  churches in, 103–104, 114

  dissolution of, 117

  emergence of, 63–64

  Ethiopian campaign against (518), 93, 94, 95

  Ethiopian campaign against (525), 4–5, 21, 25, 91, 92, 97–98, 103, 106

  Ethiopian occupation of (third century), 45, 55–56, 59, 60, 61, 63–64, 78–79

  Ethiopian sovereignty claims, 14, 61–62, 64, 79, 95

  expulsion of Ethiopians from Arabia, 117–118

  Judaism in, 3–4, 5, 80, 83–86, 93–94

  Kālēb’s shrine built in, 95–96

  kings of, 79 (see also Abraha; Yūsuf As’ar Yath’ar)

  location of, xxii

  Persian control of, 120

  and Ramla conference, 89–90

  social and political upheavals in, 76

  titulature in, 79, 83

  Hippolytus, 56

  al-Hīra, xxii, 114

  Hubal (pagan deity), 5, 86, 116, 126

  Ibn al-Mujāwir, 98

  Ibn Khaldun, 53

  India, 23

  Iotabê, Jewish settlement on, 108

  Islam

  and Abraham (biblical), 127–130

  Arabia as crucible of, 87

  emigrations of Believers, 123–126

  ḥanīf references in, 127–129, 130

  and idolatry, 126–127, 128

  and Jerusalem, 6

  and monotheism, 127–131, 159n15

  Muḥammad’s emigration (hijra) to Medina, xix, 115, 118, 125–126, 133

  and paganism, 126–127, 130

  Qur’ān, 116, 123, 126–127, 130, 159n15

  rise of, 6, 119, 122

  ivory trade, 31, 39, 42

  Jerusalem, xxii

  Byzantine hegemony in, 122

  Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 122

  and Islam, 6

  Persia’s capture of (614), 5–6, 118, 122–123

  Vespasian’s devastation of, 80

  Jews and Judaism

  and Abraha’s kingship, 115

  and Ethiopians, 82

  and Hebrew Bible, 131

  hierarchies of divinities in, 131

  and Persian invasion of Palestine, 118

  Persian support of Arabian Jews, 5, 90, 117, 118, 120

  and regional religious instability, 118

  in South Arabia, 3–4, 80, 83–86, 93–94

  tabernacles of, 29

  Job (biblical text), 29

  John of Ephesus, 155n25

  Josephus, 82

  Joseph. See Yūsuf As’ar Yath’ar

  Juba II, King, 27, 32

  Julianus, 108

  Justin

  calls for intervention, 5, 96–97, 156n6

  civil servants of, 135

  foreign policies of, 142

  and Ramla conference, 89

  reign of, 25

  Justin II, 117

  Justinian

  and Byzantium-Ethiopian alliance, 107, 121, 157n2, 162n25

  civil servants of, 135

  commercial interests of, 157n2

  embassies of, 108, 109

  foreign policies of, 121, 142

  and Qays (Kaïsos), 109–111

  Ka‘ba at Mecca, 5, 86, 116, 126

  Kalaa, 46, 50

  Kālēb (Ella Asbeha; sixth century negus of Axum)

  and Abraha, 112

  armada of, 97–98

  biblical authority of, 100–103

  campaign against Ḥimyar (518), 93, 94, 95

  campaign against Ḥimyar (525), 4–5, 21, 25, 91, 92, 97–98, 103, 106

  Christian beliefs of, 30, 87–88

  and Cosmas, 19, 21, 25, 30, 92

  imperialist ambitions of, 21, 25, 30, 76, 91

  inscriptions of, 75, 95–96, 98–103, 99, 133

  and inscriptions on Adulis throne, 19–20, 21, 25, 30, 92, 96

  and Justin’s calls for intervention, 96–97

  Nonnosus’ meeting with, 109–110, 141–142

  palanquin of, 109–110, 110

  post-campaign life of, 104–105, 111

  Ẓaphār church construction, 104

  Kandake, 82

  Kebra Nagast 81, 82, 83, 102

  Kinaidocolpitai, 56–57, 151n18

  Kinda, 111

  Kingdom of Ḥimyar. See Ḥimyar kingdom

  “king of kings” phrase, 58, 64–65, 152n2

  Kominko, Maja, 146n13

  Kubalai Khan, 109–110

  Kushites, 82

  Lakhmids, 86

  Land of Incense, 47, 52

  Lasine, 46, 50

  Leah (Jewish girl), 84–85

  Leukê Kômê, 56

  Libya, 40, 54

  Life of Apollonius of Tyana (Philostratus), 54

  Littmann, Enno, 8, 49, 50

  Lycia, 40

  Ma‘add tribal confederacy, 111, 115

  Ma‘dīkarib Ya‘fur, 93

  Maḥrem (Ares)

  and Adulis throne inscriptions, 45, 47–48

  and Aezanas’ inscriptions, 65, 69

  and Axumite kingship, 67

  and Christianization of Ethiopia, 75, 80

  Makeda (Queen of Sheba), 81–82

  Malalas, 136

  Malichus II, 9, 24

  Marcianus, Emperor, 83

  Mārib

  conference at, 114–115

  inscription of Abraha, 112–114, 113

  inscription of Kālēb, 98–103, 99

  Marthad’ilān Yanūf 94

  Martyrium of Arethas, 12, 88–89, 96, 97–98, 102, 104–105, 136, 141

  Masrūq, 117

  Matthew, Gospel of, 100–101

  Mauretania, 54–55

  Maurice, 122

  McCrindle, J. W., x

  Mecca, 116–117, 126

  Medina, emigration (hijra) to, xix, 115, 118, 125–126, 133

  Menelik, 81

  Meroitic kingdom

  decline and collapse of, 62, 72

  and Ethiopian access to Egypt, 43, 52–53

  and Ethiopia’s sovereignty claims, 64

  inscriptions erected in, 58–60

  location of, xxi

  power and prosperity of, 42–43

  threat of, to Ethiopia, 33

  Mesopotamia invasion, 41–42

  Metine, 47, 51

  MḤDYS, 75–76

  Monophysites, 15, 76, 91, 107, 121

  monotheism

  of Abraham (biblical), 127–128

  of Arab polytheists, 129–131, 159n15

  in Axum, 80–81

  and ḥanīf references, 127–129, 130

  pagan monotheism, 128–129, 130–131

  in Palestine, 6

  in South Arabia, 80, 83–84

  Moses (biblical), 29

  Mu‘awiyya, 109

  Muḥammad

  and Abraham (biblical), 127–130

  diplomacy efforts of, 124–125

  emigration (hijra) to Medina, xix, 115, 118, 125–126, 133

  monotheism of, 131–132

  and regional religious instability, 118

  revelations of, 123, 126

  rise to prominence, 118

  and world powers, 86

  year of birth, xix, 5, 116, 118, 158n12

  Müller, C., 136

  al Mundhir, 89, 90, 114

  Munro-Hay, Stuart, 67

  Najrān pogrom (523)

  and campaign against Ḥimyar (518), 93

  and campaign against Ḥimyar (525), 5, 21, 103

  date for, 87, 91

  documentation of, 85, 88–89

  Justin’s response to, 96–97

  reaction to, at conference at Ramla, 89–90

  significance of, 86, 87

  and Symeon of Beth Arsham, 88–90, 92r />
  Yūsuf’s focus on Najrān, 89

  Yūsuf’s reports on, 4, 90

  negus of Axum (second century)

  campaigns and conquests of, 46–52, 55–56, 64

  commercial interests of, 48, 51

  and date for Adulis throne, 55–57

  dedication of throne, 15, 20, 45

  identity of, 57–58

  inscriptions erected by, 58–60

  inscription text, 46–48

  power of, 33

  See also Adulis Throne

  negus of Axum (fourth century). See Aezanas

  negus of Axum (sixth century). See Kālēb

  Nestorian branch of Christianity (Church of the East), 15

  Nile River, xxi

  Noba, xxi, 70, 71, 73

  Nobatai, xxi, 72

  Nonnosus

  on Aua, 49

  credentials of, 108

  diplomatic career of, 135–142

  embassy of, 108

  Kālēb’s meeting with, 109–110, 141–142

  on Ramla conference, 89

  North Africa, 54

  Nubia

  and Egyptian rulers, 37

  references to, as Ethiopia, 53–54

  and Roman Empire, 72

  strength of, 62

  See also Meroitic kingdom

  Ogaros, 137

  Okelis, 95, 103

  Oreinê, 10

  Ousanas, 61, 101

  pagans and paganism

  and Abraha’s kingship, 115

  cosmology, 28–29

  hierarchies of divinities in, 129, 130–131

  Hubal (pagan deity), 5, 86, 116, 126

  and Islam, 126–127, 130

  monotheism practiced by, 128–129, 130–131

  and Persia, 125–126

  polytheism of, 86

  and regional religious instability, 5, 118

  and rise of monotheism, 80, 83–84

  Palestine

  Byzantine hegemony in, 122

  emigrants from, 80

  and Ethiopia, 83

  Jewish Ḥimyarites in, 84, 85

  Monophysite communities of, 83

  Persian invasion of, 6, 118

  Qays’ phylarchate in, 111

  and Vespasian, 80, 94, 123

  Palladius, 23–24

  Paul (biblical), 29

  Periplus of the Red Sea (merchant’s manual)

  on Adulis, 9–10, 11, 26, 30–31

  author of, 30–31

  on Barbaroi, 53

  and Diodorus Island, 27

  on Dioscourides, 24

  on ivory trade, 42

  on ruler of Adulis, 32

  on Zoskales, 45, 52

  Persian empire

  and Abraha, 112, 115–117

  and Byzantium, 5, 86, 108, 122, 142

  commercial interests of, 157n2

  and conflict in Ḥimyar, 86

  decline of, 6, 118–119

  expansion of diplomatic activities, 107

  and expulsion of Ethiopians from Arabia, 117–118

  Ḥimyar (South Arabia) controlled by, 120, 132

  invasion of Palestine, 6, 118

  Jerusalem captured by (614), 5–6, 118, 122–123

  and Jews of Arabia, 5, 90, 117, 118, 120

  and Justinian, 107

  and “king of kings” phrase, 64–65

  map of, xxii

 

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