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
/>
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, 92
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
Throne of Adulis Page 16