Season 2 Episode 16 - The War for the Dahlak Islands and the Aksumite Dark Age
History of Africa
English - June 07, 2021 11:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 155 ratingsHistory africa history african ethiopia egypt nigeria black ancient civilization south africa Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Episode 25 - The Somali Maritime Era
Next Episode: Episode 27 - Degna Djan: The Last Great King of Aksum
Throughout the 8th until the 10th centuries, Aksumite society changed immensely. Once a powerful, centralized empire, Aksum increasingly evolved into a decentralized, feudal state. Where once the Negus was an unchallenged hegemon, they now had to frequently contend with rivals for power within the priestly and landowning classes.
However, not everyone took these changes lying down. The Aksumite merchant class, in a desperate attempt to reverse their dwindling powers, began a series of aggressive naval wars in the Red Sea. From the Dahlak islands to the port of Jeddah and even the island of Socotra, Aksumite merchants desperately tried to reassert their power.
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