Axum I

  General Description   An empire with Aksum as its capital dominated the northern highlands of Ethiopia from the first to the seventh century CE. ". ^[1] This empire was characterised by a combination of indigenous Ethiopian and South Arabian culture. ." ^[2] Between about 150 and 270 CE, Aksum extended its control to South Arabia, including the Yemen Coastal Plain or Plateau, the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains.
Without Arabian and Nubian territories, the population of the Aksumite empire has been estimated as "at the outside half a million". ^[3] As for Aksum itself, during the first four centuries CE its core area covered between 80 and 100 hectares; ^[4] assuming 50-200 people per hectare, this would mean a population of between 4,500 and 200,000, at least in the core area. The empire was governed by a single ruler (negus) and his retinue; according to some sources, the administrative system was relatively poorly developed. ^[5] Provinces were ruled indirectly through regional rulers ^[6] who sent tribute. ^[7]

[1]: (Hatke 2013) George Hatke. 2013. Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World). New York University Press.

[2]: (Ricard 2004, 16) Alain Ricard. The Languages & Literatures of Africa: The Sands of Babel. James Currey Publishers. Oxford.

[3]: (Munro-Hay 1991, 166) Stuart C Munro-Hay. 1991. Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press.

[4]: (Curtis 2017, 106) Matthew C Curtis. Aksum, town and monuments. Siegbert Uhlig. David L Appleyard. Steven Kaplan. Alessandro Bausi. Wolfgang Hahn. eds. 2017. Ethiopia: History, Culture and Challenges. Michigan State University Press. East Lansing.

[5]: (Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.

[6]: (Kobishanov 1981, 384) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.

[7]: (Falola 2002, 58) Toyin Falola. 2002. Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport.