Axumite Kingdom. AE 13. King Ioel (7th century CE). Bust of king right, Ge'ez legend behind and before spelling out Negus (king). Reverse: Large cross in middle; four letters in Ge'ez spelling out IOEL. Munro-Hay and Juel-Jensen 132. This coin: Purchased at Baltimore Whitman Numismatic Expo, November 2024. The kingdom of Axum (or Aksum) was located in what is now northern Ethiopia, along the western shores of the Red Sea, and was for centuries an important center of trade between eastern Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean world. The kingdom began during the first century CE and was originally polytheistic, apparently with gods similar to those of southern Arabia. However, King Ezana (c.320s-360s CE) converted to Christianity (around the same time as Constantine I in Rome), establishing Axum as one of the earliest Christian kingdoms. The kingdom remained relatively prosperous, and in the early 6th century even conquered the Himyarite Kingdom in what is now Yemen. However, their Yemeni territory was taken by the Sasanian Persian king Khusro I in the 570s, and the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula and eastern Mediterranean further damaged their trading economy. Axumite coinage stops sometime in the later 7th century, and the kingdom finally fell around 960. Axumite coinage is found in gold, silver, and copper, generally fairly small diameter. The designs don't show much variety, with pre-Christian coins usually showing the king's portrait on both sides, while Christian issues usually show a cross on the reverse. Nonetheless, the portraits do have a certain charm to them, at least in my opinion. Inscriptions can be in either Greek or in the local language Ge'ez, as on this piece. Interestingly, some bronze issues were made with a tiny incuse bit of gold in the middle of the cross on the reverse. Please share your Axumite coins.
Thanks @Parthicus for sharing that example and information! Axumite coinage is fascinating, and I'd even add under appreciated. I have a handful. Unfortunately the small bronzes from the mid-to-late 4th century often have little facial features. This one is an exception: Here's another from about 2 centuries later. It has a bit of gold (really!) at the center of the Cross on the reverse (as mentioned by @Parthicus above):
This small one (5th-6th c.) is anonymous. The Greek legend on reverse is TOYTO APECH TH XWPΛ "may this please the country".
