History of Africa

Season 2 Episode 17 - Degna Djan: The Last Great King of Aksum

Aksum's seemingly unending civilizational decline is finally reversed. The new Negus, Degna Djan, formulates a plan to reclaim the power of the autocratic kings of old and weaken the power of the church. With this power secured, he begins a prolonged series of successful wars against Aksum's neighbors, including the Agaw,  Amhara, Omotic peoples, and Somalis. However, no matter the successes of his reign, Degna Djan also has an unfortunate legacy of setting into motion the events that would lead to the eventual decline and death of the Aksumite Empire.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 16 - The War for the Dahlak Islands and the Aksumite Dark Age

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. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 15 - The Somali Maritime Era

After centuries of thoroughly dominating the commerce and trade of the Red Sea, the powerful merchants of Aksum have finally met their match. After a devastating raid from the caliphate on the port city of Adulis, the Somali merchants will finally gain the opportunity they need to equal and even surpass the Aksumite trade monopoly.To learn more about the topic and African history more generally, check out the new blog post.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 14 - The Rise of Islam (From the Aksumite Perspective)

Facing the threat of persecution from the polytheistic elite of Mecca, the early followers of the Prophet Muhammad are forced to leave the city. They find refuge in the Empire of Aksum. However, not all is well in the empire. The current negus, Armah (more often known as Al-Najashi) is struggling to put down the rebellion of the treacherous general Hatsani Danael.Thank you for listening to the History of Africa podcast. If you'd like to support the show, or vote in the upcoming poll for the topic of next season, click the "support the show" link.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 13 - The Aksumite-Persian War

A triumvirate of a disgraced Aksumite prince, a Persian death-row prisoner, and an Arab-Jewish nobleman threaten to permanently kick the Aksumites out of their Yemeni client kingdom  Learn more about the Aksumite-Persian war (or about African history as a whole (on our accompanying blog. Thank you to Podcorn for sponsoring this episode: check out their website to sign up at Podcorn.comSupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 12 - The Year of the Elephant and the First Plague

In the 530s AD, a mysterious disease swept across the Aksumite territories of Ethiopia and Yemen. The black plague, with mysterious origins somewhere in the interior of East Africa, would soon spread on the ships of Aksumite merchants across the world. To make matters worse, a surge in volcanic activity caused a drop in global temperature, causing further chaos in the agrarian economy of Aksum. Meanwhile, as Abraha's kingdom of Aksumite Arabia struggled to recover from the plague, the former general concocts a plan to restore his economy through ancient religious tourism, only to have his scheme ruined by a single elephant.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 11: The Aksumite Civil War

The Aksumite invasion of Yemen was a success! The Himyarite king had killed himself, and the entirety of the Himyarite kingdom was under Aksumite control. Now what?Two Aksumite generals: the prince-general Ariat and the slave-turned-general Abraha, disagreed strongly as to what they should do next. These disagreements, over such different matters as forced conversions, which villages should be raided, and how much power should be given to a puppet king, all eventually escalate into a catastrophic civil war.Learn more about African history on our blogNotre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 10 - Saint Kaleb, the Conqueror

Kaleb was never meant to be king. For his entire life, he wanted to live a scholarly and humble life as a monk. However, when his father died at a young age, he was forced onto the throne with only his trusted slave-turned-advisor, Abraha, to help him. Upon hearing news of brutal persecution of his fellow Christians in the Arabian Kingdom of Himyar, Kaleb leaps into action, assembling the largest army that Aksum had ever seen to finally conquer his Arabian enemy.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 9 - Aksum’s Zealot King and the Nine Saints

After Saizana's death, a mysterious man named Mahedyas takes the throne of Aksum. He begins a crusade to rid Aksum of the holdovers from its polytheistic past, and consolidates the church under his direct control. Later, a group of refugee priests land in Aksum and begin revolutionizing the Aksumite church.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Episode 8: Ezana’s Conquest of Nubia

The Ancient Nubian kingdom of Meroe had existed before Aksum's foundation as a city, and was the preeminent power in East Africa for most of its existence. But, by the year 360, the tables had turned. Nubia was a kingdom in decline, while Aksum was the hot new hegemon in the region. After dealing with many internal struggles within the Aksumite Empire, King Ezana has set his eyes on ending the ancient kingdom to his North.To learn more and view images from the episode, visit our blog at https://historyofafricapodcast.blogspot.comNotre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices