How a gold coin attributed to Endubis offers an example of Aksumite royal coinage, and what one specimen can show.
The Kingdom of Aksum, centred in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea, issued its own coinage in late antiquity. A British Museum gold coin attributed to King Endubis offers a specific example of its royal coinage.
Ears of Wheat and Sacred Symbols
That specimen illustrates how these elements appeared on one issue; designs and legends varied across Aksumite coinage.
- A ruler's portrait on the obverse.
- Grain ears framing the portrait.
- A Greek inscription.
Symbols Before and After Christianity
Early Aksumite issues use a crescent and disc; later coins associated with King Ezana feature a cross. This change is visible in the coin designs, though it should not be reduced to a precise conversion date based on the coins alone.
A Monetary Gateway Between Continents
Aksum's coinage belongs to a kingdom connected to Red Sea commerce. The British Museum's Silk Roads teaching resource places Aksum in that wider network; a single coin, however, cannot establish the route or distance it travelled.