Eritrea

Abstract

Modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia was known by Egyptian Pharaohs as the Land of Punt, a region rich in precious resources including gold and ivory. Settlers from southern Arabia brought Semitic languages and stone-building techniques. Archaeological evidence suggests Asmara, the present Eritrean capital, was the site of a settled agricultural community from at least 800 BC. During the sixth century BC Arab merchants, who traded ivory and slaves, inhabited Eritrea’s coastal strip. This area and the Tigray highlands subsequently formed part of the Aksumite kingdom. At its height in the sixth century AD the kingdom, which had embraced Christianity, controlled much of the Red Sea coast from the port of Adulis (modern Zula) and traded with Mediterranean powers, as well as Persia and India.