What contributed to the decline of Aksum

Because it was a long and slow process, the concrete causes of thedecline of the Aksumite kingdoms are inconspicuous. The underlyingcause of its decline is the shift of power southward. After thePersians ended Ethiopian involvement in southern Arabia and theIslams replaced the Aksumites in the Red Sea, Amda Tseyon’s andZara Yakob’s campaigns into southern lands proved to be permenentsettlements.Until Adulis suffered a destructive attack in the middle of the 7thcentury, the Aksumites exported ivory, incense, tortoise-shell, andobsidian and they imported clothing, glass, iron, and weapons fromEgypt, India, and Arabia (Pankhurst 23). But as Islamic expansionsgrew in the Red Sea and overpopulation and over-cropping wore downthe once fertile land, Aksum’s presence in the seashores began todiminish. Trade with other countries, however, did continue, buttrading ports that were located much more southern had become moreprominent.The power shift into southern regions had become necessary oncedeforestation and degradation had taken its toll on the land. Whileforests were being cut down for construction and irregular rainfalleroded the soil, Aksumite agriculture began to collapse. The powershift southwards was also influenced by revolts occurring insurrounding areas, most notably by the Beja tribes from the north.Ethiopia’expeditions into south Arabia territories played a role inweakening its troops (Henze 44-6).