Aksum's King Aphilas and the Gold Coin Revolution

Before Ezana and Kaleb, there was Aphilas — an early Aksumite king who revolutionized the empire's economy by minting the first gold coins in sub-Saharan Africa. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine Aphilas's brief but pivotal reign in the early 3rd century AD, focusing on his coinage: the gold stater and aureus that bore his profile, the crescent-and-disk symbol of the god Mahrem, and Ge'ez inscriptions announcing him as 'King of Axum.' They explore what these coins reveal about Aksum's trade networks with Rome and India, the political messaging of royal portraiture, and why Aphilas's reforms laid the groundwork for the empire's golden age. The conversation also touches on the enigmatic 'bisi' title found on his coins, the discovery of his hoards from Adulis to the Deccan, and the scholarly debate over whether he was the first Aksumite king to convert to Christianity — a claim now largely dismissed. With only a handful of inscriptions and coin legends to go by, Aphilas remains a shadowy figure, but his monetary legacy shaped East African commerce for centuries. #Aksum #Aphilas #AksumiteCoins #GoldCoinage #Mahrem #Ge'ez #Adulis #EastAfrica #Numismatics #AncientTrade #RomanEmpire #IndiaTrade #Stater #Aureus #SubSaharanAfrica #AncientHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo