Axum's King Zoskales: The Merchant King of Adulis

Before Ezana, before Kaleb, there was Zoskales — the shadowy king who ruled the port city of Adulis and turned Axum into a commercial powerhouse. We explore the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, the anonymous Greek text that offers the only contemporary portrait of this ruler, describing him as 'illiberal in his ways' but shrewd in business. We trace how Zoskales controlled the ivory, gold, and spice trades that linked the Ethiopian highlands to Roman Egypt, India, and Ceylon. We also examine the limits of the Periplus as a source, the debate over whether Zoskales ruled Axum itself or just the coast, and what his reign reveals about Axum's early relations with the Roman world. You'll hear about the port of Adulis, the so-called 'Elephant Highway', and the mysterious tribe of the Beja who challenged Axum's trade monopoly. This episode builds on our earlier look at the Monumentum Adulitanum but stays focused on the economic foundations that made Axum a great power. #Zoskales #Adulis #Axum #PeriplusOfTheErythraeanSea #KingZoskales #IndianOceanTrade #IvoryTrade #ElephantHighway #RomanEgypt #Beja #Ceylon #SpiceTrade #EastAfricanHistory #AncientTrade #EthiopianHistory #FexingoHistory #History #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo