The Aksum or Axum Empire was an important military power and trading nation, existing from approximately 100 to 940 A.D. It was one of only four major international superpowers of its day along with Persia, Rome and China. Axum controlled northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Sudan, southern Egypt, Djibouti, Western Yemen, and southern Saudi Arabia, totaling 1.25 million square kilometers. Axum traded and projected its influence as far as China and India.
