Gold Coins of Axum: King Aphilas

Few contemporary rulers could issue in gold, a statement of absolute sovereignty. On the coins (the silver and bronze, uniquely, overlaid with gold on important symbols like the cross or crown) we read the names of over twenty otherwise unknown kings, from the 3rd-7th century AD. We see the monarchs wearing the high Aksumite tiara, dressed in fringed robes, with necklaces, bracelets, armlets and probably finger-rings, and holding sword, spear, or hand-cross. Wheat-stalks appear too, a vital crop for Aksum's continued prosperity. A characteristic motif is the cross; the Aksumites were the first to depict it on coins. Ethiopian art later exploited cross-forms to a high degree, but on coins some early developments---cross-crosslets, diamond centred crosses inlaid with gold---can be seen. Only in Aksum was the coinage decorated with gold inlay in this fashion.

Text copyright Stuart Munro-Hay 1998