oppaoppa

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They had coinage with Greek writing in some periods, as I mentioned, which implies that Greeks must have had a very large influence on Aksum. It was only centuries later that they switched to non-Greek, native writing, possibly around the decline of Aksum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endybis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksumite_currency

> The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that the Aksumite state imported brass (Ancient Greek: ὀρείχαλκος, oreíkhalkos), "which they use[d] for ornaments and for cutting as money", and they imported "a little money (denarion) for [use by] foreigners who live there."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum

> Aksum also had a sizeable Greek population, which resided in the cities of Ptolemais Theron and Adulis.[52]

Comment · 1 month ago

Does the Songhai empire really have nothing besides size, gold and slave trading? Surely they must have had something. What about architecture? Ancient Greeks, Romans, ancient Chinese, etc., all had impressive achievements, and they were around many centuries before the Songhai empire. Perhaps even Meso-American empires and civilizations had achievements relatively speaking, especially considering that they were much more isolated from the rest of the world than the Songhai empire.

Comment · 1 month ago

What is the Songhai empire known for, apart from size, gold and slave trading? Any great architecture or scientific achievements?

Comment · 1 month ago

That was back when Aksum had a large Greek minority and other minorities, and even in some periods of time had coinage with Greek writing.

Also, Aksum probably overlaps much more with Eritrea than with Ethiopia. Aksum was also mostly surrounded by desert, mountains, at least one volcano, and the sea, and its territory tended to be close to the sea, also for trade. Surprisingly isolated from the rest of Africa south of the Sahara.

Edited, to tclancy:

Rude.

But also, I made this comment before your comment, check the timestamps.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49945710

And it mentions ancient Chinese and Meso-American civilizations.