The Kingdom of Aksum- 4th century

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The Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum, Ge'ez አክሱም), was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from the proto-Aksumite period ca. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD. Located in North Eastern Africa, it was deeply involved in the trade from India and the east to the Mediterranean. In the 3rd century, Aksum began interfering in South Arabian affairs, controlling at times the western Tihama region among other areas. By the late 3rd century it had begun minting its own currency and was named by Mani as the 3rd of the four powerful states in the world: Persia, Rome, Aksum, and China. It converted to Christianity in 325 or 328 under King Ezana and was the first state ever to use the image of the cross on its coins. At its height, Aksum controlled northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Sudan, southern Egypt, Djibouti, western Somaliland, Yemen, and southern Saudi Arabia, totalling 1.25 million km².[1] After a second golden age in the early 6th century, the kingdom began to decline, eventually ceasing its production of coins in the early 7th century. It finally dissolved with the invasion of the pagan or Jewish queen Gudit in the 9th or 10th century, resulting in a dark age about which little is known until the rise of the Zagwe dynasty