Editing Adulis (section)

==History==
Archeological excavations conducted at Adulis unearthed the existence of a late prehistoric settlement beneath the town, dating from the mid-2nd to early 1st millennium BCE. Adulis may correspond to ''Wddt'', a region recorded in the geographical lists of Egypt’s 18th dynasty (ca. 1450 BCE) as part of the [[Land of Punt]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |date=2003 |pages=104}}</ref>

[[Pliny the Elder]] is the earliest European writer to mention Adulis (N.H. 6.34). He misunderstood the name of the place, thinking the toponym meant that it had been founded by escaped Egyptian slaves. Pliny further stated that it was the 'principal mart for the [[Troglodytae]] and the people of [[Aethiopia]]'. Adulis is also mentioned in the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'', a guide of the [[Red Sea]] and the Indian Ocean. The latter guide describes the settlement as an emporium for the [[ivory]], hides, slaves and other exports of the interior. Roman merchants used the port in the second and third century AD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |date=2003 |pages=104}}</ref>

It appears that the city was located some distance from its actual port—approximately 20 stades away—which sources refer to as "the harbour of the ʿAdulītā". Further evidence of this distinction can be seen in the fact that the ʿAdulītā are sometimes mentioned separately from the Aksumites. Epiphanius, when listing the nine kingdoms of the "Indians,: distinguishes between the Aksumites and the "ʿAdulītā".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |date=2003 |pages=104}}</ref>

[[File:MapHymiariteKingdom.jpg|thumb|left|Adulis is described in the 1st century ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]''.]]

[[Cosmas Indicopleustes]] visited the town in 520 AD, when it was governed by a man named "Asbas" during the reign of King [[Kaleb of Axum]], he recorded two inscriptions he found here in the 6th century: the first, probably the copy of another inscription at Alexandria, records how [[Ptolemy Euergetes]] (247–222 BC) used [[war elephants]] captured in the region to gain victories in his wars abroad;<ref>Pfeiffer, Stefan: ''Griechische und lateinische Inschriften zum Ptolemäerreich und zur römischen Provinz Aegyptus.'' Münster: Lit, 2015, p. 56-61.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rossini |first1=A. |date=December 2021 |title=Iscrizione trionfale di Tolomeo III ad Aduli |url=https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/riviste/axon/2021/2/iscrizione-trionfale-di-tolomeo-iii-ad-aduli/ |journal=Axon |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=93–142 |doi=10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2021/02/005 |doi-access=free |access-date=2022-10-28 |archive-date=2022-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027074659/https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/riviste/axon/2021/2/iscrizione-trionfale-di-tolomeo-iii-ad-aduli/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the second, known as the ''[[Monumentum Adulitanum]]'', was inscribed in the 27th year of a king of Axum, perhaps named Sembrouthes, other scholars theorize him to be the Aksumite king [[GDRT]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowersock |first=Glen Warren |title=The throne of Adulis: Red Sea wars on the eve of Islam |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973932-5 |series=Emblems of antiquity |location=Oxford New York |pages=58}}</ref> boasting of his victories in Arabia and northern Ethiopia.<ref>Peter Thonemann, "Gates of Horn", p. 9</ref>

A fourth century work traditionally ascribed to the writer [[Palladius of Galatia]], relates the journey of an anonymous Egyptian lawyer (''scholasticus'') to India in order to investigate [[Brahmin]] philosophy. He was accompanied part of the way by one Moise or Moses, the Bishop of Adulis. The existence of the See of Adulis is also confirmed by the [[Notitiae Episcopatuum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |date=2003 |pages=104}}</ref>

The last years of Adulis are a mystery. [[Yuri Kobishchanov]] detailed a number of raids Aksumites made on the Arabian coast (the latest being in 702, when the port of [[Jeddah]] was occupied), and argued that Adulis was later destroyed by the [[Muslim]]s, which brought to an end Axum's naval power and contributed to the Aksumite Kingdom's isolation. It has traditionally been claimed that the town was destroyed in 640 AD  by an Arab expedition; however, the evidence remains inconclusive. While excavations have revealed traces of fire, historical records indicate that the Arab expedition was ultimately considered a failure. Muslim writers occasionally mention the nearby [[Dahlak Archipelago]] as places of exile. In any case, the naval power of Axum waned and the port of Adulis was abandoned sometime around the 8th century AD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |date=2003 |pages=104}}</ref>