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The Kingdom of D'mt is established in northern Ethiopia,. Becomes a mecca of trade in ivory, gold, silver, and slaves to Arab merchants
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The Kingdom of Aksum is formed
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Trade route courses are turned east rather than west, gain easier access to coastal ports
the Kingdom of D'mt is absorbed into small city-states due to the decline in trade. eventually overtaken by the Kingdom of Aksum -
Christianity came to Aksum in the 4th century AD. the town is still a major centre of Christian pilgrimage as the Ark of the Covenant is, according to Ethiopian belief, kept ever since it was brought from Jerusalem by Menelik I, son of the fabled Ethiopian Queen of Sheba and King Solomon
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Aksum flourished until the 7th century, when the rise of Islam in Arabia left it isolated, trade dwindled and the whole of Ethiopia entered its ‘dark ages’.
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Zagwe dynasty emerged and work on the incredible rock-hewn churches was begun. At around the same time, Islam was beginning to spread into the eastern part of the country, and the fortified Muslim town of Harar was established