AXUM, a town of Abyssinia, in the province of Tigre, is remarkable only for its extensive and mag nificent ruins, from which may be traced its ancient splendour and importance. In one square, which appears to have been the centre of the town, are forty obelisks of granite. On the top of one is a ,patera, exceedingly well carved, in the Greek taste; but the sculptures on the face of the obelisk are Gothic ; and from its form and situation, Mr Bruce supposes it to have been erected by Ptolemy Ever getes, for the use of the philosopher Eratosthedes, in ascertaining the latitude, or, according to others, in measuring the obliquity of the ecliptic. Two flights of steps, several hundred feet long, are the only remains of a magnificent temple ; and in the vicinity are a considerable number of pedestals of statues; and the remains of a causeway, formed of large stones stand ing edgewise, or heaped upon one another.
The ancient city of Axum is supposed, by Mr Bruce, to have been built by a colony of Cushites, or Troglodyte Ethiopians. It was one of the most flourishing and populous cities of Abyssinia, and it continued to be the capital of the kingdom till the beginning of the 16th century, when it seas destroyed by the rPurks.
r' The ruins of Axum, of which we have given a a , snort account, upon the authority of Bruce, in the article ARYSSMA, have been recently examined with great attention by Lord Valentia. After much fruitless search, he was unable to find the inscription mentioned by Bruce ; but was so fortunate as to discover a monument, about eight feet high, three and a half broad, and one thick, which contained a long Greek inscription. This monument seems to have been erected about the year 330, by .2Eizanas, king of the A xomitcs, in honour of his two brothers, who subdued the insurgent nation of the Bougceitx, (perhaps the Bogenses of Edrisi.) This inscription
contains an account of the hospitality shown to the prisoners who were taken, and establishes the fact of Axum having been the capital of a people called the Axomites.
Lord Valentia measured and carefully examined all the obelisks at Axiiin. There are seven large ones, ornamented in the same manner as the large and beautiful one mentioned by Bruce, which is still standing, and which is 80 feet high, consisting of a single block of granite. The smallest is 36 feet, but the dimensions of the largest are considerably greater than those of the erect one.
Not far from the church, in a square inclosure " surrounded with pillars, Lord Valentia found a short inscription, in Ethiopic characters, to this effect : " The Aboona David removed and broke to pieces here ; he thought within himself, the Lord was plea sed that he so should do." This explanation seems to account for the destruction of the temple and obe lisks. These ancient monuments, originally 55 in number, are said by the priests to have been built by Ethiopus, the father of Abyssinia, about 1510 years ago.
The present town, which contains about 600 houses, stands partly in, and partly at, the mouth of a nook formed by two hills, on the north-west end of an ex tensive valley, where the soil, which is very produc tive, is interspersed with small pieces of spar and agates. Several manufactures of coarse cotton-cloth are carried on here ; and excellent parchment is made of goats' skins by the monks. N. Lat. 14° 6' 36", E. Long. 38° 39'. See Bruce's Travels, vol. iii. p. 128, &c. ; and Lord Valentia's Travels, vol. iii. p. 87, 179. (70