Axum

Axum
Tigrinya: ኣኽሱም     Amharic: አክሱም    Ge’ez: አኵስም
City
From top to bottom, left to right: skyline of Axum, Northern Stelae Park, Chapel of the Tablet at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, Abba Pantelewon, farmlands in Axum, ruins of Dungur.
Axum is located in Ethiopia
Axum
Axum
Location within Ethiopia
Axum is located in Africa
Axum
Axum
Location within Africa
Coordinates: 14°7′15″N 38°43′40″E / 14.12083°N 38.72778°E / 14.12083; 38.72778
Country Ethiopia
Region Tigray
ZoneCentral
Elevation
2,131 m (6,991 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total
94,515
CriteriaCultural: i, iv
Reference15
Inscription1980 (4th Session)

Axum, also spelled Aksum (pronounced: /ˈɑːkˈsm/ ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).[2] It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire.[3]

Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region, near the base of the Adwa mountains. It has an elevation of 2,131 metres (6,991 feet) and is surrounded by La'ilay Maychew, a separately administered woreda of the Tigray region.

In 1980, UNESCO added Axum's archaeological sites to its list of World Heritage Sites due to their historic value. Prior to the beginning of the Tigray War in 2020, Axum was a leading tourist destination for foreign visitors.[4]

  1. ^ "Population Size by Sex, Zone and Woreda" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ^ "City Population".
  3. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Axum". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  4. ^ Kristos, Mihret G (26 May 2023). "Analysis: Axum, Ethiopia's top tourist destination reels from impacts of devastating war". Addis Standard. Retrieved 4 July 2023.