Book of Aksum

The Book of Aksum (Ge'ez መጽሐፈ ፡ አክሱም maṣḥafa aksūm, Amharic: meṣhafe aksūm, Tigrinya: meṣḥafe aksūm, Latin: Liber Axumae) is the name accepted since the time of James Bruce for a collection of documents from St. Mary's Cathedral of Aksum providing information on Ethiopian history. The earliest parts of the collection date to the mid-15th century during the reign of Zar'a Ya`qob (r. 1434-1468).

The book's editor Carlo Conti Rossini classified the book into three parts: the first, earlier, section describes the Church Maryam Seyon in Aksum prior to it being damaged in the mid-16th century, the topography of Aksum and its history, and contains a list of services and the like regarding Maryam Seyon and its clergy. The second part is dated to the early 17th century and contains 104 historical and legal texts, many dealing with land grants, along with their protocols, while the third text dates to the late 17th century and contains 14 miscellaneous legal and historical texts regarding Aksum's history. The book was also supplemented in the mid-19th century with further later documents.[1]

The book derives the name Ethiopia from Itiyopp'is, an (otherwise unmentioned) son of the Biblical Cush.[2] According to the book of Aksum Itiyopp'is built Mazaber, the Kingdom of Aksum's first capital.[3][4]