the main port of axum was the red sea city of
Kingdom of Aksum Aksum is mentioned in the 1st-century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world. It states that the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD was Zoskales, who, besides ruling the kingdom, likewise controlled land near the Red Sea: Adulis(near Massawa) and lands through the highlands of present-day Eritrea. He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature.[11]