Adulis: A Center of Ancient African Political Economy

Coming soon: a multi-episode journey into one of Africa’s most influential but least understood ancient cities. Adulis, long dismissed as a minor Red Sea port, is revealed through new archaeological research to have been a thriving political and economic powerhouse.

Across this series, we unpack the groundbreaking findings of Dr Daniel T. Habtemichael’s 2019 dissertation, exploring how Adulis commanded interregional aromatics trade, exported war elephants, and connected the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean worlds. Through 3D reconstructions, artifact analysis, and conversations with leading scholars, we re-examine the Northern Horn of Africa at the height of the Classical Age.

This podcast challenges old narratives and embraces the call of W.E.B. Du Bois and others to study African history on its own terms. Prepare to discover a complex, vibrant, and globally connected Africa that history textbooks rarely show.

Adulis wasn’t peripheral. It was pivotal.
And this series will tell its story.