Adulis: Modeling a Classical African Political Economy Chapter 1 Adulis: Modeling a Classical African Political Economy is from a 2019 doctoral dissertation by Daniel T. Habtemichael focused on modeling the local political economy of the ancient port city of Adulis in the Northern Horn of Africa between 1000 BCE and 700 ACE. The core research objective is to challenge the traditional view that Adulis was merely a periphery of the Aksumite world by proposing and testing an alternative hypothesis that Adulis was an independent political and economic center. The author uses energetics analysis of Adulis's built forms and artifacts, combined with textual and ethnohistorical evidence, to assess household wealth and the city's role in interregional trade networks, specifically those involving aromatics and war elephants. Ultimately, the dissertation aims to advance the understanding of African history on its own terms, aligning with the perspective of scholars like W.E.B. Du Bois, by thoroughly examining Adulis's complex social organization and strategic position in the Red Sea and Mediterranean trade spheres.
References
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/entities/publication/6c43531e-c4e4-49d3-9a9b-ed7063f13765