Jewish Christianity in Late Antique Aksum and Ḥimyar? A Reassessment of the Evidence and a New Proposal

A new proposal challenges the notion of significant Jewish influence on Ethiopian Christianity, instead attributing observed linguistic and cultural elements to commercial and cultural interactions with Syro-Palestinian Judaism. The study reexamines Aksumite archaeological, epigraphic, literary, and linguistic evidence, finding no proof of organized Jewish communities in Aksum but confirming well-established Judean communities in Ḥimyar since the 2nd century CE. It suggests that the adoption of Jewish practices by Ḥimyarite elites, combined with political shifts following the defeat of the Jewish king Yūsuf ʾAsʾar Yathʾar by Aksumite King Kaleb in 525, led to a more conciliatory form of Christianity emphasizing Israelite heritage. This shift contributed to the long-term establishment of a Judaizing kind of Christianity in Ethiopia.

Piovanelli, P. (2018). Jewish Christianity in Late Antique Aksum and Ḥimyar? A Reassessment of the Evidence and a New Proposal. Judaïsme Ancien - Ancient Judaism, 6, 175–202. https://doi.org/10.1484/j.jaaj.5.116611