Zoskales

Zoskales (that's the Greek form of the name) was a ruler living on the East African coast around the middle of the 1st century AD. He is often considered to be the earliest recorded king of Aksum .

Zoskales is mentioned by the anonymous author of the Periplus Maris Erythraei as the ruler of the coastal region around the important port city of Adulis ( Periplus 5: ... from the Moschophagoi to the rest of the Barbaria ... ; thus an area from Ptolemais Theron to the north coast of today's Somalia ). How far his dominion extended inland, however, is unknown. In the Periplus , Zoskales is mentioned as a contemporary of the author. Zoskales is said to have been jealous of his possessions and strived for more, but otherwise he had a good personality and mastered the Greek language, so he had a certain education.

According to the description in the Periplus , it is not clear whether Zoskales was an Aksumite ruler. It is also possible that he was a local ruler dependent on Aksum or even ruled an independent kingdom around Adulis, whose port was important for long-distance trade between the Mediterranean and India (see India trade ).

literature

• Glen Bowersock : The Throne of Adulis. Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013, pp. 31-33, 44f.
• Lionel Casson: The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1989, pp. 52f. (Greek text with English translation), p. 109f. (Comment)
• Raoul McLaughlin: The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean. The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India. Pen & Sword, Barnsley 2014, pp. 113ff.