Adulis

Adulis (Sabaean: ‎𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, Ge'ez: ኣዱሊስ, Ancient Greek: Ἄδουλις) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean city of Zula. It was the emporium considered part of the D’mt and the Kingdom of Aksum. It was close to Greece and the Byzantine Empire, with its luxury goods and trade routes. Its location can be included in the area known to the ancient Egyptians as the Land of Punt, perhaps coinciding with the locality of Wddt, recorded in the geographical list of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

Several theories have been proposed regarding the origin of the name Adulis. One theory derives the name from the Saho term ado lay, meaning "white water" or "clear water". The term is composed of ado ("white") and lay ("water") and is used by Saho speakers to describe settlements associated with reliable sources of clean water.

Archeological excavations conducted at Adulis unearthed the existence of a late prehistoric settlement beneath the town, dating from the mid-2nd to early 1st millennium BCE. Adulis may correspond to Wddt, a region recorded in the geographical lists of Egypt’s 18th dynasty (ca. 1450 BCE) as part of the Land of Punt. Pliny the Elder is the earliest European writer to mention Adulis (N.H. 6.34). He misunderstood the name of the place, thinking the toponym meant that it had been founded by escaped Egyptian slaves. Pliny further stated that it was the 'principal mart for the Troglodytae and the people of Aethiopia'. Adulis is also mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a guide of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The latter guide describes the settlement as an emporium for the ivory, hides, slaves and other exports of the interior. Roman merchants used the port in the second and third century AD. It appears that the city was located some distance from its actual port—approximately 20 stades away—which sources refer to as "the harbour of the ʿAdulītā". Further evidence of this distinction can be seen in the fact that the ʿAdulītā are sometimes mentioned separately from the Aksumites. Epiphanius, when listing the nine kingdoms of the "Indians",

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).