Picture of King Ezana stele: tallest, slightly tilting obelisk (Axum, Ethiopia)

King Ezana stele in Axum

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Once the most powerful city in the region, Axum nowadays is famous mainly for its stelae and is considered the most religious of Ethiopian cities.
While Axum itself nowadays seems a quiet backwater, one of the reasons why it is so attractive is that its soil very likely contains many cultural and historical artifacts that attest to the richness of the empire. Even now, the town already boasts many proofs of its history, but much more seems to be waiting to be uncovered under the ground. The most evident proof of Axumite power are the stelae, proudly standing on the western side of town. They are finely decorated, precisely carved, and large: the largest ones are taller than the tallest obelisk of ancient Egypt. The function of the stelae is still subject to discussion, probably they mark graves of emperors. In fact, under the stelae field in Axum you can find tombs of emperors, unfortunately robbed of their treasures - but then again, who knows there might still be yet uncovered tombs still holding their original contents?
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