Gersem (c. 600) was a

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the Kingdom of Aksum in

Northeast Africa Northeast Africa, or ''Northeastern Africa'' or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, is a geographic regional term used to refer to the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North ...

. He is primarily known through the

Aksumite currency Aksumite currency was coinage produced and used within the Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum) centered in present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. Its mintages were issued and circulated from the reign of King Endubis around AD 270 until it began its decline i ...

that was minted during his reign. Munro-Hay suggests that either Gersem or

Armah Armah ( gez, አርማህ) or Aṣḥamah ( ar, أَصْحَمَة), commonly known as Najashi ( ar, النَّجَاشِيّ, translit=An-najāshī), was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum who reigned from 614–631 CE. He is primarily known th ...

were the last Aksumite Kings to issue coins. However, no gold coins belonging to Armah have been found, and the Gersem mint is assumed to be the last coin in gold.¹ Gersem was succeeded atop the throne by Armah. Egyptologist E. A. Wallis Budge theorised that this king's named was influenced by the Biblical name

Gershom According to the Bible, Gershom ( ''Gēršōm'', "a sojourner there"; la, Gersam) was the primogeniture, firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The name means "a stranger there" in Hebrew, ( ''ger sham''), which the text argues was a reference to ...

. The official king list of the Ethiopian monarchy from 1922 lists a similarly named king called "Germa Asfar" who reigned from 631 to 645 ( Ethiopian Calendar). This could be the same king as Gersem based on dating, but the list names a different predecessor and successor for him, with Akala Wedem being the previous king and Zergaz being the next king. A manuscript held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

also states that a king named "Germa Safar" succeeded Akala Wedem and was succeeded by Zergaz. This list claims he was the 13th king to reign after

Abreha and Atsbeha Abreha and Atsbeha were brothers and Aksumite rulers who were said to have adopted Christianity in the 4th-century, although this claim is dubious. The story of Abreha and Atsbeha is lifted from that of the historical personages King Ezana and h ...

. A king list recorded by Egyptologist Henry Salt in 1814 also records a similar line of succession, although the king is called "Grim Sofar" instead of Germa or Gersem and is the 10th king to reign after Abreha and Atsbeha. Neither of these king lists provide reign dates.

Carlo Conti Rossini Carlo Conti Rossini (1872–1949) was an Italian orientalist. He was director of the State Treasury from 1917 to 1925, a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in 1921 and Royal Academy of Italy from 1939. He wrote various works on the historical g ...

recorded a different king list in 1903 that stated that king "Germa Sor" was the 15th king after Abreha and Atsbeha and was preceded by Degzan and succeeded by Akala Wedem.

Notes

# S. C. Munro-Hay, ''Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity'' (Edinburgh: University Press, 1991), p. 91.

References

Kings of Axum 7th-century monarchs in Africa 6th-century monarchs in Africa {{Ethiopia-royal-stub