Aksum (Abyssinia)

Aksum, in the northern highlands of present-day Ethiopia, was the capital of the Christian kingdom of Aksum (Abyssinia/al-Habasha). It is significant in early Islamic history as the destination of the first hijra (c. 615), when a group of the Prophet Muhammad's persecuted followers, including the future caliph Uthman ibn Affan and al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, took refuge under the protection of its king, the Najashi.