Name an ancient African city located near the Ethiopian Highlands and the Nile River.

Name an ancient African city located near the Ethiopian Highlands and the Nile River.

• A. Timbuktu
• B. Cairo
• C. Meroe
• D. Axum

Answer: (D)

Axum is the city that best fits this description because it was the capital of the ancient Aksumite Empire located in the northern Ethiopian highlands, near the sources of the Nile through the Blue Nile that rise in that same highland region. Its position connected the Ethiopian plateau with Nile Valley trade networks, making it a key city in early African history tied to both the highlands and the Nile. Timbuktu sits far to the west along the Niger River and has no proximity to the Ethiopian highlands or the Nile. Cairo lies on the Nile but far from the Ethiopian highlands, and Meroe is in Nubia along the Nile further south, away from the Ethiopian highlands.

Axum is the city that best fits this description because it was the capital of the ancient Aksumite Empire located in the northern Ethiopian highlands, near the sources of the Nile through the Blue Nile that rise in that same highland region. Its position connected the Ethiopian plateau with Nile Valley trade networks, making it a key city in early African history tied to both the highlands and the Nile. Timbuktu sits far to the west along the Niger River and has no proximity to the Ethiopian highlands or the Nile. Cairo lies on the Nile but far from the Ethiopian highlands, and Meroe is in Nubia along the Nile further south, away from the Ethiopian highlands.