History of Massawa

Massawa was originally a small seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Axum in antiquity and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the south.

Following the fall of Axum in the 8th century, the area around Massawa and the town itself became occupied by the Umayyad Caliphate from 702 to 750 AD. The Beja people would also come to rule within Massawa during the Beja Kingdom of Eritrea from 740 AD to 14th century AD. Midri-Bahri, a Kingdom in Eritrea from 14th to the 19th century AD, gained