The ruins of the ancient city of Aksum are found close to Ethiopi­a’s north­ern bor­der. They mark the loca­tion of the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the King­dom of Aksum was the most pow­er­ful state between the East­ern Roman Empire and Per­sia. The mas­sive ruins, dat­ing from between the 1st and the 13th cen­tu­ry A.D., include mono­lith­ic obelisks, giant ste­lae, roy­al tombs and the ruins of ancient cas­tles. Long after its polit­i­cal decline in the 10th cen­tu­ry, Ethiopi­an emper­ors con­tin­ued to be crowned in Aksum.