አገው ውለታው ብዙ ነው ግን ተበታትኖ ተጨቁኖ ተዋጠ!!
Yes, this is historically and archaeologically accurate. Teff was first domesticated by the ancestral Agaw and other early Cushitic-speaking peoples in the Ethiopian highlands well before the rise of the Axum Empire.
A breakdown of the historical timeline confirms this sequence:
* Domestication by the Agaw (c. 4000 to 1000 BCE): Ancestral Cushitic and Agaw populations were the earliest inhabitants of the northern and central Ethiopian highlands, transitioning from hunter-gatherers to pastoralists and farmers. During this time, they domesticated indigenous wild grasses, including teff (Eragrostis tef). The ancient Agaw also invented early agricultural tools; for example, the Ge'ez and Amharic words for the traditional plow are believed to have originated from the Agaw languages.
* Early Cultivation (c. 1600 to 400 BCE): Archaeological evidence (such as plant remains and seed imprints) confirms that teff was being cultivated in the northern highlands during the pre-Axumite period. Phytolith and starch analyses at the Mezber site in the Tigray region date the earliest known use of teff to roughly 1600 BCE, long before Axum unified the region.
* The Axum Empire (c. 100 CE to 940 CE): The Axumite Empire grew out of these pre-Axumite agricultural societies in the 1st century CE. As Axum centralized its power and wealth, teff continued to be one of its most important agricultural staples, alongside wheat, barley, and finger millet.
* In summary, the Agaw laid the foundation for agriculture in the region and were responsible for domesticating teff, which the later Axumite Empire adopted and cultivated as a primary food source