Origins of Al Akhdam people?

[iateyourheadphons]

They are said to be descendants of soldiers from the Axum empire in Ethiopia and Eritrea who settled in Yemen; yet they dont really resemble modern day Ethiopians and Eritreans. Were are they from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Akhdam

[Bandar Qasim]

They look very clearly Bantu. I doubt they have Ethiopian roots. Basically Bantuids with minor Arabid.

[Ekarfi]

I agree they look really quite Bantu-descent, not Ethiopian.

[Doctoris Scientia]

I think that they were likely initially of Ethiopian descent. Mainly because most "origin" myths have some sort of truth and/or reason for their existence. It's my opinion that the Ethiopian group in Yemen gradually absorbed Bantu descended individuals over time; like in most situations people who look similar to one another usually start associating with one another, and sometimes even merge into one ethnicity or social group over time. As is the case of foreign "black" Africans in Egypt and the rest of North Africa, in where Nigerians, Chadians, Sudanese, Eritrean-Ethiopians, and Somalis etc usually associate and sick to one another during their time in Egypt and some cases in Europe (in which North Africans are sometimes included). Over time, this group could possibly become one ethnic-social group in North Africa... possibly joining other more older "Sudanic" populations in North Africa. I've met a lot of cross-cultural/national/ethnic couples with "roots" in North Africa, for example a mixed Senegalese/Somali family from Tunisia.

[Lemba]

Well as soldier descendants its not far fetched, perhaps the army had both Aethopid but heavy bantuid peoples, similar to how some of the Moorish military was Sub-saharan.

[Doctoris Scientia]

Well as soldier descendants its not far fetched, perhaps the army had both Aethopid but heavy bantuid peoples, similar to how some of the Moorish military was Sub-saharan.

It's unlikely that the Aksumite used Bantu speaking troops imho.