Great African kingdoms

“Round their necks are collars of gold and silver.”

Ummayad Caliphate, 661–750 This northern empire was a vast Muslim state that spread from Arabia. Unlike the others pictured, it did not have African roots. Nile River

Al-Bakri, 11th-century Spanish Muslim geographer, describing the dogs owned by the king of Ghana

Songhay Empire, 1464–1591 After raids on Mali, the Songhay became the leading power in west Africa until they themselves were invaded.

Trans-Saharan camel caravan

Timbuktu

Kanem-Bornu rider

Oyo Empire, 1400–1895 Oyo became one of the largest and most powerful west African states in the 18th century.

NIger River

Golden eagle, Asante Kanem Empire, 700–1380; 1380s–1800s Kanem was founded by nomads, later breaking up and re-forming as Kanem-Bornu. Its armored horses and riders won many battles in the 16th century.

Queen Mother bronze

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Benin, 1300s–1897 This empire was famous for its skilled craftsmen, who created renowned bronzes using the “lost wax” method developed by earlier cultures in this region.

Mali Empire, 1230–1660s The vast trading empire of Mali became famous as far away as Europe when its ruler, Mansa Musa, traveled to Mecca in 1325 loaded with gold.

Ancient Ghana, 500s–1076 The kingdom of Ghana grew rich on gold mined from its valley and exported along the trans-Saharan trade routes. It was conquered by Berbers in 1076.

Asante Empire, 1670–1902 The Asante empire grew wealthy from gold and expanded through military power. Its goldsmiths produced daggers, jewelry, and animalshaped ornaments, for the king. Dahomey Empire, 1600s–1894 Known for its military, including all-female units, the Dahomey Empire warred with the Oyo for control of the “Slave Coast,” selling captives to European slave traders.

Great Zimbabwe’s Main Enclosure

The royal city of Great Zimbabwe was constructed as the kingdom grew rich from exporting gold to Asia. In the city center, the Main Enclosure was surrounded by walls 36 ft (11 m) high. It contained round thatched houses for the ruler and his court, a solid, conical tower, and lots of short columns topped by birds carved in soapstone rock.

Church in Lalibela

Kingdom of Aksum, 100 BCE–600s CE This trading kingdom is best known for building tall stone stelae (columns), which were probably used as burial markers. C A

King João Nzinga

Kingdom of Kongo, 1390–1857 Kongo was the center of a trade network in cloth and pottery when the Portuguese first arrived in 1483. Their king was baptized as João Nzinga, and the kingdom kept good relations with Portugal for hundreds of years.

Great African 100 BCE– 1902 CE

Ethiopian Empire, kingdoms 1137–1974 In around 1200, the ruling Zagwe dynasty of this Christian empire carved churches directly into the rocky The lost kingdoms and empires of Africa acquired power through ground in the town of Lalibela. trade and natural resources. They were also known for their crafts, created to honor rulers and gods. Some kingdoms lasted Carved hundreds of years, but none survive to the wooden headrest present day. The later ones were Luba Kingdom, swallowed up in the colonization 1580s–1889 Luba was ruled by of Africa by European powers kings who claimed in the late 19th and early to be descended from a mythical hunter. 20th centuries. Carved wooden objects celebrated their divine status.

Soapstone bird carving

Lunda Kingdom, 1660s–1884 This kingdom conquered its neighbors through its military might, expanding Kingdom of Zimbabwe, 1100s–1450 significantly in the 1740s. Ndongo, 1500s–1671 Ndongo broke away from Kongo in the 1560s. It sold people as slaves to Portugal, but in 1623 the Portuguese took some slaves by force Zambezi River and refused to return Medieval Zimbabwe them, leading to war grew wealthy over with Ndongo. hundreds of years Zulu Kingdom, by trading cattle 1816–97 and gold, reaching Warrior chief Shaka its peak in the founded what was the early 15th century. most powerful nation in South Africa—until the British took over at the end of the 19th century.

Great Zimbabwe

Zulu shield and spears