The enormous obelisks in Aksum, Ethiopia are much bigger than the famous obelisks in Egypt. The city of Aksum emerged several centuries before the birth of Christ, as the capital of a state that traded with ancient Greece, Egypt and Asia. With its fleets sailing as far afield as Ceylon, Aksum later became the most […]
Read MorePosts in category Royalty
Lalibela and its 12th-13th century rock-cut Christian churches in Ethiopia, Africa
The Church of St. George is one of eleven monolithic churches in Lalibela, a city in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Originally named Roha or Warwar, this historical and religious site is currently accepted in the modern name of Lalibela, after King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of Ethiopia, who is regarded as a saint-like figure by […]
Read MoreTektite: 28 million year old Libyan Glass found in the Sahara desert of Africa
Tutankhamen’s impeccably preserved brooch was recovered along with the numerous other artifacts within his tomb in 1922. The striking yellow-brown scarab that is set at its heart is made of a yellow silica glass stone procured from the sand of the Sahara. Researchers believe the silica glass was originally formed 28 million years ago. There are […]
Read MoreQueen Tiye: Mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu. She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. Egyptologists have suggested that Tiye’s father, Yuya, was of Nubian descent due to the features of his mummy and the many different spellings of […]
Read MoreQUEEN OF SHEBA
The Queen of Sheba is a queen regnant who appears in the Bible. The tale of her visit to King Solomon has undergone extensive Jewish, Arabian and Ethiopian elaborations, and has become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in the Orient. Almost 3,000 years ago, the ruler of […]
Read MoreBritish, Dutch & French West Indies
The British West Indies were the islands and mainland colonies in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire. The Netherlands Antilles, also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The term French West Indies or French Antilles refers to […]
Read MoreThe richest human being in all history
Humm… Why don’t I don’t see women on this richest human being in all history list? Ever heard of, Mansa Musa I of Mali — the obscure 14th century African king who was today named the richest person in all history. With an inflation adjusted fortune of $400 billion, Mansa Musa I would have been […]
Read MoreDiane von Furstenberg Spring/Summer 2015
The Belgian-born designer and fashion mogul, listed as the 68th most powerful woman in the world, has had quite a life. Born to a mother who survived the concentration camps, had two children with an actual prince, and was taking the fashion world by storm by the time she was in her late 20s. Diane […]
Read MoreHatshepsut was a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom in Egypt
Twenty years after her death, somebody smashed her statues, took a chisel and attempted to erase the pharaoh’s name and image from history. But who did it? And why? Kate Narev investigates Hatshepsut’s history for clues to this ancient puzzle. A daughter of King Thutmose I, Hatshepsut became queen of Egypt when she married her […]
Read MoreQueen of Qatar
Why You’ve Never Heard of the World’s Best-Dressed Royal … Her style below has a Jakie Onassis feel to it. I really love this look. My mother was great with wrapping her hair, even though I never tried it my self. It seems to fit a certain type of face. African/ African descent women tend […]
Read MoreMaria de Fonseca
Maria de Fonseca, daughter of a Portuguese-Angolan trader, said to be the favorite wife of Msiri, King of Katanga, in 1892. Maria de Fonseca was the favourite wife of Msiri, the powerful warrior-king of Katanga, at the time when the Stairs Expedition arrived in 1891 to take possession of the territory for the Belgian King Leopold II, with or without Msiri’s consent.[1] Msiri typically cemented […]
Read MoreAkosua Busia
Her father, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Ghana (in West Africa) from 1969 to 1972. Both father and daughter were educated at Oxford University in Oxforshire, England, UK; and both were members of the Royal Family of Wenchi. Akosua Busia was, in her native Ghana, a princess. Her sister, […]
Read MoreSouth African Royalty: Tsidii Le Loka
Tsidii Le Loka was studying economics and music at the University of Massachusetts when she got a call to come to New York and audition for “The Lion King.” Not only did she get the part of Rafiki, but she went on to receive a Tony nomination for her work. It was a defining […]
Read MorePrincess Esther Kamatari of Burundi
Princess Esther Kamatari, 60 is a writer, model, and exiled Burundian princess. Esther Kamatari grew up in Burundi as a member of the royal family. Following independence in 1962, the king was overthrown in a military coup d’etat, and the monarchy abolished in 1966. Kamatari fled the country in 1970 after her father’s […]
Read MorePrincess Elizabeth Bagaaya of Toro
Lawyer, diplomat, politician, and actress are all accomplishments that Princess Elizabeth has under her belt. She was the first female from East Africa to be admitted to the English Bar after studying at Cambridge. She then became Uganda’s first female lawyer as well as serving briefly as the Foreign Minister of Affairs under Idi […]
Read MorePrincess Komuntale of Toro (Sister to King Oyo)
The rest of the Royal Family Lady Kezia Rukidi Abwooli with a young Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya of Toro. His Uncle Omukama Patrick Kaboyo Olimi VII officiating on his second coronatio Her Brother Oyo ascended to the throne when he was only three years old after the death of his father, Patrick Olimi Kaboyo.
Read MoreHigh Nobility: Joy Elias-Rilwan
Nationality: British Ethnicity: Nigirian, African She has four children, and is a member of the Elias family of Yoruba chieftains in Lagos. The Honorable James Lascelles, 1st cousin of the Queen, is married to a black woman, Joy Elias-Rilwan, who is also a member of the Yoruba noble family of Elias of Lagos. Joy Elias-Rilwan married Hon. James Edward Lascelles, son […]
Read MoreQueen Sylvia Nagginda of Uganda(Uganda)
Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Uganda, this regal woman married King Kabaka Mutebi II in 1999, after a career working in various U.S. sectors including public relations, international nonprofits and healthcare and human services. A graduate of New York University and New York Institute of Technology, the queen also advocates for public […]
Read MoreQueen Charlotte
With features as conspicuously Negroid as they were reputed to be by her contemporaries, it is no wonder that the black community, both in the U.S. and throughout the British Commonwealth, have rallied around pictures of Queen Charlotte for generations. They have pointed out the physiological traits that so obviously identify the ethnic strain of […]
Read MorePrincess Keisha Omilana of Nigeria
A former model, spokesperson, and actress, Omilana adds brains to beauty as a businesswoman. The Inglewood, California native started Wonderful Brand, a multifaceted business incorporating fashion, television and Web, with her husband, Kunle, a Nigerian prince. Known as the “Pantene Girl,” Omilana is cited as the first African American woman to be featured in three consecutive […]
Read MorePrincess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland
The first child of King Mswati III of Swaziland, this princess is more than a pretty face, speaking out to raise awareness on issues such as AIDS and poverty that affect her country. With interests in the arts, this 23-year-old studied drama at the University of Biola in California and was featured in publications as one of […]
Read MorePharaohs: National Geographic
An ignored chapter of history tells of a time when kings from deep in Africa conquered ancient Egypt.
By Robert Draper
National Geographic Contributing Writer
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
In the year 730 B.C., a man by the name of Piye decided the only way to save Egypt from itself was to invade it. Things would get bloody before the salvation came.
“Harness the best steeds of your stable,” he ordered his commanders. The magnificent civilization that had built the great pyramids had lost its way, torn apart by petty warlords. For two decades Piye had ruled over his own kingdom in Nubia, a swath of Africa located mostly in present-day Sudan. But he considered himself the true ruler of Egypt as well, the rightful heir to the spiritual traditions practiced by pharaohs such as Ramses II and Thutmose III. Since Piye had probably never actually visited Lower Egypt, some did not take his boast seriously. Now Piye would witness the subjugation of decadent Egypt firsthand—“I shall let Lower Egypt taste the taste of my fingers,” he would later write.
North on the Nile River his soldiers sailed. At Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt, they disembarked. Believing there was a proper way to wage holy wars, Piye instructed his soldiers to purify themselves before combat by bathing in the Nile, dressing themselves in fine linen, and sprinkling their bodies with water from the temple at Karnak, a site holy to the ram-headed sun god Amun, whom Piye identified as his own personal deity. Piye himself feasted and offered sacrifices to Amun. Thus sanctified, the commander and his men commenced to do battle with every army in their path.
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