Ras Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika’él (May 8, 1852 – March 21, 1906), or simply Ras Makonnen, was a general and the governor of Harar province in Ethiopia, and the father of Tafari Mäkonnen (later known as Emperor Haile Selassie I). His father was Fitawrari Woldemikael Gudisa of Shewa. Makonnen was a grandson of Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa through his mother, Leult Tenagnework […]
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Category: History
Ethiopian King Memnon Was A Greek Mythical Character?
To the ancient Greeks, the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa were known collectively as Ethiopians, literally ‘those with burnt faces’. Theirs was a fabled land connected to the Greek world in myth. For example, there is the Ethiopian princess Andromeda, rescued by Perseus, and Memnon, who led the Ethiopians in the Trojan War. –Black-figured amphora. Greek, […]
The Departure of Memnon for Troy, Greek
In Greek mythology, Memnon (Greek: Mέμνων) was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. –The departure of Memnon for Troy. Greek, circa 550-525 BC. Black-figure vase. Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles’ equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army […]
Princess Sit Hathor Yunet aka Sithathoriunet
Beautiful ancient wig with hair ornaments. I’m sure this will inspire some beauty gurus, especially women of color around the world to design their next personal custom wig creation for their YouTube videos. This is an ancient craft that is still practiced in today’s society. Found were remains of several boxes filled with jewelry and cosmetic […]
Braided Ancient Egyptian Wig
Queen Nefertiti, who lived during the fourteenth century b.c.e., was known for wearing dark blue wigs, and festive wigs were sometimes gilded, or thinly coated in gold. The wig hair often stuck straight out from the skullcap, creating large, full wigs that offered wearers protection from the heat of the sun. Most often black, wigs were […]
London was ethnically diverse in ancient times
Map Of The Roman Empire The most complete skeleton studied was that of a 14-year-old girl, who the museum curators have named “The Lant Street teenager“. Analysis of her DNA and chemicals in her teeth show that she grew up in North Africa. Her mitochondrial DNA lineage (passed down on the maternal line only) is […]
Ancient Faces: Egyptian Portrait Of A Man
Under Greco-Roman rule, Egypt hosted several Greek settlements, mostly concentrated in Alexandria, but also in a few other cities, where Greek settlers lived alongside some seven to ten million native Egyptians. Native Egyptians also came to settle in Faiyum from all over the country, notably the Nile Delta, Upper Egypt, Oxyrhynchus and Memphis, to undertake […]
Ancient Faces: Another Mummy Portrait From Egypt, Africa
Social status The patrons of the portraits apparently belonged to the affluent upper class of military personnel, civil servants and religious dignitaries. Not everyone could afford a mummy portrait; many mummies were found without one. Flinders Petrie states that only one or two per cent of the mummies he excavated were embellished with portraits. The rates […]
Ancient Faces: The Mummy Portraits From Egypt
“Tondo of the Two Brothers” In the last decade, the genre of Roman painted portraiture that was first discovered in the cemeteries of Egypt’s Fayum Oasis has inspired a series of important publications, conferences and international exhibitions. 1 Primarily painted on wooden panels, these vivid likenesses are persistently termed Fayum portraits, despite the fact that […]
The Ivory Lady of York, In 350 AD England
Archaeologists have revealed the remains of what they say was a “high status” woman of African origin who lived in York during Roman times. Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves. The university’s Dr Hella Eckardt said a study of the skull’s size […]
Roman mosaic found in Spain?
Mosaico romano encontrado en Merida España This mosaic was also claimed to be found in Pompeii. I’ll share the findings of this image soon. In North Africa, a tiny relict population, the Barbary leopard, persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco –afrilodge Ancient Rome The African leopard is a leopard subspecies native to Africa. It […]
Ancient Faces: Romano-Egyptian Mummy Portrait of a Bearded Man
Place: Egypt (Place created) Date: about 150 – 170 This image is housed at the Getty Villa. This is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The collection has 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD. –Artist Unknown Encaustic on wood. Dimensions: […]
The Burning Of Library In Alexandria, Egypt, Africa
This library is most famous for having been burned down resulting in the loss of many scrolls and books; its destruction has become a symbol for the loss of cultural knowledge. Sources differ on who was responsible for its destruction and when it occurred. The library may in truth have suffered several fires over many […]
Albert Einstein Teaching Physics
The Nobel prize winning scientist Albert Einstein teaching a physics class at Lincoln University (HBCU in Pennsylvania) in 1946. “The first institution found anywhere in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences for male youth of African descent.” In 1946, When Dr. Bond invited Einstein to Lincoln, the student body consisted […]
Ancient Egyptian Statute Found In Israel
Documents discovered at Hazor and at sites in Egypt and Iraq attest that Hazor maintained cultural and trade relations with both Egypt and Babylon. In the course of close to 30 years of excavation, fragments of 18 different Egyptian statues, both royal and private, dedicated to Egyptian kings and officials, including two sphinxes, were discovered […]
Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Boat
This beautiful alabaster boat model remains unexplained so many years after its discovery. It measures twenty-eight inches in length and consists of a tank with a high central pedestal supporting a boat ornamented with ibex heads at the prow and stern. Amidships is what appears to be an open sarcophagus under a canopy whose collumns […]
Why Is History Important?
It is important to study history so one may learn about past human behavior that is relevant to the intellectual growth and development of an individual. Studying the events of the past give us an understanding of how the world came to be, not only in your world but around the world including all cultures […]
Queen Arawelo / Araweelo
Did this African Queen exist in ancient times or is this a legend? Once upon a time, in Somalia, there was a kingdom ruled by a strong and beautiful queen. The Queen’s name was Ebla Awad, but everybody knew her as “Queen Arraweelo.” The Queen came to power around AD 15 after a long war between Somali clans. […]
Great Athlete: Serena Williams
Nationality: American Ethnicity: African descent. She is 5’9 Ft tall. Williams was the highest paid female athlete in 2016, earning $28.9 million in prize money and endorsements. In addition to English as her native language Williams also speaks conversational French, and knows some Spanish and Italian. At the 2013, 2015, and 2016 French Open she […]
Great Olympic Athlete: Florence Griffith-Joyner aka Flo-Jo
Nationality: American Ethnicity: African American She is considered the fastest woman of all time based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 m and 200 m still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged. Olympic gold medalist Joyner brought style to track and field with form-fitting bodysuits, […]
Ancient Wunmonije Bronze Heads
Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria Dating from the 12th to 15th centuries A,D. The Wunmonije heads at the British Museum in 1948. Published in Drewal (H.J.) & Schildkrout (E.), Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria, 2009: p. 4, fig. 2 Professor John Picton and metallurgist Paul Craddock discuss the meaning and the making […]
Begon II, Chad, Africa
Begon II is an historic metallurgical site in a remote valley in southern Chad. It is about 30 miles from the nearest town, Bessao. This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 21, 2005 in the Cultural category. People mined the valley for iron between the 9th and 11th centuries […]
16th century ancient ruins of Ouara in Chad, Africa
The ruins of Sultan Ibn Abdel-Kerim Djame’s palace date back to the 16th century. They include a large wall mural; the residences of the Sultan, his concubines and the princes’ wives; and a watchtower. Ouara (or Wara) is the former capital of the Ouaddai Empire lying near Abéché in eastern Chad. It has been deserted […]
Queen Nefertiti
An Egyptian queen renowned for her beauty, Nefertiti ruled alongside her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten, during the mid-1300s B.C. Little is known about the origins of Nefertiti, but her legacy of beauty and power continue to intrigue scholars today. Her name is Egyptian and means “a beautiful woman has come.” Worship of the Sun God Nefertiti and […]
Head of a Statue of a Queen
Some people think it’s Nefertiti or one of her daughters Meritaton or Anchesenpaaton? Although the eye liner and lipstick are faint in color, I still love ancient make-up. Simply beautiful. Head of a statue of Queen Merit-Aton? Dynasty 18. C.1340-1335 B.C. Quartzit. From Amarna. Gift of James Simon, 1920. Egyptian Museum in the Altes Museum. Berlin, Germany. […]
Over 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 Black Iraqis?
Black Iraqis in the southern province of Basra are complaining of discrimination, saying they are not fairly represented in the state. African Iraqis have lived in the country for centuries and now number more than one million. –Al Jazeera with English Sub-titles. Most Afro-Iraqis are the descendants of sailors, traders and slaves that were brought […]
Bone Fragment of a 10,000 year old Middle Eastern DNA
Scientists from Europe, the United States and Iran who examined the DNA of 9,000 to 10,000-year-old bone fragments discovered in a cave near Eslamabad, 600 kilometers (370 miles) southwest of the Iranian capital of Tehran, found they belonged to a man with black hair, brown eyes and dark skin? Click map to view larger image […]
Cuneiform Tablets In Persepolis?
This image and others depicts different people from distant lands all in one work. 23 nations in all carved into this stair way. Scholars discovered that the people with the Ivory Tusk are Ethiopians, there were also Arabs, Shiites, Assyrians & Indians with donkeys bearing gifts. Source: Discovery History Channel documentary Uncovered in the debris of […]
Cuneiform writings were found in Upper Egypt at Amarna
An example of an interesting cuneiform collection is the Amarna Letters. These letters were found in Upper Egypt at Amarna and there are 382 known tablets in total. The letters are mostly diplomatic correspondence between the Ancient Near East and Egypt and contain a structure for the first known diplomatic system. Cuneiform is considered the […]
Afro-Iranian?
An introduction to a photo book by German-Iranian photographer Mahdi Ehsaei depicting the little known minority of Afro-Iranians in South Iran in fascinating portraits. Afro-Iran shows a side of Iran, which is widely unknown even to Iranians: a minority of people who influenced the culture of a whole region by continuing their African heritage with […]