Italy (c. 1150) Found in the Vatican Library, Rome. Artist: Unknown Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire had seen a […]
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Watch all six hours of Africa’s Civilizations on the PBS app or online! Major corporate support for Africa’s Great Civilizations is provided by Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, and Ancestry. Major funding is also provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Gilder Foundation, the Corporation for […]
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She was a (c.1851–1918) formidable Queen and Empress of Ethiopia. An astute diplomat determined to resist imperialist designs on her country, she increasingly opposed any negotiations that would result in the loss of Ethiopian territory. When diplomacy gave way to war, she rode out at the head of her own army, at her husband’s side. -Portrait […]
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Zewditu (also spelled Zawditu or Zauditu) was an Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. The first female head of an internationally recognized state in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first Empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire perhaps since the legendary Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, her reign was noted for the […]
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I bet you didn’t know we have castles in Africa too! Unfortunately this wasn’t considered important enough to put in our standard beginners history books, but guess what !? Better late then never right? 🙂 Don’t believe me? You can find it on Google Earth! Click on the World Heritage site below. Gondar or Gonder […]
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