Pepi I’s reign was marked by aggressive expansion into Nubia, the spread of trade to far-flung areas such as Lebanon and the Somalian coast, but also the growing power of the nobility. One of the king’s officials named Weni fought in Asia on his behalf. Pepi’s mortuary complex, Mennefer Pepy, eventually became the name for […]
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In antiquity, Nubians believed that gold was a sacred material with protective powers, so jewelry makers used the metal frequently. Double Hathor head earring, Nubian, Meroitic Period, 90 AD. This is only a fraction of the ancient Nubian accessories. Gold earring Nubian, Meroitic Period Thousands of years ago, Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt made up […]
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History of the depiction The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men and kings. –The art of Hieronymus Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1485-1500, Oil on panel Occasionally from the 12th century, and very often in Northern Europe from the 15th, the Magi are also made to represent the three known parts of […]
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Historian David Olusoga uncovers a history that is as surprising as it is revealing. The English had one of their great bursts of fascination with this continent and its people ultimately it wasn’t the Portuguese the English had to win over but the local (African) kings. We know that the first English traders who […]
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This might explain why some Scandinavian genes are showing up in a few DNA test results of African descendants. –Sea expeditions of the Viking Age Three burials from early medieval Britain that have been identified as those of African women on the basis of an examination of their skeletal remains. One of the burials in […]
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Harsh circumstances apparently provoked three rebellions between the seventh and ninth centuries. What is now called the Zanj Rebellion was the largest of these. Long before kidnapped Africans were ever brought to North America, they incited a rebellion in the Middle East and went head to head with an empire. The insurrection began in 869 […]
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Queen Ati, wife of King Perahu of Punt, depicted on Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri. Somalia is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. Ancient pyramidical structures, mausoleums, ruined cities and stone walls, such as the Wargaade Wall, are evidence of an old civilization that once thrived in the […]
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According to this 1992 documentary produced by Penn Museum , Nubian Princes Were Educated At The Egyptian Royal Court. Nubia was important in Egyptian economic life. The relationship between Egypt and Nubia hinged upon the gold supply and the Nubian soldiers that were recruited for the Egyptian army. Another Nubian state was centered at Napata located near the […]
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For centuries the extraordinary monumental achievements of ancient Egypt have dominated the history of African civilizations in the public mind. It is not until the last 60 years or so that research and excavation has gradually revealed to us the extent and power of the great kingdoms of ancient Nubia. Produced by Penn Museum, Penn Museum Education Department, and Annenberg TV. Narrated […]
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What is a pendant ? It’s a piece of jewelry that hangs from a chain worn around the neck hanging downward. This ancient gold ram’s-head was made during the Kushite Period. Representations show these pharaohs wearing a ram’s-head amulet tied around the neck on a thick cord. Rams were associated with the god Amun, particularly in Nubia, […]
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Archaeologists excavated a sprawling temple complex dedicated to the god Amun at the Sudanese site of Dangeil. Egypt’s most important and enduring relationship was, arguably, with its neighbor to the south, Nubia, which occupied a region that is now in Sudan. The two cultures were connected by the Nile River, whose annual flooding made civilization […]
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Their ancestors were said to be from indigenous women who intermarried with Chinese Ming sailors when they were shipwrecked. The earliest contacts between Kenya and China. Six centuries later, the descendants of these Chinese sailors are visible in Lamu where China’s ancient Maritime Silk road terminates. In Siyu village, archaeologists have discovered artifacts like porcelain and […]
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Roman; Thyreatis, Greece (c. 170 C.E.) –Tom Ljevar This marvelous bust is one of the very few documents of an actual black person from Greek and Roman antiquity. Memnon was a pupil and protégé of the well-known Athenian entrepreneur and philosopher Herodes Atticus. It was found more than a century ago in one of several […]
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Jan Gossaert was one of the first painters of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting to visit Italy and Rome, which he did in 1508-09, and a leader of the style known as Romanism, which brought elements of Italian Renaissance painting to the north, sometimes with a rather awkward effect. Beautiful intricate design gold breastplate / […]
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The occasion was front-page news in Britain, in Ghana, and many other countries. Coverage in newspapers around the world ranged from the hostile to skeptical to admiring. He was born in Kumasi to Nana James Appiah and Nana Adwoa Akyaa, members of the Ashanti imperial aristocracy. Joe Appiah, a Ghanaian political figure and former diplomat […]
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The back story: The Chief of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now known as Botswana) Seretse Khama & his English wife, Ruth Williams that he married in 1948. It was a whirlwind romance. Seretse didn’t seek consent from his uncle because he knew it would be denied, but Ruth had to ask her father George, who argued that […]
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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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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 […]
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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 […]
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The very name Nubian (nub) actually means gold. Meet Uncle Ali-For over 25 years he has been the key holder for the gate of the Tomb of Tanutamani, and he will guide us through the royal burial chambers belonging to King Tanwetamani (Tanotamun) and Queen Kalhata at El Kurru, a few kilometers south of Karima, […]
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Since the time of King Mansa Musa and before that, there were ancient African gold mines as far down the Continent as South Africa. Hello every one, I tried to share some of the best Royal African Kings and Queens photos with their amazing Gold jewelry. I love accessories; so sharing things like this with […]
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This mountaintop fortress was built from 1805 to 1820 in the aftermath of the slave revolution of Haiti (Bt 1791–1804) by African descendants and declaration of its independence from France. It was designed as a part of fortification system, which was supposed to defend newly independent Haiti from the attacks of the French Army. This massive […]
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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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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 […]
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