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Ethiopian King Ras Mäkonnen

Ethiopian King Ras Mäkonnen

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 […]

Ethiopian King Memnon Was A Greek Mythical Character?

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

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 […]

King Negus Negash Najashi of Abyssinia, Africa

King Negus Negash Najashi of Abyssinia, Africa

Negus is an Amharic word for King.  The Negus was the Christian king of Abyssinia in the seventh century. Negus is a royal title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It denotes a monarch such as the Bahri Negus of the Medri Bahri in pre-1890 Eritrea and the Negus in pre-1974 Ethiopia. The title has subsequently been used to translate […]

Queens in ancient and medieval times?

Queens in ancient and medieval times?

The book also list historical achievements of great women. This edition includes over 100 images, 18 maps, a 15 page chronological table, index, and bibliography. I love the blue & gold earing or maybe it’s part of her headress?  – Sola Portrait Head of Queen Tiye with a Crown of Two Feathers, c. 1355 B.C.E., […]

Queen Gudit/Yodit of Ethiopia, Africa

Queen Gudit/Yodit of Ethiopia, Africa

The fall of the Aksumite kingdom of Ethiopia toward the end of the 10th century A.D. was attributed to a queen who invaded from the south. This queen is said to have laid waste to the city of Aksum and the countryside, destroyed churches and monuments, usurped the throne from the ruling Aksumite king, and […]

Africans In India as far back as the 4th century?

Africans In India as far back as the 4th century?

India and Africa have a shared history that runs deeper than is often realized. Trade between the regions goes back centuries – 4th century CE Ethiopian (Aksumite) coins have been found in southern India. Several African groups, particularly Muslims from east Africa, came to India as slaves and traders. On settling down in the country, […]

Empress Taytu Betul

Empress Taytu Betul

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 […]

Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia, Africa

Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia, Africa

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 […]

Eve (Discovery Channel)

Eve (Discovery Channel)

Broadcast (2002) Narrated by Danny Glover, “The Real Eve” reveals that our shared genetic heritage links every living person on earth and traces the expansion of modern humans throughout the world. The discovery of the Eve gene stunned the world. It seems we could all be descended from just one female who lived in Africa. […]

Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara from Tanzania, Africa

Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara from Tanzania, Africa

Africa is a large continent, not everyone was living in mud huts; past & present. The remains of two great East African ports admired by early European explorers are situated on two small islands near the coast. From the 13th to the 16th century, the merchants of Kilwa dealt in gold, silver, pearls, perfumes, Arabian […]

Ark of the Covenant was given to Ethiopians?

Ark of the Covenant was given to Ethiopians?

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion is the most important church in Ethiopia, and claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant. It is located in the town of Axum in the Tigray Province.  The original church is believed to have been built during the reign of Ezana, the first Christian emperor of […]

Tanzanite Gem Stone from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa.

Tanzanite Gem Stone from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa.

Tanzanite; 1,000 times rarer than diamonds. Tanzanite is the blue/violet variety of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium hydroxyl Sorosilicate) belonging to the epidote group. It was discovered in the Mererani Hills of Manyara Region in Northern Tanzania in 1967, near the city of Arusha and Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzanite is used as a gemstone, and […]

Ancient Nubian & Egyptian Tattoos?

Ancient Nubian & Egyptian Tattoos?

Tattooing is belived to have originated in Nubia, in the 4th century B.C. (source: one of Ms. Nancy Etcoff  books) In Egypt, tattoos were seemingly only worn by women. As more evidence came to light of tattooed women who were obviously priestesses and members of the court. The concept of cultic tattoos identifying a woman with […]

The first black Miss Israel: Yityish Aynaw

The first black Miss Israel: Yityish Aynaw

Nationality: Israeli Place of birth: Ethiopia, Africa Aynaw was born in Chahawit, a small village in northern Ethiopia, near the city of Gondar. Her father died when she was young and when she was just 12 years old she lost her mother to a painful illness. Heartbroken, she arrived in Israel with her brother to […]