Explore the highlights of Africa's history, from the world's oldest humans to its youngest nation
HISTORY OF AFRICA
Ancient
The birth of humanity • Modern humans first evolved in the Horn of Africa region, before making their way across the continent and throughout the world
Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt • Spanning many eras, the New, Middle and Old Kingdoms would see the pharaohs reach the peak of their power and Egyptian culture soar
The Old Kingdom • A time of rebirth, the Old Kingdom saw the introduction of the first pharaoh, dynasty and pyramid to the world
FAMOUS FACES THROUGH TIME • Uncover the celebrities of each kingdom of this great civilisation
ANCIENT EGYPT’S FIRST PHARAOH • Who was the man who unified two distinctly different halves of the same realm and set the stage for the Old Kingdom period?
The Middle Kingdom • Once again divided and once again whole, Ancient Egypt rose from its own ashes to become a military and cultural powerhouse
THE FEUDAL GOVERNMENTS OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
The New Kingdom • The last great age of Ancient Egypt was its grandest yet – an era of economic enterprise, domestic beautification and military expansion
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? • Following the end of the New Kingdom and its final golden age, what was next for this ancient civilisation?
Kingdom of Kush • Egypt’s southern neighbours forged an empire that lasted for more than a thousand years, establishing the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt as they pushed northwards
KINGS OF KUSH • Many Kushite rulers are shadowy figures, though we know something of a few great kings
The Kingdom of Aksum • Uniquely situated between the Western and Asiatic worlds, the sub-Saharan kingdom of Aksum grew into the most powerful state between the Roman Empire and Persia
THE CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY MARY OF ZION • With the adoption of Christianity, church construction got underway – but one of the new buildings quickly became steeped in myth and legend
Medieval
10 Forgotten African Empires • The most powerful and expansive kingdoms that have been lost to time
The Lion King • The Mali Empire’s legendary founder was reputedly as strong as a lion, but what is fact and what is fiction in his origin story?
The Richest Man in History • The Emperor of Mali was the wealthiest man on the planet – but you’ve probably never heard of him
MUSA’S EMPIRE
Life in Timbuktu • It has a reputation for being remote and desolate, but what was it really like under Musa’s reign?
The Lost City of Benin • The capital of Africa’s Benin Empire astonished Europeans with its beauty, so why is there nothing left?
THE ALL-MIGHTY OBA • Benin’s political, military and religious leader was an autocratic king
Wish you were here… • European travellers often wrote home about the wonders they’d seen in the Medieval metropolis
From Equals to Enslaved • Toby Green discusses his Wolfson History Prize-nominated book A Fistful Of Shells and the way in which resource-rich West Africa was depleted by trade and slavery
WEST AFRICA BEFORE SLAVERY • The major powers that stood toe-to-toe with Europe
The Barbary Coast • Explore North Africa’s notorious den of pirates that terrorised the high seas raiding ships and taking slaves
Rise and fall of the Barbary Coast • Discover how the corsairs came to rule the waves – but only with the support of the Ottoman Empire
Hall of Fame PIRATE KINGS AND QUEENS • The notorious corsairs who ruled the Barbary Coast’s seas
How to RAID A SHIP • BARBARY BATTLE TACTICS TO MAKE YOUR FORTUNE MEDITERRANEAN, 15TH-19TH CENTURY
4 FAMOUS… COASTAL...
